BadIdeas
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Multiple Windows 7 versions coming? Say it ain't so!
These pictures supposedly come from a new build of the Windows 7 beta, 7025. It goes without saying that while we knew this was a possibility, we've been seriously wishing against it. We hope these are fake (and they very well could be), but seriously Microsoft... don't even think about this.[Thanks, Pete]
Bag TV debuts multimedia mistake
Hey guys: if you're dating the kind of girl who covets a seriously hideous $700 bag with a useless LCD, you should probably call it off.[Via Red Ferret]
The bacon iPhone sleeve: for discerning eyes only
Are you a classy sort of lady or gent? Looking for something understated and sophisticated to adorn your iPhone that says, 'Hey world, I've got refinement to spare'? You're in luck then, as German artist and rising accessories star Antje has created the bacon iPhone sleeve with which to adorn your precious, high-society gadget. It's the perfect thing to go with your meat iPod case, and your actual meat cellphone. Get them while they last for only €25 (or around $31), you foppish bon vivants![Thanks, Jesse]
The best video game blunders of 2006
Have you been wondering what the biggest screwups in the video game industry were in 2006? Well, you can quit worrying and start reading. This is the sort of stuff we'd like to see covered at things like the Video Game Awards. For an industry that is so good at congratulating itself, they sure don't like to admit their mistakes. So, it's up to someone else to do it for them.Check out this list of the top ten video game blunders, boners, mistakes and gaffes of 2006 from next-gen.biz, and laugh along at some of the highlights from the past year. The Gizmondo story should have totally been number one, though, as Stefan Eriksson has become the official poster-boy for video game idiocy in action after single-handedly killing a company. And a gorgeous Ferrari.[Thanks, Joe]
Philips patent app would force you to watch commercials, both live and recorded
In a move that would surely delight advertisers but enrage consumers, Philips is trying to patent a method for flagging digital TV content to not only prevent viewers from changing the channel during commercials in live broadcasts, but to actually lock out fast-forwarding capabilities during ads in recorded programs as well. Even worse, the patent specifically applies to the already widely-deployed Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) middleware system standard, meaning that many Europeans' current TVs would be susceptible to these Orwellian controls. Since the US version of this platform, OCAP, is largely based on the MHP architecture, it's not a stretch to imagine such flagging being applied to American sets as well. Although we're certain that a workaround would be developed if Philips' evil plan ever actually materializes, just the thought of our DVRs going impotent is enough to fill us with fear and trepidation.Update 1: Reader Paul B, who also happened to chair the group that wrote the MHP PVR specification, writes to inform us that "there is no such flag as standard in the spec. Philips could add one as a Philips-specific flag but it wouldn't apply to the other manufacturers. Secondly, as currently specificed there is no way for an MHP application to take control of the channel switching function, so changing channels always works." There you have it folks; it seems that all your MHP-equipped gear is safe -- for now.Update 2: Royal Philips Electronics, ever mindful of their Engadget-reading customers, had this to say in a note to us: "(Philips) filed a patent application, as yet not granted, that enables watching a television movie without advertising. However, some people do want to see the ads. So, we developed a system where the viewer can choose, at the beginning of a movie, to either watch the movie without ads, or watch the movie with ads. It is up to the viewer to take this decision, and up to the broadcaster to offer the various services. Philips never had the intention to force viewers to watch ads against their will and does not use this technology in any current Philips products, nor do we have any plans to do so."[Via New Scientist]
