issue
Latest
Optimus keyboard hits OLED snag, production still on track?
The Optimus keyboard has been a long, long time coming, and unfortunately for everyone with the $1,200 $1,490 ready and waiting, you might have to test your patience still. While release date rumors have come in all over the place, the dashing keyboards were slated to ship sometime near the end of this year barring any major production problems, but alas, it looks like the dreaded manufacturing hiccup has reared its ugly head. Apparently, the OLED producer that the Optimus creators were relying on have encountered some "serious financial difficulties" and won't be delivering the displays at all. Thankfully, it looks like the team is moving forward with other production steps anyway, and they plan to retrofit the keyboard cases with the just-in-time OLEDs (to be sourced from a currently unknown supplier) after most of the assembly is already done. So while we're hearing that the pre-order stage is still set for "near April," and the shipping timeframe is still penciled in for December, it could take a Christmas miracle to pull it all together.
SAM gives drivers the skinny on their ailing vehicle
Although Uncle Sam might not have the most pleasant plans in mind for your auto's garage, another form of SAM is most definitely looking out for your ride's well being. SAM, or Smart Auto Management, is a computerized system that is debuting at various Jiffy Lube, Speedemissions, Dekra Emission Check, Kwik Kar Lube & Tune, and gasoline stations around the country to give customers a quick, painless printout of precisely what's ailing their whip. Typical diagnostic procedures require a (usually pricey) trip to the dealership or knowing what all that mumbo jumbo means that comes flowing out of your ODB II reader, but SAM provides step-by-step instructions at each kiosk and prints out problems in laymen terms. So if you own a vehicle produced in 1996 or later, and feel that $15 is well worth knowing why all those lights and buzzers are turning your car into a low-rate K.I.T.T., be sure to hit the read link to find a SAM (hopefully) near you.[Via Gizmag]
Ground control to DirecTV TiVo users: reboot, please
As a good few PC users will tell you, sometimes the only solution is the three fingered salute, and for TiVo users having an array of troubles with your DirecTV service, it seems the answer could be as easy as flipping the power switch. Oddly enough, it seems the list of recent complaints surrounding unexplainable deletions and problems with Season Pass recordings can be remedied with a simple reboot. A DirecTV spokesperson even stated that "a reboot will clean things up and the unit will start recording again," but we've got a sneaking suspicion there's just more to it than that. Nevertheless, that's the word from the higher-ups, so if you're on the verge of a total meltdown due to AV misbehavior, try the trusty restart trick a time or two, and if it still doesn't get things ironed out (read: the likely outcome), at least you now know precisely who to yell at.[Via PVRWire]
Sony begrudgingly promises fix for PS3 720p output issues
Apparently Sony's kicking off an early Thanksgiving break tomorrow, as they seem to be exhausting themselves today in preparation. After breaking the news that PSP Spots are US bound, floating the PSP 3.0 firmware out, and probably dealing with that massive invoice they just received from Thomas Menino and friends, the company is issuing a quasi-promise that the 1080i / 720p output problems plaguing some distraught PS3 owners will be fixed. Interestingly enough, Sony places a slightly unbelievable amount of blame on "antiquated HDTVs," as if having an HDTV that supports 720p is some sort of hidden requirement to operate a PlayStation 3. While we fully understand that most HDTV sets purchased today will indeed play nice with 720p signals, where's the love for folks who snagged those first generations sets produced by yours truly? According to Sony, a fix is on the way, but it doesn't sound like you'll be getting served with a smile.
United Nations "Internet" Summit held sans internet
Do you lose any and all direction in your life if your internet goes down for more than 20 seconds or so? Sadly, the same goes for us, but imagine the hysteria that ensued when participants realized the United Nations "Internet" summit was completely devoid of web access. Amazingly enough, the one conference where free WiFi was all but guaranteed failed to deliver, as the techies working for the "luxury resort hotel on the Athenian Riveria" couldn't iron out the connectivity issues. The hotspot initially presented the dreaded "could not connect to the network" error, and after repeated troubleshooting efforts were completed in vain, conference organizers apparently gave up on ever finding a solution. So, are you rethinking that decision to pick up one of those snazzy 3G ExpressCards yet?
