This Lenovo palm sized keyboard/trackpad (with the charming model name of 57Y6336) is a gem of a home theater PC controller. $60. [Lenovo via Engadget]
Lenovo’s Multimedia Remote with Keyboard [Keyboard]
December 28, 2009 By
Remainders – The Good, Bad and Ugly Things We Didn’t Post (and Why) [Remainders]
December 24, 2009 By
Happy Festivus, readers! You lot have disappointed me in so many ways, I’m deciding to punish you with these Remainders four: HDMI prepares new 3D-ready spec, Kindle DRM stripped, Steve Jobs takes a $1 salary, and snow snow snow snow!
HDMI Spec Updated to Ensure HD 3D Compatibility
The fine folks who work on HDMI have updated work on the 1.4 spec to make sure it can communicate all that upcoming Avatar-inspired HD 3D nonsense between display and source. Frankly, all this stuff is way over my head, and that’s okay because dual-1080p streams in the home are still a ways off. From what I understand, HDMI will meet soon to discuss implementing the “Top/Bottom” format of 3D into HDMI, and the group is working to ensure that older 3D hardware will still work with the updated spec. Luckily, I have not been asked to participate in this discussion. But rest assured, HDMI is on the case. [Engadget]
Kindle eBooks Hacked!
An enterprising hacker named Labba has apparently managed to create a program that strips the DRM off Kindle-formatted ebooks, turning them into unprotected PDFs. The hack seems kind of too complicated to use right now, but Labba’s working on a more consumer-friendly version as well. This isn’t just hacking the Kindle to accept other formats—this is straight-up DRM elimination. Big win for hackers, not so hot for Amazon. [Engadget]
Steve Jobs Takes $1 Annual Salary for 2009
There’ve been a bunch of stories today about Steve Jobs’ $1 salary that make it sound like a philanthropic exercise or some kind of response to the current recession—but Apple fans know that Steve Jobs has taken a $1 salary for about a decade. Of course, it’s not like he needs a paycheck; his stock in Apple is valued at $1.1 billion, and his stock in Disney at $4.5 billion. Interestingly, he is usually reimbursed for miscellaneous expenses; last year, he was reimbursed $871,000, but this year only $4,000. He has been out on sick leave for a long time, but still, that’s a big difference. This has been making the rounds (today I saw it on the AP, NYTimes, and HuffPo), but I’m sure you guys already knew it—so I tossed it into Remainders. [AP]
The Weather Outside Is Goddamn Frightful
Here are pictures of snow! [Boston.com]
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Microsoft Office and Word 2007 Banned From Sale Staring on January 11th [Microsoft]
December 22, 2009 By
Microsoft’s attempt to appeal an earlier decision regarding infringements against developer i4i’s patents on custom XML tagging has fallen through. Microsoft will be forced to pull Word 2007 and Office 2007 off shelves by January 11th.
The good news is that Microsoft prepared for this possibility ahead of time, and is prepared to remove the offending feature and have a clean product available for sale by the injunction date. Of course, this decision does not effect current owners of Office and Word products, nor does it affect the beta versions of Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft Office 2010. OpenOffice users are also safe, as their suite has been cleared of any infringement. [Microsoft and Engadget]
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Motorola Droid Hacked To Run Android 2.1, Faster [Phones]
December 21, 2009 By
Psst, Droid owners. Here’s how to hack Android 2.1 onto your happy little Motorola friend.
The Android 2.1 firmware update doesn’t bring much to the Droid plate, apart from added speed (the video below shows one modder unenthusiastically exclaiming “I’m amazed by how fast it is”), three new homepage screens, and Google news and weather. There’s no multitouch, but then, you already know how to do that. [AllDroid via Engadget]
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iPhone Reception an Easy Target On SNL Weekend Update Last Night [IPhone]
December 20, 2009 By
Hey Seth Meyers made a joke! About the iPhone! And it was funny!
The bit came during SNL last night, and like all good jokes, was funny because it’s true.
As an iPhone user, I definitely chuckled a bit, before I returned to weeping silently in a corner as my phone tried to make an outgoing call from the greater Boston area without success. Must be the storm. Must be. [YouTube via Engadget]
