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Rhea Jeong's Void LP player concept cheats at gravity
Designer Rhea Jeong's Void LP player seems devoid of reality, but it was inspired by the very real and very cute "Vinyl Killer," a little VW Bus that can propel itself around a record and play the tunes with its tinny speaker, naturally wearing out the precious LP in the process. The Void LP takes the concept of a self-sufficient speaker, amp and needle (the red ball), and then tosses them all into the air with a magnetic saucer. We're sure it sounds terrible, and it seems a little fantastical, but one thing's for certain: we want.[Via The Rock and Roll Star]
Fuel sets Guinness record as biggest console game ever
Codemasters' Fuel is big, and while some may argue that size doesn't matter, they're probably just jealous of the open-world racer's immense girth. In fact, the upcoming off-road racing game was recently crowned by Guinness World Records for having the largest playable environment in a console game ever with 5,560 square miles of accessible in-game terrain. To help us wrap our heads around how big that is, the Codies say that's larger than Hong Kong, Singapore, St Lucia and the Isle of Man put together. Let's just hope developer Asobo (pictured) remembers to fill all that space with enough to do, else it's going to be a very long and boring ride. Are we there yet? %Gallery-45506%
California girl claims to have burned through over 300,000 texts in a single month
A 217,000-message record attempt nearly cost one dude $26 grand, which probably would've really bummed him out had he realized that the record attempt was going to be shattered -- seemingly -- just a few weeks later. A California teenager by the name of Crystal Wiski has apparently sent and received a mind-numbing 303,398 texts in a single month on an iPhone, and the most amazing thing about it is that she doesn't seem to have been gunning for a record on purpose. Her reason? "I am popular, I can't help it." It's not totally clear to us how 300,000-plus texts is biologically or technologically possible for a human / iPhone combination, especially without sending meaningless, one-letter texts to random contacts -- but then again, teenagers do strange, amazing things. Live the dream, Crystal.[Via CNET]
Steve Wiebe sets Donkey Kong Jr. world record
Steve Wiebe, the lovable protagonist from the documentary The King of Kong, recently became too impatient to wait until E3 to crush a classic gaming high score. Twin Galaxies, the unofficial scorekeepers of global gaming records recently announced that Wiebe had set a new high score of 1,139,800 for Donkey Kong Jr., surpassing the previous record of 1,033,000 set by Ike Hall. Meanwhile, our high score on Donkey Kong Jr. Math goes untouched, as it has remained for nearly two decades. Bring it on, teacher man.
T-Mobile forgets the "un" in "unlimited," accidentally sticks texting record attempt with $26K bill
Most buddies like to while away the hours by, say, fishing down by the docks; maybe catch the game and put down a few brewskis. You know, standard-issue stuff. On the opposite end of the spectrum are Nick Andes and Doug Klinger -- 29 and 30, respectively -- who decided that they'd try to shatter the one-month texting record by exchanging a whopping 217,000 messages, most of which were apparently meaningless garbage like "LOL" and "hello" (why they weren't able to maintain a deep, emotionally healthy conversation for the duration of 216,000 consecutive 160-character communiques is beyond us). Both men figured they were golden since they'd added unlimited texting plans to their accounts, so imagine Andes' surprise when he received a bill in a box -- complete with $27.55 in postage -- on his doorstep. Inside he found a grand total charge of $26 grand -- and while we totally think that a Guinness record is worth $26 grand, you can imagine that a couple Joe Sixpacks from Philly had never intended to blow five figures on a bunch of "LOLs" exchanged during lunch breaks. All's well that ends well, though, and T-Mobile credited the account and is investigating how it happened; let's just hope that record gets certified now, eh?
Steam-powered vehicle looks to scald world record
Sheesh -- what is it with UKers and their stupidly fast alternatively powered vehicles? Just days after Britain's own Richard Jenkins set a new world record by going 126MPH in a wind-powered vehicle, Charles Burnett III is gearing up to smash a record of his own in the contraption pictured above. Hailed as the planet's fastest kettle, this steam-powered automobile is currently being shipped to Southern California in order to blister the Mojave Desert and hopefully obliterate the current record of 127.659MPH. For the historians in the crowd, we needn't tell you that said record was set way back in 1906 by American Fred Marriott, but we won't be surprised in the least to see this honor head across the pond in late June. Lots more images and nitty-gritty details are positioned in the read link.[Thanks, Robert]
Survey shows increasing preference for MP3 by youngsters, audiophiles weep
We can already envision the flame fest on this one, so we'll just cut to the chase. Jonathan Berger, professor of music at Stanford, has been conducting some pretty interesting tests on incoming students, and he's been recording results that'll surely make audiophiles cringe. He has been asking his students to listen to tracks in MP3 format as well as in formats of much higher quality, all while asking them to select the one they like best; increasingly, youngsters have been choosing the sizzling, tinny sounds of MP3 over more pure representations. The reasoning may have more to do with psychology that audiology, as many conclude that generations simply prefer what they're used to. Ever known someone to swear that vinyl sounds best, pops and all? So yeah, what we've really learned is that MP3 is more of an "acquired taste," but those still attempting to build their SACD collection should be genuinely afraid of the future.[Via techdirt, image courtesy of iasos]
Netflix breaks the 10 million subscriber mark, keeps on truckin'
We can't say the economic crisis has been too kind to every industry, but it's been a best friend to Netflix. As consumers divert their out-on-the-town dollars to sit-on-my-arse-and-watch-Netflix dollars, the by-mail and streaming movie rental company is just breaking records left and right. After closing a stellar 2008 with 9.4 million customers, the company has today announced that the 10 million mark has been crossed. For those struggling with basic math, that means that it has added 600,000 net subscribers since January 1st. So, where does Netflix go from here? Into every nook and cranny it can, of course, so don't be shocked to see Watch Instantly creep onto your next HDTV, set-top-box, Blu-ray player or portable microwave. Seriously, it could happen.
NYT: Music execs operate 'in fear of Apple'
In today's New York Times, Tim Arango tells a story of a heated conversation between Sony Music's Rolf Schmidt-Holtz and Steve Jobs on Christmas Eve -- one that "ricocheted around the music industry." Apparently, before the announcement at Macworld, all the labels except Sony had agreed to a new pricing deal. Sony wanted the new pricing to take effect immediately after the announcement, but Jobs wanted a longer rollout. After the phone call, according to the Times, Sony agreed to the longer waiting period. During this time, Jobs was allegedly on medical leave, recuperating at home from his much-publicized illness. Arango notes that Jobs' point-man on music industry relations, Eddie Cue, and Apple's entire staff "do their best to follow Mr. Jobs's style in their own negotiating." That is to say: Hardball. Music executives, according to an unnamed source, are afraid of angering Apple, as Apple can single-handedly remove a label's catalog from the iTunes store, angering the label's customers. At the same time, Apple can claim that their hands were tied, the decision wasn't theirs, and that all the ire should be directed at the music industry. Such a thing hasn't happened -- yet -- but the threat is there, and real. The labels, on the other hand, feel like they brought Apple back from the dead, blessing the company with content. Even so, David Card of Forrester Research offered an interesting coda to the story: "if it weren't for Apple, God knows how bad the music industry would be," he said. [Via 9-to-5 Mac.]
One million Wiis sold in Australia, Club Nintendo faring less well
According to market research bods at GfK, the number of Wii owners in Australia just reached the big one-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, 111 weeks after the platform's launch.That's a new record for fastest-selling hardware in Oz -- previously, the DS shifted a million units over its opening 152 weeks. The handheld was never going to compete with its bigger brother, however: the sale of 685,000 Wiis during 2008 made sure of that.Oh, and hey, while we're at Nintendo of Australia's site, let's check out the progress on the local Club Nintendo! Oh, look at that: it's still not functional. Color us not amazed in the slightest.[Via PALGN]
EVE Online sets new record with over 45,000 players logged in
The new year has already brought with it a new milestone for EVE Online, which has now broken all previous records for players active at a given time in its setting of New Eden -- over 45,000. This is a substantial achievement for a game where the setting is one single server, representing a vast galaxy of over 5000 solar systems to explore or control. CCP Manifest writes: "What a great way to start out 2009 -- a new PCU (Peak Concurrent User) record of 45,186! While we've made tremendous serverside changes in the EVE Online infrastructure with the EVE64 and StacklessIO initiatives, it is truly a testament to our loyal fans that 5 years into EVE's existence we are still breaking records and more people are flying in New Eden than ever before. We know we'll be trying to find leftover champagne from New Year's EVE to celebrate. When we do, we'll toast to you!"
Samsung attempts to set world record for fastest texting while skydiving
We're not sure if this is meant to prove that texting on Samsung's line of handsets is remarkably quick or if the ten individuals selected to text quickly whilst skydiving are just amazing multitaskers, but either way, the exercise has been executed. Samsung Mobile rounded up ten skydivers and equipped them with a Propel, Alias, Gravity, Rant or Messager in an attempt to set the "Guinness World Record for fastest test messaging while skydiving." The crew took a total of two jumps and landed safely each time, and now the Guinness team is breaking down the video to see if an award is in order. Check the read link for more images and a vid, but don't bother looking for an application to get on the 2009 team.
The Dark Knight shatters sales record, moves 600,000 Blu-ray Discs on day one
The numbers are in, and they're big. Just as predicted, Warner Brothers' The Dark Knight was a huge day-one success, with consumers in the US, Canada and UK snapping up three million copies during the first 24 hours (give or take a few) that it was on sale. More germane to our conversation, however, is this 600,000 figure, which tells exactly how many Blu-ray Discs were sold. We already know that around one-sixth of those were moved in the UK, leaving us to determine that North America did some serious shopping. The studio has now projected it to sell one million BDs by Saturday, and curiously enough, current sales have been "especially strong at grocery stores, indicating that the format is broadening beyond early adopters to more mainstream buyers, notably women." Needless to say, this title took down Iron Man's record of moving 250,000 BDs on day one, which just ratchets up the bar for the next big one to take down.[Thanks, Geoff]
No new HDTV size record to be shattered at CES 2009
For awhile there, it seemed like companies were coming out of the woodwork to showcase the newest "world's largest HDTV" at CES. Now that we've hit the 150-inch point, though, analysts aren't expecting anything to one-up that at next year's show. In an interview with Panasonic Professional Display's Andrew Nelkin, he confessed that he saw 150-inches as a "natural stopping point." For starters, it's big enough for most commercial applications, and moreover, anything larger becomes nearly impossible to install in a single piece. He even felt that the 150-inch ceiling may remain intact for years to come, but maybe he's just masking the development work on a bigger set that's already on a boat headed for Vegas.
Dark Knight Blu-ray set to break shipping records, sales records next?
Hopefully Iron Man isn't getting too cozy in the #1 Blu-ray spot, with over a million copies of The Dark Knight headed to store shelves on December 9. Iron Man set a first week mark of over 500,000 sold on an unknown quantity shipped, but it's probably a bigger question whether Warner can keep it's BD-Live servers working than whether it can take the top spot. VideoBusiness points out the old days of March '07 when Casino Royale shipped 100,000 units, or 300's 250k combined high definition disc launch last year. Number watchers will also be keeping an eye out for Blu-ray's share of first week sales; last year Transformers set records with 190,000 HD DVDs compared to 8.3 million DVDs, with Iron Man averaging around 10% how many will chose Batman the way it was meant to be seen?
