Ross Miller
Articles by Ross Miller
Chrome for a Cause results tabulated: good will all around (but mostly for vaccinations)
Did you join in Chrome for a Cause? The $1 million tab-heavy campaign has come and gone (with a 250 tab per day maximum, much to our click-frenzied dismay), and Google's tallied up the final scores. Of the nearly 60.6 million tabs "donated", 16.2m went for vaccinations, 14.8m tabs for trees, 14.1m for water... 8.6m for books and 6.8m for shelter. Bit of an interesting disparity, there. Were those two not as well presented in the contribution menu? Did the return (0.4 square feet per day at most) not seem as great as the number of trees you could plant? Google eBooks? It's all still a good chunk of change for each of the five partnering charities. Full breakdown at the Chrome blog -- and don't deactivate that extension if you want to maximize your Reddit addiction for the next charitable go-around.
Skype outage causing a global disconnect? (update)
We've heard your cries, we've read your tips, and we've even suffered a similar fate ourselves... Skype downtime. According to the official Twitter feed, its engineers are working non-stop. Estimated time of recovery? Nein. Let us know if you're having (Skype-related) issues of your own! Update: Looks like things are starting to return to normal, and Skype's got a new blog post providing some background for today's mishap. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
OpenVizsla USB sniffer meets its funding goal, and then some
It's not iPad nano watch money -- seriously, what is? -- but with hours to go before the final bell, USB sniffer OpenVizsla has exceeded its initial funding goal by more than 400 percent. That's over $70,000 as of this writing, with about 510 backers including Stephen Fry, who was pretty vocal about his support (that must help). If you'll recall, the project -- from iPhone dev team and Twiizers virtuosos pytey and bushing -- aims to make a cheap USB analyzer that can help decode proprietary devices, the popular anecdote being it's the same concept used in the Kinect hack how-to. It's not too late to pledge, of course, and doing so will get you some special goodies. Need more convincing? We're gonna embed Alma the dog's video debut after the break.
Panasonic's Sanyo and PEW buyout official: subsidiaries for life
Congratulations, Panasonic, you're now the adoptive father of two companies, Sanyo and Panasonic Electric Works. We know, the plan's been all but confirmed since July, but it's nice to see the deal go through and all the necessary paperwork signed. Both now-wholly-owned subsidiaries (through a share exchange that commenced today) are scheduled to be de-listed from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on March 29th, 2011, and after that... well, independence was fun while it lasted, eh chaps?
'Trilobite' compound eye puts a Paleozoic spin on mobile camera design
Extinct marine arthropods make for great design references -- just ask Andreas Brückner. The Fraunhofer Institute of Applied Optics and Precision Engineering researcher has taken a cue from the trilobite in creating a 1.4mm thin "cluster eye" camera to take 221 images at 39 pixels per side to form a 700 x 550 (0.38 megapixel) composite. At this point, it's also capable of recording 13 frames per second for video, and with a size like that, if they can bump up the specs it could pave way for smaller camera components in mobile phones. Not anytime soon, of course, as it's still in the research state (and it's just one of many camera research projects out there). The next step for Brückner and company is shrinking the aforementioned design to 1mm thin (and up the video to 30fps), as well as 1.5mm variant with one megapixel resolution.
Microsoft to announce ARM-based Windows at CES?
We know Windows CE jibes with ARM-based architecture, but full-blown Windows? Looks like everyone and their respective mothers today -- to be specific, Bloomberg, AllThingsD, and the Wall Street Journal -- are reporting "sources" that claim Microsoft is set to announce Windows compatibility with ARM chips, which currently rule the roost in the mobile and embedded scenes, and more importantly dominate the tablet market. So yeah, we get the need for such a merge, and it'd really put Microsoft in a smart position for lower-power devices, but here's the catch: the products aren't expected for some time -- two years according to WSJ -- as drivers need to be written for the hardware. Then again, this may all be for nothing. Cue another well-connected Microsoft reporter, ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, who has a decidedly tamer prediction: a new Windows CE / Embedded Contact -- you'll remember we saw it running on a Tegra 2 tablet back at Computex -- and maybe ARM support for Windows 8 (or Windows 8 "Lite"). In other words, no one has a clear, 100 percent idea of what to expect in January, so as we say, just stay tuned. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Verizon FiOS Mobile app hits iPad, a virtual remote with no streaming in sight
You know that Verizon FiOS iPad app we spied back in August, the one that streamed TV and VOD content? Nope, still not here -- check back 2011. Want to use your Apple slate as a giant remote for your (HD) set-top box, browsing TV / VOD listings and remotely programming DVRs? Set parental controls and bookmarks, even update your STB names? Look no further than the iTunes store; all it's gonna cost you is 3MB of space.
