The new Prodino micro audio system from Kenwood might not look like much – might not sound like much either – but it supports up to 32GB from SD or microSD cards. Output is limited at 10Wx2 and costs an absurdly 360€ ($465 USD) price. For that price, the sound aught to be almost as good as the B&W Zeppelin and something tells me it isn’t. → Read More
Considering the very nature of vehicular transport is changing, it stands to reason that the all-important cluster of gauges and warning lights ought to change as well. And nothing’s more versatile than an LCD screen. In Ford’s new 2010 hybrids, instead of mechanical gauges and such, you’ll be able to choose your own electronically displayed readouts, and I imagine customize how… → Read More
Ho… lee… crap. Best Buy is running a contest for Black Friday. One winner in each of 25 select markets gets a $1,000 gift card, a ride to Best Buy in a limo, early access to the store (that’s at 4:30 AM, mind you), and a bunch of other stuff. Sheesh. So how do you win? You submit a 250-word story on AskABlueShirt.net about what you do “to make the day after Thanksgiving a particularly fun… → Read More
America’s sons and daughters are still Over There, fighting the good fight and making it possible for jerks like us to fawn over cellphones, big screen TVs and impossibly tiny laptops on a daily basis. Naturally, any chance to learn more about what high-tech gizmos they use is welcome by all of us here. For example, Blackhawk has developed the High Performance Fighting Uniform, which goes… → Read More
Still rocking that Core system from launch — and it hasn’t gotten the RROD yet? Then allow me to congratulate you twice! But it may be time to upgrade. What you need is a hard drive, my friend, and dare I say, a headset as well. My blogmates tell me the Xbox Live experience (new or not) is slightly more juvenile than the PC gaming voice communication world, but it could still be… → Read More
This picture was presented by Elizabeth Churchill, Principal Research Scientist at Yahoo at a meeting I am attending today. It shows the privacy settings of a sample of a million Flickr users from 2005. Red spots note users who have photo sharing turned off (private), green shows users who have photo sharing turned on (public).
The results are fascinating. The US is widely public except for users… → Read More
I take issue with the idea that binder clips are “useless,” as this article implies, but if I’m honest, making a starship out of them is a cooler function than their intended one. The best thing about this instructable is that it’s super easy and once you’ve done it, you can probably remember how to do it again and again without looking at the web page. Plus, you can… → Read More
Though the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 has been shipping for a few weeks now, the long known about red variant has yet to launch – until now. Beginning this morning, folks looking to nab this rosy red release can stop by T-Mobile.com (Product Page) or their local T-Mo spot and pick one up for $149.99 on a 2-year contract. Not looking for a commitment? That’ll be $349.99. We… → Read More
It’s cold and dark in November, especially in Finland. But you can’t keep a good Finn down! That’s why Slush is going to be a cool new event for tech startups showcasing all the major Finnish Internet era success stories from F-secure to Jaiku, from Habbo Hotel to MySQL, along with all the latest Finnish startups. TechCrunch UK is partnering with Slush, and we’ll be… → Read More
What would a netbook be without all sorts of tiny accessories? The HP Mini 1000 will have at least six of them; some available now and some available in January. Apparently available now is an extra three-cell battery, although I couldn’t find it listed on HP’s shopping site, the HP Wireless Laser Mini Mouse ($40), and the HP Bluetooth Pendant Headphones ($99). Pretty straightforward stuff and… → Read More
AT&T just sweetened the pot for all of its iPhone subscribers. If you own an AT&T iPhone, you now get free WiFi access at AT&Ts 17,000 hotspots across the country, including at most Starbucks. Although just last summer AT&T teased customers with the same freebie service, only to put up a pay wall afterwards, this time it looks like the free WiFi is here to stay. So if you live in a… → Read More
You can chat with us during the show via AIM by pinging username “crunchtips” or call into the show at (646) 200-4163 should the mood strike you. Here’s the link for today’s show… [Podcast RSS Feed | Podcast in iTunes] → Read More
A simple question: do you still have a landline telephone, or do you exclusively use a cellphone nowadays? Maybe you use both? I ask because there’s some question as to whether or not all these election polls are accurate. Several of them only call people who have landlines, which excludes people who exclusively use cellphones—young voters and the tech-savvy (you guys), I’m going… → Read More
It’s a wonder to me how San Francisco based Mechanical Zoo, a startup founded by Max Ventilla (Google corp dev), Nathan Stoll (Google News) and Damon Horowitz (Perspecta), has managed to keep its social search product called Aardvark mostly out of the press these last few months. Even as it spreads virally via friend invitations in the private beta.
But that’s all going to end soon. The fifteen… → Read More
Next generation connectivity circuity should lead to larger and thinner LCDs – how much thinner can they get? NEC’s new process reduces the amount of wiring in between the displays driver chips and the image processing board. So for instance, a conventional 37-inch LCD currently requires 21 wires but with this new process, it would only need eight. Fewer wires result in a more… → Read More
If you’re part of the overlapping pool of people who like both Nokia’s N-Gage platform AND the mobile offerings from Electronic Arts, then here’s what to expect over the next year or so. EA has announced a handful of N-Gage games to be available for the holidays, along with a few more over the next 12 months. For the holidays: FIFA 09, Spore Origins, Monopoly Here & Now: The World… → Read More
Asura just opened the first-of-its-kind thermal energy plant in California, which should generate enough electricity to power some 3,500 homes. The best part is that this plant, which is named Kimberlina, is merely a proof of concept of sorts— the real plant, to be constructed by 2010, will generate enough electricity to power, like, 120,000 homes. The idea is dead simple: you’ve got… → Read More
I honestly can’t remember the last time I went to the store and bought a pack of AA batteries. I have a few packs of rechargeable Energizer batteries that I use for my DSLR or other random gadgets that don’t charge over USB. However, three of my four Wiimotes are left in the cold because I don’t have enough rechargeable batteries to go around and often times I’m snatching batteries from… → Read More
And we’re off! Just 7 days after the G1′s release, some clever folks have managed to get the handset up and running on networks outside of T-Mobile’s grasp. Unfortunately, they’re also clever enough to go about it as entrepreneurs; if you want the unlock code, it’ll set you back $22.99. Once you’ve given Unlock-TMobileG1.com some cash and your device’s… → Read More
If you’ll recall, the Tuttuki Bako Box is a strangle little Tamagotchi-like thing involving your finger, a panda, and lots of pushing. BBG has found video of what they’re calling a digital “glory hole” and, as I’ve been telling Serkan for quite a while now, this proves that the Japanese totally need to get laid. Turn down the sound but, like most Japanese faux-porn… → Read More
With a lot of sanding and basic woodworking skills, you can turn your plastic thumb drive into a classy wooden drive. Let me show you how. → Read More
Once word got out that the iPhone firmware 2.2 had been seeded to developers, the rumors mills started churning at maximum power. While speculation has been rampant, a source of ours stopped by to verify a few of the recently leaked features. Though we’re still waiting on one bit, we can positively confirm that Google Street View and application rating upon deletion are currently built into… → Read More
While details are still sparse, Digitimes is reporting that Asus is getting set to release their own Android handsets. By word of “company sources”, the company plans to push the handsets into the Taiwan market under its own brand sometime in the first 6 months of next year, later moving on to developing handsets for other parties. While ASUS isn’t a huge name in the handset… → Read More
Who else thinks Blu-ray is doomed? I mean, other than Steve Jobs? ZDNet’s Robin Harris does, and he makes a decent argument. Consider the following: only 4 percent of movie discs sold in the U.S. are Blu-ray discs; these discs often don’t play reliably on your more-than-likely expensive player (as I found out this week); it costs a tremendous amount of money to author Blu-ray discs… → Read More
If instant messaging, and now mobile IM is a commodity market, then UK-based mobile startup Trutap has decided to try and become the aggregator of choice for the mainstream consumer. The TechCrunch40 finalist from 2007 now supports a host of IM protocols, accessible from within a slick Java interface. However it’s in a race with startups like Mig33, Nimbuzz, eBuddy, Palringo and MXit. → Read More
The high intensity light LEDs produce has been found to reduce winkles as much as Botox by a German study. Allegedly, the light removes the sub-surfaces moisture and therefore improving the skins elasticity. LED light bulbs are still kind of pricey to be used around the house, but hopefully someday, just having the bulbs installed will reduce the common housewife’s incessant need for… → Read More
You may not know it, but you probably have an OpenID. If you have a Yahoo account, you have an OpenID. If you have a Windows Live account, you will soon have an OpenID. And today, if you have a Google e-mail account, you can also start using your Gmail address as an OpenID.
By joining the OpenID movement, Google completes the trifecta and adds all of its Gmail users to the hundreds of millions… → Read More
You should all know by now the simple rules of internet etiquette – or “netiquette” as it’s so ROFL-ingly referred to in some circles. One of the first-learned and easiest-to-remember rules is that you mustn’t shout at people unless it’s absolutely warranted. Example One: “DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN BUY DOOM 7 IT CAME OUT I THINK ALREADY BUT I CAN’T FIND IT AT MY LOCAL… → Read More
Today is the public beta launch of Boomerater, a question and answer service that caters specifically to baby boomers, which is a fancy term to describe people aged somewhere between 44 and 62.
The website is basically Yahoo Answers for baby boomers. It does exactly what you’d expect it to do; users can sign up and ask questions, exchange information, ratings and reviews with their demographic… → Read More
Protect and cover up your iPhone 3G’s scratches with these metallic cases from Incase. They come in red, silver, gold, gun metal and copper for only $35. Not to shabby to give your Jesusphone a new look. via Cool Hunting → Read More
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