Simon Spagnoletti - Engadget

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Stories By Simon Spagnoletti

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Computing

Computing By Simon Spagnoletti

Pace's PVR2GO PVP acronym heaven

Determined to move beyond the UK set top box market, Pace has developed its PVR2GO media player. We're not so sure how different it is from a "regular" personal video player, aside from the as-yet unaccomplished goal of tying it in with paid TV content. 5-inch screen, check. 40GB hard drive, check. MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 and MP3, WMA, JPG support, check. USB 2.0, FireWire, headphone ports, check. Seems pretty much the same to us as most of the others. Guess what's really meant by all those acronyms is that they want you to pay them for shows, instead of just downloading them off the internet. It doesn't look too shabby though. And it's not like we'd mind if our cable company threw this in for a few more bucks a month.
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Mobile

Mobile By Simon Spagnoletti

New cellphone towers coming to a neighborhood near you

We're about to get a quite a few more cellphone towers scattered all over the place. An almost-approved deal between cellular industry members and historic preservation representatives would remove a bunch of limits on where cellphone towers are built and what hoops have to be jumped through before they can go up. The cellphone companies are ecstatic of course (they get more towers and can provide more coverage) but we're sure there are groups out there lamenting the rise of yet more ugly transmitters (something or other about them being highly dangerous sources of radiation). We certainly wouldn't relish one plopped down in front of our window. Aren't there enough trees to hide them in?
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Accessories

Accessories By Simon Spagnoletti

BlueDock, removing the "pocket" from PocketPC

Trying to cash in on those not willing buy a proper pocket-sized portable computer like the OQO, the BlueDock is a docking station for various PocketPCs. It's got changeable docking slots, an Ethernet port, USB (doesn't say if it's 2.0 so that probably means not), SVGA 800x600 monitor out, and a SD memory card slot. The idea is that you can ditch your laptop and use your Pocket PC like a regular PC, with a regular monitor, keyboard, and mouse when you're in the office. WHich is all very interesting (maybe even brushing the upper borders of interesting and coming up on nifty), but no matter what trendy colors they use in the name it's hard to see how they're going to convince people to completely eliminate their laptops and use a PocketPC as their "primary computing platform".
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Wearables

Wearables By Simon Spagnoletti

Jawbone redux

Yeah so we know we mentioned this little beauty quite a while ago, but now the first reviews of Aliph's Jawbone cellphone headset are starting to turn up (this thing'll be bestowed upon the rest of us on Wednesday). The Jawbone was designed by Yves Behar, which we didn't know before, and pretty much as we did know before, uses bone conduction and sound processing to reduce background noise, an attribute which has caught DARPA's attention. $150 will get you one of your very own.
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News

News By Simon Spagnoletti

SED TVs are on deck

So before you go out and drop a few grand on that new flat-screen TV we should probably tell you that Toshiba is announcing a new line of high-end (read: really freaking expensive) sets using SED that are due out in '05. SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter) technologies really don't get all that much coverage (so we'll forgive you if you've never heard of this), but basically it's a new display tech that gets you CRT picture quality in a unit that's just several-centimeters thick and has about a third the energy consumption of plasma displays. Start saving up now.
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Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity By Simon Spagnoletti

Hacker's Reward – Target: the Motorola v710

None too happy about the fact that Verizon has deliberately crippled Bluetooth on the Motorola V710, Jonathan A. Zdziarski is offering a bounty to anyone who can successfully hack the phone and restore the OBEX and OPP Bluetooth features which have been disabled. What do these do, you ask? Well, OBEX lets you transfer files between the phone and a computer, while OPP lets you send phonebook entries and other info to another phone or Bluetooth-enabled car (using a Bluetooth headset with the V710 works just fine). Useful features don't you think? The prize is up to $882.72, a sum of money we're hoping will be enough to tempt at least one kindly hacker into getting this done.
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Reviews

Reviews By Simon Spagnoletti

Review of HP's iPaq rx3715 Mobile Media Companion Pocket PC

Breaking away from the corporate image, the HP's is aiming their new iPaq rx3715 Mobile Media Companion squarely at the home user. Besides some cosmetic differences (a new casing and a brand new multimedia-focused welcome screen), and the usual PDA stuff (Bluetooth, 802.11b WiFi, built-in digital camera, an SD card slot), the big deal is that it has special media software for audio, video and streaming, and a more powerful IR blaster so it can double as a universal remote control. Not too shabby, but at $500 it's not quite an impulse buy just yet.
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Science

Science By Simon Spagnoletti

STAAR permanent contact lenses to supplement Lasik

To hear the commercials tell it Lasik surgery can work for anyone. Guess you can't trust advertising, since those with severe myopia are out of luck as far as getting their eyes cut up with lasers is concerned. Now, with the invention of STAAR, a permanent contact lens implant, they too can join the party. The lenses are made of a collagen/polyhema blend and are currently in the last stages of FDA approval. Oh, and if something goes wrong; the lenses can be removed or changed. (Good call on that one.) The process is expected to cost about 20% more than Lasik.
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Accessories

Accessories By Simon Spagnoletti

Time to invest in a new laptop lock

If you're betting on one of those laptop locks to prevent someone from walking off with your precious laptop, you may not be too pleased to find out that that laptop lock you just invested in is no defense. Apparently such extremely high-tech lockbreaking devices such as ballpoint pen barrels, thin pieces of plastic, and cardboard tubes are all a would-be laptop thief needs to pop open several models of locks from Targus, Kensington and Compucage. You may want to hire a full-time security guard.
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Accessories

Accessories By Simon Spagnoletti

Anycom rechargeable Bluetooth laptop mouse

We've always had a soft spot in our hearts for those rechargeable laptop mice from Logitech, but now Anycom has edged in on their game with its new Blue Mini Mouse BTM-100. It's an 800dpi optical Bluetooth mouse that comes with a weird-looking USB clip that recharges the batteries and "allows you to use the BTM-100 like a regular wired mouse while charging." Which sounds an awful lot like the Bluetooth gets switched off, but we're not a hundred percent sure.
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Apps

Apps By Simon Spagnoletti

Free up your computer with IMfree

If you're sick and tired of the kids taking over the family computer to IM their friends all night you can buy $99 worth of sweet relief from Motorola's IMfree. Yes we know, this product has been around for a while but Palmtops.About.com has a review of it and we're pretty sure a good number of people have never heard of it before anyway. Which could be saying something. But we digress. This little handheld device uses the 900 MHz band to hold up to six chat sessions up to 150 feet from the computer (the tester got even better range). Unfortunately, you most probably won't be able to use any other 900 MHz device (like a cordless phone) at the same time, since the IMfree doesn't play well with others. Oh and no backlight, which will prevent the kids from holding late-night secret conversations after you put them to bed.
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Reviews

Reviews By Simon Spagnoletti

Sony VPL-CS7 for work and play

Sony's new projector, the VPL-CS7 is small, light and comes with a bunch of not too shabby features. With 1800 ANSI lumens the picture is bright enough to look good in any light. It's also got a 2.3m focal length, a whole bunch of presets, and password protection. But the best part is really the fact that it's HDTV-ready, so if you can convince your boss to get one make sure he or she likes you enough to let you take it home at night. Won't be easy, since the projector is $1,400, but it's worth a try.
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Computing

Computing By Simon Spagnoletti

AmiNET500 IPTV box

Remember that whole Internet TV thing? Yeah that whole thing really took off didn't it? Nevertheless, Amino Communications's latest go at it is the AmiNET500, an IPTV set-top box with digital video recording functionality and an 80GB hard drive. Of course it's got copyright protection so the terrible TV show thieves will come up empty-handed, but it can stream content to other units. Oh, and to please all the geeks out there, it runs Linux. The AmiNET500 will be available next month, though we don't really see content providers banging the doors down to deliver their shows this way.
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Streaming

Streaming By Simon Spagnoletti

No good deed goes unpunished by the RIAA: Cracking down on time-shifting XM Radio