VoiceNotes vs. iDicto vs. Recorder vs. Record
Four audio recording apps? Sure, why not? Voice note apps make a lot of sense if you are the type of on-the-go person fond of talking to yourself. Luckily there are plenty of choices, and I'll break down the functionality of four that I've been monkeying around with. Each app records from the iPhone mic (and I'm sure they record on the new iPod touches, but I don't have one for testing), each app allows some method to send the resulting audio files to your desktop machine, and each app offers some method for managing the recordings. As you'll see, none are perfect, but each may be suited to a particular type of user. To record the samples I used the same text, read into the built-in iPhone (1st gen) microphone. The apps above, from left to right: VoiceNotes, iDicto, Recorder and Record.RecorderCost: $.99Recording:This was one of the first apps I purchased, and it was an early entry on the store. When you start Recorder you'll see a large red rectangle that allows you to quickly start recording. The large button is easy to hit with one hand, and on-screen meters give you a sense of how strong your recording is. Each recording is automatically named with "Memo" plus a number, similar to how screenshots work on your Mac. Playback:Recordings aren't great quality, but they are on par with every other app I tested: you won't be bootlegging concerts, but you can clearly hear yourself, even on the iPhone's speakers. A simple playback bar appears when you start playing the audio (just above the Record button), making it easy to move around in the audio sample.Sync:WiFi sync uses a browser upload model, similar to iDicto. A nice, big screen appears with a URL you type into your browser. Once you type that in you get a simple interface to download each recording. Those recordings go wherever you've got downloads set to go. You may also email recordings, but as all these apps point out, that's tricky. Apple doesn't really allow attachments, and file size limits would bog this down. I show how it works in the gallery: you are sent a URL in email where the file really lives. Files are saved as AIFF, which is a plus.Bottom line:Out of all the apps I tested so far, I think Recorder provides the best value overall. Super simple interface, best sync method, and the quality of recordings was on par with the rest. At $.99 it is priced to move, and should suit most needs.That said, each of the other apps may have something you're looking for, so read on...%Gallery-35132%The gallery walks you through almost every screen in every app plus the desktop sync side.
SureWest nets 100,000 broadband customers, gives two some freebies
SureWest just recently lit up its 100Mbps high-speed internet service in Kansas City, and apparently, people really dug it. As of this week, the telco has managed to secure 100,000 broadband customers in its two major markets of Kansas City and Sacramento. In order to celebrate, it chose one subscriber at random from each of those regions and gave them free HDTV, digital phone and broadband internet for a year. Unlike Charter, however, we actually expect these guys to deliver on their promises.
DirecTV now carrying HD locals in 100 markets
While DISH Network just recently hit market number 70, DirecTV is throwing itself a party after reaching the big 100. With the addition of Columbia-Jefferson City, Missouri and Evansville, Indiana, the satcaster can now claim to have HD locals available in a hundred US regions. The milestone means that some 83% of the US can now get DirecTV and their HD locals sans an OTA antenna, and if all goes to plan, it'll hit 121 cities by the year's end. We suppose a round of golf claps is in order.
Fusionman: first to cross the English Channel via jet-wing
Fusionman Yves Rossy, not to be confused with Buzz Lightyear, successfully crossed the English Channel today -- the first to do so in a solo flight with jet-propelled wing. Rossy was dropped from a plane at 8,200 feet and flew 22-miles in under 10 minutes from Calais to Dover. When asked by National Geographic's Kathryn Liptrott if he was worried about risk, Rossy replied, "I'm not worried about risk, I manage risk." We've so gotta meet this guy. If you're looking to pick up one of these jet powered carbon-fiber wings for your own unspeakable mischief, expect to pay around the $190,000 mark. Rossy is eager to see these aviation wonders catch on and has designs on forming a Red Arrows-style aerobatic team one day.[Via BBC News]
AT&T celebrates one year of U-verse in Ohio, promises further expansion
AT&T has made a habit of patting itself on the posterior whenever it reaches the one-year mark in U-verse deployment at a certain locale, but given that it also took the time to reiterate its $500 million investment in Ohio this go 'round, we figured we'd let you toss on a party hat and join in. Over the past year, U-verse TV has been made available to 600,000 living units in Ohio, and according to the company, it's planning to "invest in fiber network upgrades and further broadband deployment" across the state. As it stands, U-verse is available in parts of nearly 200 Ohio communities -- let's see how much that number changes over the next 12 months, shall we?
