Chris Pirillo has discovered a backdoor in Windows XP that allows users to upgrade to Vista completely free of charge. John Biggs over at CrunchGear has successfully used it on all of his machines and I just upgraded my girlfriend’s and all seems to be well. Just follow the instructions in the video carefully and you’re golden.
Posted Apr 1st 2008 3:22PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Misc. gadgets
Ouch, that payback, it can be a bitch — Sony BMG, distributors of rootkit-installing CDs and litigious foe of P2P users worldwide, has just been busted in France for using pirated software on its servers. And it gets even worse: Windows admin tool developer PointDev says a Sony BMG was caught when an IT staffer actually called up for support and gave a pirated license number to the phone tech. That’s some pretty shady behavior for a company that’s rammed anti-piracy measures down its own customers’ throats — too bad it’s probably not going to feel the hit of the €300,000 ($475,000) lawsuit nearly as hard as the college students it routinely sues for $5,000.
[Via ZeroPaid, thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Plantronics recently released its signature line up of designer headsets that target both genders, since the Discovery 925 Bluetooth earpiece collection was specially designed to cater for everyone with a discerning taste. The 925 is truly different looking compared to what you can find on the market these days, featuring a distinctive VFrame design with award-winning audio technology that tantalizes the senses whenever you look at it. Thankfully, it won’t break the bank to look stylish with the Plantronics Discovery 925 as it will retail for $149.99 when available this month in Black Onyx. Those looking for the Plantronics Discovery 925 in Alchemy Gold and Cerise Pink will have to wait till next month.
OS News reviews the Sony Ericsson K850i and writes, “The picture and video Cybershot camera application is very good. It has a multitude of features, ranging from flash light on/off/auto, night mode, self-timer, mic on/off, white balance presets, exposure support, effects, scene mode, macro support, autofocus support, red-eye reduction, ISO 100 to 400 and digital image stabilization. The only things missing is some optical zoom, ability to use the videocall camera to record and VGA video recording (it only goes up to QVGA at 30fps, sample 1 and 2). Also, while the camera is protected by glass, this glass acquires sweat pretty easily… A nice touch is the VideoDJ application that lets you add clips, images and music in a mobile video editor that it’s able to export as a new clips — with transitions applied and effects.”
Read more about the Sony Ericsson K850.
For stylish runners who want to make sure they’re not slacking off on their daily routine, perhaps there’s nothing better than Nike running shoes paired with a Nike+ accessory. The Nike+ ipod was one formidable setup but Nike’s latest move shows just how fruitful the partnership turned out to be. Apparently, Nike has ditched the Nike+ iPod setup and instead will deliver its own brand of accessory to go with the Nike+ service. Nike’s new accessory will be called the Nike+ Sportband, and yes, this is what Nike minus iPod is going to be all about.
The Nike+ Sportband will deliver basically the same functionality as Nike+ iPod, minus the funky, upbeat music, of course. The Nike+ Sportsband will give users real time access to pace, distance, time and burned calories, and you can connect it to your PC or Mac via USB. It also serves as a USB key in which you can store a limited amount of data like photos and short digital documents. I know what exactly what the Nokia execs are thinking right now: “How come we didn’t come up with something like this until now?!”
Via [Gizmodo]
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Designer Pavel Balykin has decided to revamp the retro sand-hour-glass by conceptualising a digital version with his Sand Time Watch. Well, sort of.
The Sand Time Watch, according to me, might be a misnomer because the watch uses a âdigital hour glassâ only as a screensaver. The actual time, however, is shown once you press a button â and the screensaver then disappears. Much to the disappointment of traditional folks (which includes me), there is no sand and the hour glass does not count time. Nevertheless, the concept is pretty cool and the watch itself looks trendy. Will the Sand Time Watch make it into production? Only the hour glass can tell.
Via Yanko Design.
Posted Apr 1st 2008 10:59AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals
Just in case a completely ho hum 17-incher wasn’t enough to keep your attention this morning, Toshiba is trumpeting its “design prowess” by introducing four “re-imagined” Satellites. As of today, the 13.3-inch U400, 14.1-inch M300, 15.4-inch A300 (pictured) and 17-inch P300 have all been ever-so-slightly refreshed with the outfit’s Fusion Finish, Feather-Touch multimedia keys, white LED accents and built-in Dolby Sound Room technology. Additionally, Tosh is unveiling its totally useful Sleep-and-Charge USB ports, which enable users to charge up their portable gadgetry via USB regardless of whether the laptop is powered on / off or in Sleep mode (so long as it’s tethered to an AC outlet, of course). Check out the gloating in full below.
Read - Toshiba Demonstrates Design Prowess with Four Re-Imagined Satellite Laptop
Read - Toshiba Unveils Innovative Sleep-and-Charge USB Ports
Posted Apr 1st 2008 10:12AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Transportation
Your favorite driverless vehicles from the DARPA Urban Challenge are getting set to tackle yet another task — speed racing. Yep, Junior, Boss (pictured) and Ben will all be greasing their gears in an attempt to outrun the others around one lap of the 1.97-mile, 11-turn circuit, all without smashing into walls or hailing a motorist to take over. Unfortunately, all three won’t be on the track at the same time — which ensures that no green / red shell ejections will have an effect on the outcome — but those interested in seeing this in person can head on down to Long Beach on April 20th.
[Via CNET, image courtesy of PaulStamatiou]
Posted Apr 1st 2008 1:21AM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Gaming
Aside from planning to axe 400 jobs as part of Sega Sammy’s most recent “turnaround efforts,” the outfit will also be closing the doors to its Korean subsidiary. Currently, Sega Korea is “handling the domestic distribution and sales of video game software, as well as the operation / sales of amusement facilities and machines,” and reportedly, the closure will be executed in the name of “global business optimization.” As it stands, there’s no set date for the branch’s dissolution, but just in case your smile wasn’t turned upside-down already, the company also stated that it would discontinue the development of a ginormous $330m arcade complex slated for construction in Yokohama, Japan — if you couldn’t guess, that one’s being shuttered so the firm can “focus its efforts on its core business to improve its performance” in short order. Seriously though, what the hell kind of company would spend $330m on arcade, anyway?
[Via Joystiq, image courtesy of USMC]
InfoWorld is reporting that Yahoo has agreeed to Microsoft’s offer after haggling that went deep into the night. The final price looks to be $2.6 Billion more than Microsofts original offer. Steve Ballmer expects the next six months will be spent deciding how to redecorate Yahoo offices and how to best integrate the two companies.
Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, who had publicly opposed the acquisition, said, “Being part of Microsoft will let the Yahoo vision reach further than we could have done on our own. And we will provide Microsoft the engine it needs to deliver on its Web-based services vision.”
I am just thrilled this is over. It seemed inevitable to come to this conclusion. Those looking for an April fools joke, won’t find it here. Sorry.
Read [InfoWorld]
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