Apparently, Microsoft has plans for Sync that extend beyond the standard voice-activation scheme they’ve got going right now. The company wants to deliver a wider range of network connectivity for in-car use, and they’re debating the possibility of moving away from subscription-based services to an ad-funded scenario. What exactly does that mean? We’ll let Martin Thall, general manager of Microsoft’s Automotive Business Unit explain: “We know where you are and we know where you’re headed,” he says, seemingly unaware of the Orwellian implications. “We could target that advertising directly to your car.” You getting that? Targeted ads. In your car. While you’re driving. Apparently, execs don’t think you’ll mind being bombarded inside your vehicle because you’re, “used to advertising in the car. We hear ads on the radio and see billboards on the road.” Of course, this is speculation on future technologies, so nothing is set in stone — hopefully someone comes to their senses before our hovercar interiors glitter with holographic spam.
Oklahoma Christian University? Sure as hell (woops) haven’t heard of it either, but they must be the Cal to Abilene Christian University’s Stanford (or sub your fav rivalry here) as they seem ready to pony up the cash necessary to fund the next free-gear-to-students publicity stunt. This time the offering is not only an iPod touch or iPhone, but a new MacBook as well — and to sweeten the deal, current students can trade their machines in for a new one. Your tuition (and tithing) dollars hard at work, OCU parents, students, and alumni.
If you just so happen to have a spare 35mm slide viewer gathering all sorts of dust in your basement and one of Apple’s latest nanos, we’ve discovered a perfect way to spend your weekend and exercise your DIY muscle. Granted, the Nanoscope has been around the block a time or two, but that doesn’t weaken its geek factor one iota. Essentially, you simply modify said viewer to accommodate the nano, add in a set of speakers and kick back to enjoy your stored movie files in larger-than-originally-intended fashion. Really, it’s way cooler than it sounds — check out the video after the jump.
Macworld did some follow-up on a promise made by Apple in a press release from January’s keynote. In it, the company claimed:
iTunes Movie Rentals launches today and will offer over 1,000 titles by the end of February, including over 100 titles in stunning high definition video with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound which users can rent directly from their widescreen TV using Apple TV.
Now that February is over, a “Power Search” on iTunes reveals that only 399 rentals are available.
All in all, that’s 601 movies short of their 1,000 title promise. As for “100 titles in stunning HD,” Apple fell short here as well, but they at least came close offering 91 films that meet the standard (however, many of those films are not actually in 5.1 surround).
And when counting all the movies you can watch from iTunes—including both rentals and purchases—Macworld found that Apple is still short of any 1,000 movie goal, offering only 770 films total.
Hopefully, Apple will meet their 1,000 rental goal in March. Because while AppleTV’s recent makeover was impressive, we’d like to be able to, you know, watch some movies on it or something. [macworld]
Okay, so we just highlighted how to build your own iPod projector, but consider this power-of-optics Friday, because another iPod nano owner frustrated with the small-screen viewing experience has transformed a 35mm slide viewer to a full-fledged nano TV, complete with speakers. The result is called the Nanoscope, and it’s awesome.
iriver unveiled a whole bunch of hotness at this year’s CES, so you’ll have to pick your next player from them wisely… lest you end up buying the whole lot. That said, we’re not sure the E100 would be our first choice, but it’s certainly no slouch in the looks or specs departments, and it’s hitting the market well before most of those fancier players. There’s a 2.4-inch QVGA display, built-in stereo speakers and a microSD slot to supplement the included memory. Audio codec support includes FLAC, MP3, WMA, ASF and OGG, while you can manage MPEG-4, WMV9 and XVID for video. There’s also a mic, FM radio and line-in for acquiring audio. The E100 is available now, with prices starting at €79.00 ($119 US) for a 2GB player, and ramping on up to €129.00 ($194 US) for the 8GB.
New York-based Magnify.net has raised $1M in a Series A round involving Next Stage Capital, New York Angels, Rose Tech Ventures, Active Angel Investors, Ogden Capital, Gideon Gartner, and Chris Anderson.
The company is also claiming to have attracted 30,000 publishers and over three million visitors per month. Each publisher on Magnify.net sets up a so-called channel where they can aggregate user generated videos found across the web on places like YouTube. Magnify.net also recently added webcam broadcasting capabilities so presumably this figure includes webcam channels as well.
If you’re a die-hard photographer or videographer who leaves your equipment at home in rainy or wet conditions, this detailed, step-by-step guide to making your own waterproof camera enclosure on-the-cheap is for you. The steps are detailed and the results look great, but as an added bonus this smart tip for underwater shooting stood out:
I put two Alka-Seltzer in the bag with… the camera. In case of a leak, the seltzer foams, blowing up the bag…. You certainly notice when you get a leak.
Between this step-by-step and the smart canary-in-the-coalmine effect of the Alka-Seltzer, this seems a bit safer than the condom method, though perhaps not as robust as this military-grade housing.
If you’re down with the Walkman line then you probably sat up and took notice to Sony’s new 16GB Bluetooth hotness earlier this morning. Nothing crazy going on here, but we’ve got a few shots of the NWZ-A726, NWZ-S615F, and all-out NWZ-A829 to lust over (or chide, depending).
Never heard of Abilene Christian University? We’re guessing a wide majority of the general public hasn’t either, but the institution is definitely getting its name out there by promising each incoming freshman this fall an iPhone or iPod touch. Granted, these aren’t being explicitly marked as “free,” but similar to Duke’s efforts in years past, ACU plans on using these devices for educational enrichment. Reportedly, the handhelds will enable students to “receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors’ offices, and check their meal and account balances” — and that’s just for starters. Interestingly, we aren’t told whether or not the folks already enrolled will be left out — nor what determines which Apple you get — but we do know that the entity is hoping to “expand the program in the future.”
If you’re a die-hard photographer or videographer who leaves your equipment at home in rainy or wet conditions, this detailed, step-by-step guide to making your own waterproof camera enclosure on-the-cheap is for you. The steps are detailed and the results look great, but as an added bonus this smart tip for underwater shooting stood out:
