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An AI camera failed to capture the magic of CES
Relonch wanted me to fall in love with photography again this CES. But its camera is so radically different from everything I've used before that I struggled to put my faith in its promise. The company is based in Palo Alto, California, and its pitch is simple, if very Silicon Valley: a camera as a service. You hand in your old shooter (yes, really) and in return you get the 291, a unique, leather-bound DLSR-shaped camera. It has an APS-C sensor; a fixed, 45mm-equivalent lens; an electronic viewfinder; a shutter key; and, importantly, a 4G radio inside. The 291 uses that radio to send raw files to Relonch's servers. Once they're there, AI scans through your shots and picks the best ones. To do this, it identifies the individual elements in the photos using computer vision and judges your composition. It'll then process the raws, individually lighting and coloring elements before applying its own crop and sending them back as JPEGs. You receive a batch of photos each morning, which is key to Relonch's business model. The idea is you choose the photos you love as part of your morning ritual, which reminds you to take your camera out again and keep snapping. The 291 itself is free. The photos are sent to you as small, watermarked files, and you have the option to keep them, which grants access to the full-size file (as large as 20 megapixels, depending on how the AI has decided to crop it). Each photo you keep costs $1, and you start your account with the market value of the camera you handed in as credit. Oh, and if you decide you want to pick a photo at a later date, you can always go back and buy it. Likewise, if you don't like the 291, you can hand it back in exchange for your old camera. That financial proposition is what intrigues me most. Over the past five years I've spent $3,000 or so on various cameras and lenses. I've probably processed and kept maybe 300 photos, outside of work. (Of course, there are another 30,000 or so that are gathering digital dust on various SD cards and hard drives.)
HTC One X gets unofficial power management fix, boosts battery life 10 to 20 percent
Somewhere along mike1986's development of Android Revolution HD, a custom ROM for the HTC One X, he found that something amiss with the smartphone's stock system -- its Tegra 3 power management software didn't function properly. According to the developer, an app known as NvCPLSvc.apk was misplaced in the /system/bin folder, rather than its proper destination of /system/app. Along with the custom ROM, mike1986 has released the fix as a separate bundle, which is detailed in the source below. To apply the patch, users must push the new APK to their handset via ADB, and then alter the file's permissions. Unless you're seriously hindered by your phone's battery life, however, it seems safe to wait for an official update from HTC. On the upside, users report an battery life increase in the neighborhood of 10 to 20 percent once with the fix in place, and we can only hope that all users will soon benefit from similar gains.[Thanks, Nitin]
Motorola recognizes, investigates Atrix 4G voice quality issues (update)
Experiencing voice quality woes with your otherwise delightful Atrix 4G? You aren't alone, buster. In fact, the issue has become so prevalent and widespread that Motorola itself has taken notice, with one of its forum managers creating a sticky to confirm that the company is looking into things. As of now, there's no clear indication of why the problem is emerging, but the positive news is that you aren't actually losing your hearing -- it's a legitimate quandary, and if you'd care to help Motorola fix it, you can visit that source link to tell your story. Till then, we hear local phone providers are offering unbeatable deals on landline connections. Update: Motorola pinged us with an official response. Check it out after the break. [Thanks, Kyle]
PS3 firmware 3.41 updated, hard drive upgrade problems exterminated
Sony has rolled out an update to the update, which fixes a major flaw found in version 3.41 of the PS3's firmware. An unintended consequence of the patch was that industrious hard drive upgraders found themselves staring at a disquieting error message when swapping out storage units, but Sony has acted swiftly and the very latest data update does not suffer from the issue. It's somewhat unhelpful that the upgrade-friendly firmware is still called 3.41, but we prefer companies that follow the "fix first, pick names later" methodology anyway.
MMFixed's Magic Mouse fix hands-on, literally
Apple haters, cherish the moment while you can. The Magic Mouse's odd ergonomics aren't exactly everyone's cup of tea -- including some of us at Engadget -- so we were more than a bit stoked when our silicone lump from MMFixed arrived in post today. Installation was straight-forward and mess-free thanks to the small suction pad underneath, and despite the fairly strong attachment, we were able to easily slide or rotate the soft cushion on the mouse for adjustments. We've had no problems with multitouch input thus far, and the old wristache-after-prolonged-usage seems to now be a thing of the past. So yeah -- it's safe to say that this squidgy fix was well worth the $10 investment (although it has gone up to $12 now, which is hardly the end of the world). You could say that it's rather silly to fix something that's supposedly magical, but we suppose even the best tricks could stand to be improved.%Gallery-90388%
Make your Magic Mouse oh-so-ergonomic with this pasty silicone grip
While it's hard to say if Apple's Magic Mouse really needs "fixing" -- it depends somewhat on your grip -- it's not a huge stretch to say that the slender multitouch device doesn't quite fit in the palm of one's hand. Sensing a market opportunity, Will of MMFixed.com recently decided to come to our collective rescue. For $10, he offers a simple silicone block that matches the mouse's contoured surface nicely, with an integrated suction cup that keeps it securely fastened. While it's not quite a one-size-fits-all solution, it's certainly a lot cheaper than buying one of the new whacky, adjustable mice we've seen recently; and if the idea of ergonomics via marshmallow doesn't appeal to you, you can always try the white bread variety. Video after the break.
Issues with the realm first achievements
Apparently there have been some mistakes made in the realm-first achievements being given out. You've probably seen these (Blizzard apparently broadcasts them across the realms) -- when someone hits level 80 or finishes a profession first, they attain a feat of strength achievement. They don't get the original titles, but they do get credit for getting their first.But on a few realms, Blizzard ended up giving some of the awards to multiple players, resulting in the ingame mail you see above. We're not sure if it's because they all hit within a certain time period, or whether Blizzard's servers weren't working correctly, but as you can see, they say the issue is fixed for now. If you did rush to be the first on a server, you can be satisfied that you're the only one.Thanks, Penny!
International Space Station's lavatory gets repaired, another saga ends
We can't say we're terribly saddened that this riveting caper has finally ended -- after all, the poor crew needs a reliable place to unload, right? Shortly after the space shuttle Discovery delivered a new pump for the jury-rigged commode, Oleg Kononenko -- who we hear is now widely regarded as a galactic hero -- spent around two hours installing the hardware and running a trio of tests. After everything was tightened up and functioning as advertised, the crew presumably relieved themselves just before carrying on with the installation of the recently acquired Kibo lab. Crisis averted.
International Space Station's commode gets fixed
It's amazing how quickly humans can remedy problems when really placed in a bind, and rather than waiting for supplies to come up with Discovery next week, crew members aboard the International Space Station were able to solve their little dilemma already. Reportedly, cosmonauts were able to cure whatever was ailing the temporarily non-functioning john, enabling those stuck in space to urinate freely. Thankfully, the seven-year old toilet is due to be replaced with a fresh new one this Fall, and we'd say the replacement couldn't arrive soon enough.
Panasonic issues firmware update for DMP-BD30
By our count, Panasonic's DMP-BD30 wasn't a half bad Blu-ray player from day one, but apparently, it just got a whole lot better. Effectively immediately, owners can surf on over to the firm's website and grab hold of the v1.6 firmware, which promises to fix the LFE audio issue that some were experiencing. Additionally, Panny informs us that BD-V (PiP) playability and HDMI compatibility are also improved upon, but no further details are given. Anxious to update? Head on down to the read link to get your download on, and stop on by the via to see how others have fared.[Via AVSForum, thanks Brian L.]
