Gizmodo

Sony's Entire 1976 Lineup in One Photo [Image Cache]

Brian Lam — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:30:00 -0400

In 1976, Sony went to the National Stadium in Tokyo and lined up every single gadget they offered to photograph them. All were analog, mostly in radio, audio and TV. This is a photo of that.

This was pre walkman and at the dawn of the age of the Betamax. Today, this would be impossible, says Sony. There's a lesson here: A gadget company should be able to fit all their SKUs in a stadium, or risk confusing their customers. [Sony.net]

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

FA-18 Is Flying Too Damn Terrifyingly Close to That Building [Image Cache]

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

I don't know what that person on the balcony is thinking, but I need a change of underpants. And no, it's not a photoshop, it's a real, untouched photo by Steve Perez for the Associated Press.

The photo was taken at a demonstration flight by the U.S. Navy during the 2009 Chrysler Jeep Superstores APBA Detroit Gold Cup. [2009 Chrysler Jeep Superstores APBA Detroit Gold Cup]

The Electric Horseman Introduces the Lightbulb Suit to America [Movies]

Adam Frucci — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:40:00 -0400

The Electric Horseman is a minor 1979 Robert Redford movie directed by Syndey Pollack. It's not the best movie in the world, but it did feature Redford in a light-up cowboy outfit.

Yep, on his quest to release his injured horse into a remote western canyon, he dons a suit covered in lightbulbs while in Vegas. It's only natural. And in my opinion, it's what caused Jane Fonda's character to fall in love with him.

It's 30 years later and the fashion still hasn't caught on. It's a shame, really. When will we wake up and realize that we have so much potential if only we'd allow ourselves to realize it with tacky, light-up clothing?

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

Google Now Finds Stuff Nearby Using Your Location in Mobile Safari [IPhone]

matt buchanan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:20:00 -0400

With iPhone 3.0, websites can snag your location in Safari. Now if you search for something in Google and let it see your location, it'll show you stuff nearby that matches, like coffeeshops here. It's just the beginning, surely. [Google]

Sony WEGA Concept 51K All-in-One Stereo [Giz 79]

Brian Lam — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:08:31 -0400

This table top stereo by famed Frog founder, Hartmut Esslinger, has a turntable, tape player and tuner. It was huge—speakers were separate—but gorgeous. From 1976.

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

Remainders - Things We Didn't Post [Remainders]

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:00:00 -0400

Dell Still Might Have a Secret Smartphone Project...The Sexiest Clock Ever Made...A Gun Is Not a Toy (Except Sometimes)...An Anatomically Correct Space Invader...

Memo to Dell VP Ron Garriques: Quit teasing about your dumb smartphone. We get it, you came from Motorola, so you have to prove you know how to make phones. But it's either going to be a reskinned WinMo or Android handset built off a platform invented in Taiwan by a company that's already building the same phone for someone else. Did that sound cynical? OK, then prove me wrong, by unveiling instead of hedging. [Engadget]

The Swiss may have perfected the mechanical watch, but the French figured out how to skip the gadget approach entirely, and do it using mostly naked people instead. A French photographer recently created this living, heaving, sweaty clock—shown here in front and back—which forces me to ask the question: How many French models does it take to make a clock? Seven. Six to stand around and one to do the hard part. It's not funny—it's just true. [Homotography]

Why does a Dutch designer named Tomm spend time and effort to invent a wooden M-16? To teach us. You know, about deconstruction, about the duality of forms, about how play fighting is much healthier than cold-blooded killing. It's noble, Tomm, really, but if the thing doesn't shoot something (rubber bullets? t-shirts? potatoes?), we're gonna have to go back to heeding the Call of Duty. [Design Yearbook]

Caught up as I am this week with Gizmodo '79—and the gaming titles that dominated geekdom at the time—I couldn't help but give a double-take when I spotted this anatomically correct Space Invader on Google. It was drawn up by Flickr user zom-bot a few months back, and as well done as it is, it makes me wonder: If gaming had been as vivid then as it is now, would it have taken off at all? Maybe we needed to ease in with the 4-bit before we got to the geniune oozing gore. [Flickr via Secret HQ]

Microsoft Gloats: Apple Begged Them to Stop Running "Laptop Hunter" Ads [Microsoft]

matt buchanan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:40:00 -0400

When Micorosft COO Kevin Turner revealed Microsoft Stores will open next to Apple Stores and rain falls upward, he also talked about the "greatest single phone call in the history" he's ever received: Apple crying about the Laptop Hunters ads.

And so we've been running these PC value ads. Just giving people saying, hey, what are you looking to spend? "Oh, I'm looking to spend less than $1,000." Well we'll give you $1,000. Go in and look and see what you can buy. And they come out and they just show them. Those are completely unscripted commercials.

And you know why I know they're working? Because two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying, hey — this is a true story — saying, "Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices." They took like $100 off or something. It was the greatest single phone call in the history that I've ever taken in business. (Applause.)

I did cartwheels down the hallway. At first I said, "Is this a joke? Who are you?" Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we're just going to keep running them and running them and running them.

I actually do find that oddly satisfying, if Turner's telling the straight story about how it went down, even if, yes, MacBook Pros are the best value they've ever been, since it shows Apple as a bunch of whiners.

What's not so satisfying is that bit at the end essentially saying that they're going to run the Laptop Hunter ads until the utter end of time. Take the Seinfeld approach guys—not that one—and go out on top. Well, as "on top" as those ads ever were, anyway. [Microsoft via Ars]

US State Department Rejects Firefox, Which Is Entirely Free, Due to "Expense Questions" [Government]

Dan Nosowitz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:20:00 -0400

At a State Department townhall conducted by Secretary Clinton, a staffer asked why Internet Explorer is mandated, even though Firefox is security-approved for the "entire intelligence community." The answer? A whole lot of bullshit, especially the insane citing of "expense."