By now you might have heard about Scott MacLean and all the potential fun he could be having with the XM Radio legal department and the RIAA. See he wrote a little program called TimeTrax that took XM Radio broadcasts and dumped them directly onto his hard drive, neatly cut up into nicely tagged MP3's. Then, figuring that lots of people would love such a useful program, he started selling it. Silly Scotty. Guess he didn't realize that the RIAA frowns on anything that can "permit listeners to transform a broadcast into a music library." Guess they're not such big fans of the record button then. Or the fact that by extension TV lets viewers transform a broadcast into a video library.
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News

News By Simon Spagnoletti

JustChex prevents bum checks

So maybe paying with your cellphone isn't for you. That's ok. No really it is. Just don't go and try to pass off a bad check because JustChex will totally bust you on it. They offer a service called chexmessaging that lets subscribers use text messaging to send the routing and account numbers on a check through a whole bunch of databases which then spits back a simple yes or no answer to whether or not it'll bounce or not. Of course it does mean it'll no longer be safe to engage in the time-honored practice of paying with a check to give yourself a few extra days to come up with the money. Not that we've ever engaged in such behavior.
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Reviews

Reviews By Simon Spagnoletti

Review of Sony Ericsson's GC83 EDGE card

If you absolutely positively have to have your laptop connected to the internet at every possible second and don't mind paying $80 a month for it, then this one's for you. What we have here is a picture-rich review of the Sony Ericsson GC83 PC Card, which'll hook you at a decently fast speed (the reviewer got 176-192 kbps, average is 100-130), sports quite the appealing interface and, best of all, is free (after a rebate which you'll probably either lose or forget to send in). Plus it comes with an aluminum case you could put use to put stuff into.
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Reviews

Reviews By Simon Spagnoletti

Sony Ericsson T237 reviewed

Larry Garfield takes a gander at the entry-level Sony Ericsson T237 and determines that it is, in fact an entry-level phone. But it's a decent entry-level phone, so if you don't feel like spending too much and don't want all those crazy features you could get this one. Or not. We trust you to make your own decisions.
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News

News By Simon Spagnoletti

The revolutionary iUbi personal video player?

So here we have the iUbi, a personal media player coming out soon from another previously unknown company called Rifa. It's got a 3.5-inch touchscreen, a 20GB hard drive and a 3-5 hour battery life. There's all sorts of hype (and by all sorts, we mean by the company making it) about its PDA functionality and add on WiFi-ness and how this sort of hybrid functionality is a new direction (i=internet and Ubi=ubiquitous). And stuff. So if we're reading this right, it's basically a PDA with a hard drive. Ummm...yeah. Good idea? Yes. Worthy of the hype? Eh, no quite yet. But soon perhaps.
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Mobile

Mobile By Simon Spagnoletti

Customer loyalty programs with your cellphone

A company called Vivotech is using the the fact that people don't enjoy carrying a bunch of different customer loyalty cards (or keychain dongles) to push an even more intrusive method of getting ten cents off on paper towels. They're working on using kiosks at the store's entrance (which probably no one will stop at) to send ads, sales and specials to cellphones and PDAs via Bluetooth or IR. How are we supposed to sign up as I.C. Weiner of 123 Anyplace Street if our cellphone is beaming the store all of our demographic information?
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News

News By Simon Spagnoletti

Of dubious health benefit – The Portable Oxygen Bar

Maybe it's just because we've been here in New York for such a long time, but we don't really notice the overall ickiness of the air anymore. Which is not to say it's all nice and fresh, but our lungs seem to have built up some sort of immunity, though not one we're willing to bet our long-term health on. So it is with some interest that we bring to you the Portable Oxygen Bar which is supposed to clean the air around you by "generating negative ion in electron theory." On second thought, maybe we'll just stick to our super-stylish surgeon's mask that we've been rocking Michael Jackson-style.
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Computing

