Entries from September 2008 ↓

USB hubs, schmUSB hubs: jam this 5-in-1 charger cable into the back of your machine and you’ll be able to charge-up/sync five different gizmos at once (well, probably not all once, but you get what I’m saying). That’s if you have an iPod, a PSP, a Nintendo DS, aGBA and a device that connects via mini-USB. Not rocket science by any means, but a handy way of simplifying your desktop wiring clutter, and good for computers with few USB sockets (I’m looking at you, Mr. MacBook Air). Out now for $14. [Gadget4All via BoingBoingGadgets]

The Canon Rebel DSLR isn’t a video camera, but if you have the time and energy like San Diego resident Ryan Cashman, you can make a pretty neat stop-motion animation with it.

Cashman explains he set the Rebel’s exposure to 20-30 seconds, and he drew the LED piano player with a green LED keychain. He then strung all the photos together in Adobe After Effects and added in the music (also his original composition). Pretty neat. Kind of looks like a little cactus. I wonder how long it took him?

 

Light-Paint Piano Player [Vimeo via MAKE Magazine]

Eye-Fi just made a series of announcements that will please existing users. By October 5, their cards, new and old, will receive a firmware update to double photo upload speeds on all models. Also, MobileMe was added to the list of supported services and those interested in advanced functions like geotagging will be able to buy the options in an ala cart subscription menu. Good stuff—read on for the full release.

EYE-FI MAKES PHOTO UPLOADS TWICE AS FAST;

LAUNCHES CUSTOMIZED SERVICE UPGRADES

Also Adds New Photo Destinations; Cards Now Available at Best Buy Stores Nationwide

PHOTOKINA, COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 23, 2008 – Eye-Fi Inc. (www.eye.fi), makers of the world’s first wireless memory card for digital cameras, today announced enhancements to its family of Eye-Fi cards that will make the upload of digital photos from camera to computer twice as fast. The faster wireless speeds will also be made available to existing Eye-Fi users at no extra cost. In addition, users will be able to upgrade their Eye-Fi cards to add the individual services they want, including Web sharing, geotagging and hotspot access.

“Faster wireless uploads and the ability to add new services to your Eye-Fi card are significant advancements in making it more convenient and rewarding to save and share digital memories,” said Jef Holove, CEO of Eye-Fi. “Even better, we’re able to offer this new convenience and flexibility to current users as well as new customers.”

Beginning October 5, new and existing Eye-Fi card owners can easily add features that are not already included on their cards and renew annual services. By using the updated Eye-Fi Manager Web application, users can add the following services to their cards:

o Web Sharing – Users who have an Eye-Fi Home card can add Eye-Fi’s popular Web sharing service to send photos directly from their camera to one of more than 20 online photo sharing, printing, social networking or blogging sites using a wireless network, saving the time and hassle of manually uploading from the computer. Annual service fee: $9.99.
o Geotagging – Users who have an Eye-Fi Home or Share card can add geotagging to their card. Geotagging invisibly adds geographic information indicating where the photo was taken, allowing users to map where their memories were captured. Annual service fee: $14.99.
o Hotspot Access – Users who have an Eye-Fi Share card can upgrade their card to automatically upload photos away from home at more than 10,000 Wayport hotspots and through open hotspots. Annual service fee: $14.99.

Also announced today, Eye-Fi users will be able to upload photos directly to one of two new online photo destinations: Apple’s MobileMe and AdoramaPix. MobileMe members can wirelessly send photos from their camera directly to their MobileMe Gallery which can then be viewed by friends and family on the Web, iPhone, iPod touch and Apple TV. Available now, users will also be able to upload photos directly from their camera to their AdoramaPix account, where they can edit, share and make prints.

As a significant nationwide expansion, Eye-Fi cards will be available for purchase at more than 900 Best Buy stores throughout the United States, as well as at Circuit City, Ritz Camera Centers and major online retail sites.

By October 5, users will be able to enjoy Eye-Fi’s faster upload speeds and service upgrades, and purchase cards from Best Buy stores nationwide.

At the Photokina trade show in Cologne, Germany, Sept. 23-28, Eye-Fi will demonstrate its family of products in booth # B19b in the USA/Canada Pavilion, Hall 4.1.

GMaps4JSF aims at integrating Google maps with JSF. JSF Users will be also able to construct complex StreetViewPanoramas and Maps with just few JSF tags.<br><br>GMaps4JSF is one of the JSF Mashups libraries that enables JSF users to build web 2.0 mashup applications in JSF easily.

The first Android phone is dropping next week, and the people who pick it up will be toting around mobile Google software in their pocket wherever they go. They’ll be using mobile Google apps, probably in concert with using Gmail, Gcal and Google Maps on their normal computer. We know that Google is tossing out all user data after 9 months, but you’ve got to wonder what kind of a picture Google is getting of its heavy users like that when it’s only getting info from how its apps are used. After the jump, an imagined day in the life of a Google user, as recorded and perceived by the Googleplex itself.

07:36:04: Application — Gmail
User reads 1 new emails
Keywords: dinner, match.com, reply, date

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male/Female

07:43:38: Application — Search
Search Term: italian restaurant upper east side manhattan
Search Term: italian restaurant upper east side manhattan cheap
Search Term: creampies

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker

08:31:17: Application — Gmail
User sends 1 new email
Keywords: dinner, meet, Ford Fiesta

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income

08:40:03: Application — Search
Search Term: vern troyer sex tape

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist

11:01:12: Application — Google Reader
Feed read: Gizmodo
Feed read: Kotaku
Feed read: Cute Overload
Feed read: Gothamist
Feed read: Gizmodo
Feed read: Kottke
Feed read: Boing Boing
Feed read: Fleshbot

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller

12:14:30: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: SuperCuts
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate

12:59:08: Application — Mobile Search
Search Term: slimming pants

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure

13:01:56: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: H&M
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy

13:42:12: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: Florist
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative

14:19:31: Application — Search
Search Term: dating tips
Search Term: first dates
Search Term: halitosis cure
Search Term: bang bus

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin

14:55:00: Application — GCal
Reminder: Sales Meeting in Five Minutes Sent via: Text

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder

17:13:49: Application — Google Reader
Feed read: Gizmodo
Feed read: Fleshbot

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder, Porn Addict

18:51:10: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Start Location: Current Location
End Location: Olive Garden

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian

19:15:03: Application — Mobile Gmail
User sends 1 new email
Keywords: date, forgot, still here

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Boring Job Holder, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, Pathetic

19:20:41: Application — Mobile Gmail
User reads 0 new emails

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, So Pathetic

19:26:11: Application — Mobile Gmail
User reads 0 new emails

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, So Pathetic, Desperate

19:31:55: Application — Mobile Gmail
User reads 0 new emails

Current Demographic Profile: Single Male New Yorker, Low Income, Midget Fetishist, Cubicle Dweller, Cheapskate, Insecure, Trendy, Unimaginative, Virgin, Porn Addict, Fat, Not Italian, So Pathetic, So Desperate

19:40:21: Application — Google Maps Mobile
Search Term: Strip Club
Near: Current Location

Current Demographic Profile: Benny Goldman

Like the Buffalo hard drive I bought in Japan to replace one that died, Buffalo’s generically named Portable HD is actually Samsung inside, but in this case, the same kind used in the MacBook Air, so it’s incredibly slim and totally pocketable, about the size of a biz card holder. The convenience makes for a low bytes to dollars ratio, though, at $120 for 30GB and $170 for 60GB. Still, I love the design.

When we first heard about EFiX—a simple USB dongle that'll let you magically install Leopard on your PC—it sounded too fantastic to be true. Well, I used it to turn my gaming PC into a Mac Pro over the weekend, and I’m somewhat amazed to say this, but it works perfectly.

I grabbed all the updates straight from Apple—including 10.5.5 last night, so you don't have to wait for a hacked patch like you would running a typical Hackintosh—installed a whole bunch of software and have been using it for several days. It runs beautifully, just like a real Mac Pro.

The Process
There are, of course, rules you have to adhere to, as there tends to be when using black magic. The major one with EFiX, and its only real “catch,” is that you have to use the supported hardware, not a very long list indeed. But outside of the Gigabyte motherboard requirement (reportedly some Asus boards using a P45 chipset also work), it’s actually fairly generic. I just happened to have everything on the list.

If you've got the hardware, the whole process is simple, so that even if you've never cracked your desktop before, you could still get this done with a quick search online for the requisite know-how. I plugged the EFiX dongle into a USB header on my motherboard—not, as you might have assumed, to a USB port on the outside. That's really it for getting your hands dirty, though. I restarted my computer, selected EFiX as the boot device—it was listed under hard drives, actually—and was greeted with a drive selector. After selecting the Leopard disc, it started installing without a hitch.

Okay, there was a slight hitch. My video card, an Nvidia 8800GT, isn’t supported by the firmware EFiX ships with. EFiX already has the update on the site, but its updater is only coded for 32-bit Windows. If, like me, you run Vista 64-bit, you will have to install Vista 32-bit on the drive you intend to put Leopard on, just to update the stupid firmware.

After I did that, everything was peachy. The only slight inconsistency is that my 8800GT shows up as a 256MB card, when it’s actually a 512MB card, and my 1066MHz RAM is only running at 800MHz apparently. But that’s sorta trivial.

The Numbers
Here are some benchmarks compared to some numbers Adam over at Lifehacker ran for his Hacktinosh vs. a MacBook Pro and Mac Pro. Obviously, my hardware is newer—a 3GHz E8400 Wolfdale Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM (running at the slower 800MHz, rather than 1066MHz) and an Nvidia 8800 GT (with the OS only recognizing half of the memory). The total guts of my computer cost just under $800 when I put it together in May, hard drive included. (Mac Pros start at $2,300.)

Day to Day
One thing to keep in mind is that EFiX has to interlope every time you want to boot to Leopard, so a cold boot takes at least two minutes, between booting to EFiX, picking Leopard, then loading it up. And when you go into Windows, EFiX will show up as an attached USB drive. These aren’t dealbreakers—once you’re up, performance is great. Overall, the experience is really incredible for how smooth and seamless it is. Updates, installing software, everything is just like a real Mac. The best way to put it is this: I’ve got a Mac Pro now.

I occasionally feel like Windows is running just a smidge more slowly, but benchmarks compared to before I installed EFiX don’t support that creeping feeling, so I chalk it up to paranoia.

Is the dongle worth $170? That's a personal question. Do you wanna go through the usually more complicated—but free—Hackintosh process? Perhaps the best way to look at it is this: If you've already got the supported hardware, it's like buying a Mac for $170, since you can still have your trusty PC just a restart away on the same machine. Also, even as simplified as it is, you still need to know what you're doing. There's no official tech support, though there is a very active forum that provides helpful answers to queries.

Updated: EFiX USA is handing all of the distribution in the US for E-FiX.com, who actually doesn’t do any of that. They were selling units on eBay but their main site looks like it’s up now. So far in our dealings with the company (who sent us EFiX to review) we haven’t had any reason to think they’re scamming anyone, but it’s understandable if you wanna approach this with caution. [EFiX, EFiX USA]

LiveWorld is a publicly traded company that’s been around since 1996 and is best known for its white labeled social networks. These are online communities that LiveWorld helps clients build up around their existing brands, and they often take a good deal more time and effort to set up than communities created on top of self-service platforms like Ning or KickApps.

However, LiveWorld is making a significant foray into “out-of-the-box” communities with the release of LiveBar, a widget-like site addition that brings community features to any website using only one line of JavaScript.

The LiveBar consists of a thin strip that sticks to the bottom of the browser window and displays social content related to the page. It’s reminiscent of Facebook Chat or the upcoming community instant messaging offering from Meebo. But instead of facilitating instant messages, the LiveBar shows three types of user contributions: Conversations, Soapboxes, and Shouts.

Conversations are essentially lightweight forum threads where users can post messages and solicit responses. Soapboxes are akin to blog posts and Shouts are like tweets in that they’re restricted to 140 characters. In the LiveBar’s simplest implementation, these pieces of UGC are associated with individual URLs, so when you move from one page to the next, you see different content.

However, they can also be tied together into so-called bundles so that discussions form across pages that relate to each other. The LiveBar can also be rolled out across multiple sites on different domains, with bundles providing social glue around pages and sites that were formerly fragmented.

The biggest downside to the LiveBar (which could also be seen as its greatest virtue) is its discreetness. Visitors are prone to overlook it entirely because it sits so low and short on the page. To combat this tendency, LiveWorld has developed a suite of widgets that hook the LiveBar into the actual page layout. The widgets can be used, for example, to print the most recent conversations or solicit new ones. I expect that most publishers will deploy these extra widgets to get the most bang for their buck. After all, the LiveBar isn’t free; like other LiveWorld services, it’ll cost you thousands of dollars just to get it up and running.

LiveWorld plans to add more flexibility and functionality to the LiveBar over time, with chat in particular on the way. This will put LiveWorld in direct competition with Meebo, although Meebo’s specialty in online instant messaging should make for a superior product.

Both Tulane University and A&E Biography already plan to use LiveBar on their respective sites.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

The Xbox 360 is a powerful gaming system and media player, but few people know all of its ins and outs. Techradar publshed a “10 Tricks” article on the console, and while most of the information will not be news to the average Giz reader (OMG THE XBOX PLAYS MY IPOD!!), we found two tricks that we hadn’t seen before. First, you can play online without a LIVE gold account by fooling your Xbox into thinking it’s on a LAN with XLink Kai. The other tip is that you can reset your video settings to factory default by holding “Y” while booting the system. Hit the link for the rest of ‘em. [Techradar via Kotaku and image]

Just released yesterday, iPhone Modem for the Cydia jailbreak application repository promises tethering your laptop to your iPhone in just 10 seconds. We haven’t gotten around to jailbreaking our own yet, but this one is supposedly even easier than the official NetShare tethering app in the official App Store. ModMyiPhone forum says it works just fine on both the MacBook and MacBook Pro. Careful using this on AT&T, since too much tethering data usage you're not actively "paying" for will get you neutered. [modmyiphone]