World News

Ryou PC collection crafted from Japanese Judas tree

Another day, another round of PCs exquisitely built from woods farmed halfway across the globe. On the docket today, however, are a number of particularly drool-worthy rigs from Universal Roaming. The Ryou collection consists of a half dozen models constructed from Japanese Judas trees and accented with lacquer, silver / gold powders and other culturally-inspired designs. Each diminutive unit houses a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo T5500 CPU, up to 2GB of RAM, an 80GB HDD, dual-layer DVD burner, WiFi adapter, 3-in-1 multicard reader and Windows Vista, but there’s no telling how much you’ll be asked to lay down in exchange for such elegance.

source:engadget

Supercross rider dons GoPro camera on helmet, wins race

Oh sure, we’ve come across oodles of cameras designed to be mounted on or around one’s noggin, but c’mon, surely we aren’t the only folks who reckoned no one actually used these things, right? Taking a huge leap forward for lifebloggers and fans of recording sweet jumps everywhere, Yamaha’s Josh Hill managed to not only rock a GoPro Motorsports HERO camera for an entire race, but he also grabbed the gold in front of some 41,000 onlookers in the Minneapolis Metrodome. See kids — strapping gizmos onto your head isn’t just for nerds and basement dwellers, after all. Peep some footage from the headcam below.

source:engadget

LG tries to creep you out with phone that feels like human skin

It’s not often we see a cellphone that we’re actually a little hesitant to pick up, but LG has managed to pull off that considerable feat with its new LG-SH240 slider, which boasts the rather unique characteristic of a keypad that purportedly feels like real human skin. If that hasn’t swayed you away from it, you can also expect the phone to pack a 2 megapixel camera, 3G HSDPA connectivity, and built-in Bluetooth, among other decidedly non-creepy features. You apparently won’t be able to pick one up ’round these parts anytime soon though, but those in Korea can grab one now for 400,000 won, or just about $400

source:engadget

Clear Channel digital billboards in SoCal hax0r3d

We’ve gotten pretty used to seeing crashed digital billboards and signage dot the landscape, but just like regular billboards, what’s really interesting is when the graffiti artists manage to get their own messages up on the big (big) screen. Looks like Clear Channel is the latest victim - 10 LA-area billboards owned by the media giant started displaying the logo of 18-year-old graffiti artist Skullphone last Thursday, slotted innocuously within the regular ad rotation. Sure, it’s not quite at the anarcho-political level of the Billboard Liberation Front and their ilk, but every great leap begins with just a small step, no? Hit the read link for tons more photos.
source:engadget

Pinwheel and old VCR used to make wind-powered LED

Now that Blu-ray has emerged as the lone HDM victor, that aging VCR is likely looking for a new home (if it wasn’t already). Thankfully, we’ve found the perfect excuse to rip it wide open versus hauling it off to the local thrift store. In one of the more elaborate how-to guides that we’ve seen, Charles Palen explains how to create a wind-powered LED by using scrap parts within a VCR, one your youngster’s pinwheels and a varied array of power tools, wiring and calm nerves. Notably, an unwanted CD-ROM drive can be used if you’re dead set on watching those Disney classics on VHS one last time, but regardless of which apparatus you destroy, be sure and hit the read link for the step-by-step.

source:engadget

Diesel looses two more OLED wristwatches

Late last year, Diesel popped out a pair of timepieces that featured a smallish OLED and lots of shine. This year, it’s the OLED sitting front and center. The DZ7076 and DZ7086 both ditch the heavy chrome look and head back to the basics, and there’s even four animations that do the OLED proud with the push of a button. Each watch also touts a genuine leather strap and the all-important Diesel logo, and while the DZ7076 can be yours for just $120, the slightly more retro DZ7086 will demand an extra $30.
source:engadget

Comcast, Time Warner, Sprint, and Clearwire could join forces on WiMAX, help from Google and Intel possible

As unlikely as this sounds, rivals Time Warner Cable and Comcast are apparently in talks with Sprint and Clearwire over establishing a nationwide WiMAX network. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the companies are scrambling to get a deal wrapped up by CTIA — which takes place at the beginning of April — and could see an influx of cash from both Google and Intel in excess of $1 billion. It seems the odd-couple partners are keen to cut into heavyweights Verizon and AT&T’s ever-expanding range of at-home and mobile services by offering their own take on a high-speed data and voice system to consumers. Clearly this combination would deflate AT&T and Verizon’s big FCC bandwidth-nabs a little (and it explains why the cable players weren’t interested in the 700MHz auction), but it’s questionable whether this rag-tag team of wild card players would seriously court the public’s eye. They say America loves an underdog — even if it’s a gigantic, super-rich, corporate underdog.
source:engadget

The iriver NV Life: as stirring and confusing as life itself

Reincomm just announced the new iriver NV Life,

 the official name of its M20 prototype. New in that they’ve done away with the big, navigation pad of the original NV in favor of a more sleek, easily portable SatNav device with PMP functionality. Still, it’s a near spec-for-spec clone of the bigger, bulkier NV. Available in either 2GB ₩328,000 (about $367) or 4GB ₩358,000 (about $400) 4GB capacities, the SiRF Star III GPS device dedicates an SD slot to maps and second to augment the onboard flash. Inside, the WinCE 5.0-based device packs an FM-transmitter, DMB TV (with GPS PiP support), and a wide selection of codecs synonymous with the iriver name. The only downside is the display: 800 x 480 pixels spread across 7-inches of glass. On par with the industry but pretty poor when compared to cellphones which offer the same resolution on 2.8-inch displays.

source:engadget

Sony’s “Fresh Start” getting a wide release soon?

According to Jenn Lee over at Pocketables, Sony’s recently introduced “Fresh Start” — the crapware-killing do-over it’s charging $50 for on VAIO TZ2000 setups — will be making its way to all of the company’s Windows devices very soon. Apparently, Sony Senior Public Relations Strategist Jon Piazza told the site that, “Fresh Start will be rolled out to the entire product line by the end of this summer,” after being asked about the possibility of a UX180P getting a new lease on OS life. It sounds like a lovefest, certainly, but wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to pay a premium for our systems to be free of mucky bloatware and storage-hogging garbage? You listening Sony?

source:engadget

Fire at battery plant threatens global supply of exploding laptop batteries

The fallout of the March 3rd fire at LG Chem, the second biggest S. Korean manufacturer of laptop batteries, is now clear. There’s a global shortage of batteries which won’t be relieved until LG Chem can restart the assembly lines in another 2 to 3 months. Dell claims that the shortage has already caused an increase in price for secondary or replacement batteries. ASUS says it could affect up to 40% of ASUS’ laptop shipments including the Eee PC. Bad news for us, good news for Samsung SDI and Sony in Japan as laptop OEMs look elsewhere for inventory.
source:engadget