Computing By Simon Spagnoletti

Bluetooth How-To

In the spirit of helping those of lesser geek fortitude, Jon's Guides has put together a pretty exhaustive guide on how to make your PC play nice with pretty much any Bluetooth device you might happen to own (and it seems like he's tested them all). It covers everything from setup to security and even has an advanced section for those who aren't scared of a little jargon. With this you'll finally be able to take full advantage of that phone you smuggled in from Europe. [Via David Smith's Bookmarks]
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Reviews

Reviews By Simon Spagnoletti

Sony's VRP-T5 DVR

Sony's coming out with the VRP-T5, a new 160GB digital video recorder which connects to digital TVs and tuners via i.Link (which is essentially their version of FireWire). It debuts on October 1st, when it will retail for a rather pricey $665, and a has a nice old school computer peripheral styling to it rather than the typical A/V component look that pretty much all other DVRs have. Or maybe someone at Sony realized there were enough generic external hard drives out there and decided to throw in a DVR function to convince people to actually consider buying it.
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Robotics

Robotics By Simon Spagnoletti

Hasta la vista college fund: get your own homemade Terminator bot on eBay

No movie buff's home theater would be complete without this here handmade Terminator sculpture. It looms a menacing six and a half feet high and is made entirely from old car parts. The bids on eBay Europe are up to £3,000 (around $1,800), shipping not included (though we shudder to think how much that's going to set us back). Ominous glowing red eyes, Skynet, and human slaughtering movement are also not part of the deal. Too bad really, since we sorta had this hankering to build our own giant robot army. [Update] so we managed to type 1,000 pounds into our handy online converter, thus coming up with a completely incorrect converted price. the proper price in dollars is about $5,400
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Big Tech

Big Tech By Simon Spagnoletti

Nokia throws down a safety net

In light of the whole Cabir fiasco, Nokia has announced plans to introduce encryption for all sorts of data on their Series 60 and 80 phones. Pointsec Mobile Technologies will help them out in this noble venture to protect email SMS and MMS's, calendar and address book info and memory card info from the prying eyes of nefarious evildoers. This protection will be coming out in the third quarter of this year and will first ship on their 9500 Communicator smartphone.
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Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity By Simon Spagnoletti

Exploiting cellphone viruses

Unscrupulous cellphone dealers in the Phillipines are taking advantage of people's fears about viruses and charging people 500 to 1000 pesos (around 9 to 18 dollars) to remove the Caribe virus from their Series 60 phones. Keep in mind that Caribe isn't much more than a proof of concept virus that does nothing other than use Bluetooth to find other phones to infect. That does slow down the phone a bit, but there's no data loss or snooping or whatever. In fact it's pretty easy to get rid of the virus for yourself with a file manager application so don't get suckered into paying someone else to do it for you.
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Accessories

Accessories By Simon Spagnoletti

Adjustable USB adapters

It's not like it's ever come up before, but we suppose these bendable, twistable USB adapters could come in handy someday. They bend 90 degrees up or down and rotate up to 270 degrees so you can get at those long-forgotten USB ports on the back of your desktop (you know, the ones so covered in dust by now that they're practically unfindable). You get both a regular and mini adapter in the package, though they managed not to say whether they're USB 1.1 or 2.0, which does sorta make a difference. [thanks to all the comments we have arrived at the conclusion that it does not, in fact make a difference]
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Smartphones

Smartphones By Simon Spagnoletti

A new use of cellphones: creating Fashion Victims

<>Inspired by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby's Design Noir, the victims behind Fashion Victims wanted to create clothes and accessories that dealt with the interactions between all the electromagnetic radiation of our gadgets and the "real" world. Notice how cellphone conversations always seem to annoy everyone around the person talking? Your desire to gag that loud-talking-man on the bus is a perfect example. The Fashion Victims people take it a step further, with bags and shirts that get a little more ink-stained with each exposure to cellphone radiation (be sure to check out the video). Given how much people use their cellphones these days it'll probably take about four seconds to get totally stained, so fortunately they can be turned off when they've had enough, though not until we get a visual reminder of our impending sterility. Yay!</>
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