Josh is on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight! It's a holiday miracle!
Killer flying robots? No, not this time. Our fearless leader is back once again in Jimmy Fallon's guest chair, this time with a bunch of new holiday gear at his disposal. Other guests include Jason Segel (Gulliver's Travels), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), and Dr. Elmo himself performs "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer." All the madness starts at 12:37AM tonight care of your local NBC affiliate... oh, and speaking of robots, don't forget to check out this week's Engadget Show while you wait.
Google body browser now getting down and you know it's crush grooving
We got a brief glimpse of Google's body browser at the Chrome event earlier this month, and wouldn't ya know it, the violation of privacy simulator / learning tool is hanging out in Google labs. A browser with WebGL support is required, which means Firefox 4 and Chrome 9 betas (or Chrome 8 if you enable it in the "about:flags" menu). The visualization options are interesting and the search tool works like a charm, so... why not? Exactly.
LG commits to major smartphone, tablet, and smart TV investments for New Year's resolution
LG's set aside quite a big chunk of change -- 21 trillion won (about $18 billion) -- for investments next year, almost 12 percent higher than its 2010 allowance. And a good chunk of that, 14.2 trillion won, is going to electronics: smartphones, tablets, advanced TVs and components for 3DTVs, according to the Wall Street Journal. (The rest, if you're curious, is going into medical products, electric vehicle batteries, and an assortment of other businesses.) True, LG's position in the smartphone market isn't quite what it wanted -- its now-former CEO Nam Yong claimed responsibility and retired in September -- but we'd be lying if we said we haven't been smitten with its Optimus lineup of Android handsets lately, and already we've seen some impressive future devices. Now, those tablet investments... figure out an OS yet? Can we make suggestions?
News Corp's 'The Daily' pub to hit iPad in January?
We heard News Corp's "iPad newspaper" The Daily was on track for release in early 2011, but AllThingsD is hearing something more specific -- week of January 17th, in fact, with the caveat that the launch plans have "moved around a couple of times in the past few months." From what we've gathered previously, The Daily will be published daily (surprise, surprise) and cost 99 cents per week (about $4.25 per month) and might leverage a new App Store subscription payment system that could be announced at an Apple event. So... nothing definitive, really. Got that? Good.
HTC HD7 gets its .bins all in a tizzy, custom ROMs up next?
What do you get when you cross an HTC HD7 with a Mondrian ROM? Or a Schubert ROM? ('Elephino... wait, that's not right.) Nothing too crazy, we imagine, but in doing so, xda-developers patron ansar.ath.gr has provided a proof of concept that custom ROMs can be implemented on Windows Phone 7 devices. In more technical terms, "this proves that the imgfs.bin can be used from any branded device to any other branded device." It's okay, you don't have to know what an imgfs.bin is, but if you're the sort who likes to tweak phones well beyond what's in the settings menu / user manual, just be patient and know there's at least a few brilliant coders who'll capitalize on this freshly laid groundwork.
Keepin' it real fake: iPhone 5 provides foresight to a falsified future (video)
Of course you knew this was coming, you probably just didn't expect it so soon. If Apple keeps up with its usual schedule, we don't expect an iPhone 4 successor to rear its head until summer 2011, but already some KIRF scientists are making forward-looking projections and produced what it thinks might be the KIRF iPhone to go tête-à-tête with the presumed iPhone 5. Resolution's apparently low, but it does its best to make up for it with dual SIM capabilities, WiFi, Bluetooth, a microSD slot, built-in camera with flash, an all-too familiar UI -- all at a price guaranteed to assuage regret: about 700 yuan (US $106). The future is now, why wait? Video after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple secrets leaked early by inside traders, arrests reveal
We don't normally cover the "business crime" beat, but there's a pretty interesting gadget angle here. As part of a larger crack down on insider trading, three technology executives and a "salesman for an 'expert network'" have been arrested for leaking confidential tips to hedge funds. What sort of secrets, you ask? A certain executive for Flextronics, Walter Shimoon, happened to pass on information concerning an iPhone update and the iPad well before they became official (Flextronics supplied Apple parts). "At Apple you can get fired for saying K48 ... outside of a, you know, outside of a meeting that doesn't have K48 people in it. That's how crazy they are about it," he said during an October 2009 phone call intercepted by authorities, where K48 was the codename for the iPad, which didn't see the light of day until 2010 (we're assuming here that's not all he said). The others arrested hail from AMD (leaking financial details) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and a fifth person already pled guilty (a former Dell global supply manager). Remember, kids, crime doesn't pay.