BlackBerry Pearl won't ring in your pocket
Anyone who's had the good fortune of seeing a Pearl in the flesh knows that it's one extraordinarily good looking phone, particularly by BlackBerry standards. Unfortunately, where we come from, phones that don't ring are called "paperweights" -- which is exactly what the Pearl becomes when the trackball gets nudged. You know, like if it's in your pocket, or your purse, or pretty much anywhere besides a stationary counter top. As it turns out, when the phone rings, the handset immediately silences the ringer with even the slightest movement of the trackball, regardless of whether keylock is enabled. While we do appreciate the Pearl taking the initiative for us and ignoring phone calls so we don't have to, there is an occasional situation where we like to make the decision ourselves, and until RIM issues a fix users simply don't have that option. Strangely, two Engadget editors patiently attempted to explain the issue to a RIM representative this week at CTIA for several minutes without success; we think the first step to RIM issuing a fix would be for the company to understand the problem, so we could be in for a bit of a wait. Maybe the words we were using were too big?
'The Fader' magazine issue available free on iTunes
Who says the iTMS is just for music and videos? The Fader is a magazine that is "the definitive voice of emerging music and the lifestyle that surrounds it," and embodying that lifestyle they are: available now, for free, from the iTMS is their July/August 39 page summer spectacular in PDF format covering emerging music and artists. They even provide a non-iTunes RSS feed as well as a direct link to the PDF itself for all y'all who haven't hopped on the iTunes/RSS train yet.How cool is it to see traditional media diving head-first into new distribution outlets like this? I know it isn't quite the first magazine to ever get PDF'd, but it's certainly the first to make it onto the iTMS shelves - and a fitting first, if we may say so.[via MacMinute]
MacBooks packin' heat due to covered up vent?
Anyone who's given a PowerBook, MacBook, or MacBook Pro a good look probably knows how the ventilation system works: two inlets near the front of the computer draw the air in, a big vent grid underneath the screen hinge lets it all out. Ideally. Except Gert Stahl apparently discovered a thin layer of plastic film in his MacBook that prevented airflow, and was causing his machine to overheat; removal promptly caused his fans to shut off and the machine's heat to return to a level more manageable. What's more, apparently there was never any mention made in the manual about the removal of any such film, leading one to believe that this might be unintentional (read: manufacturing error). So, if you've got a MacBook and it's a little toasty, check that gap out for the thin plastic strip -- if you've got the film (or if you don't) then you let us know!Update: Well, it looks like the court of public opinion has ruled on this one... doesn't appear to be the real deal. If you've got a blocked vent, well, you obviously didn't speak up. So for now we're gonna close this case and move on with our damn selves.
"I Hate You, E3," declares Escapist writer
Okay, so maybe not hate completely.The eye-catching title of an essay from the latest installment of The Escapist puts the emphasis on the negative aspect of the love-hate relationship many industry vets have with E3, but there's surprisingly a lot of love for the trade show here, even if you don't subscribe to the hardened "I hate E3 because I love it" theory of convention devotion.While the Joystiq staff hasn't been to quite as many E3s as the founder of the International Game Journalists Association (IGJA), we can certainly empathize with the world-weariness that might accumulate after years of weeklong death- press-marches and working in overcrowded, sensory-overloaded spaces. We just hope our love of the game(s) will stay with us as it has for Mr. Thomas, whether we're watching from home or working the show floor in person in post-apocalyptic L.A. The parties will be sure to be awesome.See also: Joystiq at E3 2006 mega-site The Escapist's big E3 issue this week, with references within to Joystiq's Paris Hilton story and some E3 party pics orig. from Joystiq The Game of Journalism -- the IGJA's official web site
Treo 700w daylight savings time bug?
Nope, this ain't no April Fool's joke, people, this is the real deal: when everybody's clocks skip forward an hour for Daylight Savings Time this year (at 2:00AM on the first Sunday in April -- i.e. early tomorrow morning), your Treo 700w's calendar appointments may not. Like putting your WinMo phone in travel mode to another time zone, apparently a bug in the 700w may cause your appointments to time-shift back one hour -- so your noon appointment will stay put, so to speak, at 11:00AM. Palm's got some workarounds on their site so you shouldn't be too put out, so make sure you sort it out soon before Monday morning when you're an hour early to all your meetings. Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if America would just get rid of DST -- Arizona, Hawaii, and portions of Indiana excepted, of course.[Via TreoCentral]