Nexus S torn asunder, its curves laid out on display
You've already seen ninjas take on the Nexus S box, now see the device laid out component-by-component, thrashed by some sick and twisted individual. Nothing too crazy to see here, except perhaps the awesome curves of the front display laid out (another shot after the break). It's interesting to note that only the front panel is actually curved -- "the rest of the components are flat as a board, just as any other phone on the market." Hope that doesn't ruin any dreams you might've had. Check out the Full Monty over at iFixit.
Unboxing Ninjas kick back the fourth wall for the Nexus S
When is a YouTube video not a YouTube video? Every so often, a promotion pops up on the site that thinks outside the box, so to speak. In honor of the Nexus S (i.e. the best Android phone out there until the next best Android phone comes out), Google's re-teamed with Patrick Boivin and his ragtag group of tiny ninjas -- previously seen showing real unboxing power on a Nexus One package. We don't want to spoil the fun, so just click through and enjoy... and after all is said and done, keep an eye out for the nunchuks. Trust us.
Early Venue Pro adopters get free Bluetooth headsets, the infinitely rewarding lesson of patience
Still bummed to be waiting for your Venue Pro? Dell's amended its December 14th shipping update -- henceforth known as (this time only, and then never again) as "VP Day" -- to let yearning customers know that, if they had ordered the device before that day, a present was coming in due course. Nay, not a present, a Thank You in the form of a free Plantronics Explorer 240 Bluetooth headset. That's shipping in four to six weeks, excusing any ironic bouts of delay of its own. Let's just hope it doesn't beat your Windows Phone 7 device to the doorstep. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Android Dreamcast emulator nullDCe gets early video preview, still a work in progress
Never underestimate the power of Dreamcast to live on long past its intended expiration date (which, if you ask Sega, would have been around September 2007). The final flagship console from the Haus of Sonic is survived by a multitude of emulators propagating across a multitude of platforms... and well, here's another. Drk||Raziel has posted some videos showcasing the work in progress of nullDCe for Android (on what we make out to be a AT&T Samsung Captivate). The footage ranges from buggy (Soul Calibur) to pretty smooth (Crazy Taxi), but again, no one's calling this a finished product. See it for yourself after the break.
HTC's Peter Chou says LTE handsets are coming next year, and the world keeps on spinning
Stop us if you've heard this one before, but a very popular handset maker will be introducing smartphones that incorporate the latest wireless technology at some point in the upcoming year. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Now let's add the key words: HTC, LTE, and 2011. Here's CEO Peter Chou from a recent Mobile World Live video interview: Q: When does HTC plan to launch an LTE device, and which markets do you think will be the early adopters of that device? A: We are working on LTE device for next year, 2011, we think the US mobile operator will be taking some leading and pushing the LTE 4G in the US market, but however, we are seeing the rest of world will be deploying LTE network elsewhere in 2011. Could be second half of 2011. Our money's on the Mecha / Incredible HD for the US, along with probably a dozen other phones of various sizes and form factors. And we don't really know the details of its global plans. But hey, it happens -- call us when Chou spills the beans on 5G technology and holographic displays.
Creative ZiiEagle Movie Box promises 3,000 years of Chinese culture in one sleek burgundy package
So just what is the Creative ZiiEagle Movie Box? What exactly do you get from this? Here's what we've gathered: A set-top box featuring 668 movies from Celestial's Shaw Brothers Film Collection. "3,000 years of Chinese culture and secrets of the much elusive 'Confucian thing.'" A price tag -- 888 Singapore dollars ($676 in US currency) -- that "solves the perennial video piracy problem in one stroke." The reason for that awesome picture above to exist. Singapore, consider yourself enlightened, and consider your days of video piracy officially numbered.