Internet Explorer isn't mandated in every governmental department, and Firefox has been vetted and cleared as just as secure as IE (duh), so it's a legitimate question: Why not use the faster, safer, more customizable and more reliable browser? Clinton has no idea why Firefox is barred, which is totally fine with us—we really are happy she's spending her time on other things.

But Undersecretary Patrick Kennedy chimes in that it's "an expense question," at which point he is promptly and rightfully shouted down that Firefox is free, for god's sake. He goes into a lot of nonsense about "patches" and how even things that are free aren't really free, which sounds to us like a lame attempt to explain away his first answer—he probably didn't know Firefox was free when he cited expense in the first place. If Firefox has already been implemented in other sectors of government, it stands to reason that it could be adopted by the State Department fairly easily and quickly, and with minimal expense.

The rest of both his and Secretary Clinton's answer is mostly impenetrable, metaphor-laden government-speak about cutting costs that, sorry guys, isn't going to make us forget that you just claimed a free and vastly superior program, one that's already in wide use in other sectors of government, is too expensive to implement.

Pat Kennedy, you're officially on my bad side. [State Department via Switched]

How To Get Music Onto Your Palm Pre (Now That iTunes Hates You) [Palm Pre]

Jason Chen — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:48:41 -0400

If you're one of those unfortunate Pre users that updated to iTunes 8.2.1 without seeing our warning, there are two options. You could either downgrade to iTunes 8.2, or use one of these alternative apps and future-proof yourself.

The problem with downloading to iTunes 8.2 from 8.2.1 is that isn't quite as straightforward as replacing the iTunes app. You have to replace some other support files. The easier way is to use one of these four options. And, you have the freedom to update iTunes to any future version without worrying about whether or not it'll mess up Pre syncing.

1) doubleTwist, by DVD Jon. [Download]

doubleTwist lets you access your iTunes Library in that you can see all the music and playlists (even smart ones) you've already established. Once you connect your Pre in USB mode, all you have to do is drag playlists or individual songs over to the Pre to have it sync. There's no library view, as in you can't drill down into artists, so you should organize your songs into playlists you want to sync inside iTunes first.

The downside of this method is that there's no progress bar so you can't see how much of your sync is done. The syncing process also isn't foolproof, and froze on me mid-sync. But it does have the ability to import YouTube videos, which is kinda awesome. And, it doesn't support the actual playlist function on the Pre, so your songs are going to be in one big pile. (You can sift through Artists, Albums, and Genres, of course.)

Update: The Windows version has automatic playlist sync (screenshot here), and the Mac is getting it this fall. What I meant to say was, the playlist support doesn't work on the Pre side, not to be confused with the playlist support on the computer side. Jon of doubleTwist tells me that the Pre doesn't actually support playlists in non-iPod mode right now. Hopefully that'll come some time in the future now that the iTunes sync is becoming an issue. Thanks Jon!

Best all-around experience since this is a media-manager in itself

Doesn't support playlists, and lack of progress bar when syncing

2) Just dragging music over into the media folder

One feature of iTunes that not many people know about is its ability to just drag and drop songs from iTunes the app to any location. So if you open up iTunes to the playlist, select all the songs inside the playlist and drag it into the Pre's USB drive.

Drawback to this method is that it's still one-way sync (you can't uncheck or check a playlist to sync or de-sync easily), so you'll have to clean things up yourself after your sync. It has the same no-playlist support problem as doubleTwist

Easiest method

Bare bones: no playlist support, no song management

3) iTunes Sync on Windows [Download]

It's essentially a very simple version of doubleTwist, where you can select playlists one by one and sync them over to the Pre while it's in USB drive mode. This does have a progress meter, but it's Windows-only.

Progress meter is a plus

Windows-only

4) iTuneMyWalkman [Download]

Mac-only, but it creates a M3U playlist when you're syncing music.

There are other utilities, of course, but one of these four should be enough to get you started. If you have one that does something better than the ones here, feel free to share them in the comments.

Playlist support!

Mac-only

Update: Commenters are also recommending Mediamonkey, Missing Sync and Salling Media Sync. You can give those a try as well.

World's First Liquid-Cooled LED Lightbulb Perfectly Pairs With Silly Gaming PCs [Lightbulbs]

Dan Nosowitz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:40:00 -0400

Eternaleds announced their new Hydrolux-4 LED lightbulb, the very first liquid-cooled bulb in the world. The bulbs are incredibly energy-efficient compared to either incandescent or CFL bulbs, and come with a price tag to match.

The bulbs, which cost $35 each (!), are rated for 35,000 hours of use and only consumes 4W of electricity (compared to a 25W incandescent), which means if you're afraid of the dark and run it 8 hours a day for an entire year, it'll only cost $1.75. It's fully dimmable and, unlike other LED lights, cool to the touch, thanks to the oh-so-hardcore liquid cooling. The bulbs come in "warm white" and "daylight" flavors, and are available now. [Eternaleds via Engadget]

Roadmap for Intel's First Nehalem-Based Mobile Chips Leaked [Intel]

Dan Nosowitz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:20:00 -0400

Details for Intel's new quad- and dual-core i7 and i5 chips have leaked in the form of a roadmap, so we've got some excellent specifics, including release dates and prices.

The new quad-core "Clarksfield" chips are the most expensive and powerful, and will be able to scale up clock speed with a feature called "Turbo Boost" that shuts down cores that aren't being used. They'll come in 1.6, 1.73 and 2.0GHz models, scalable to 2.8, 3.06, and 3.2GHZ, respectively. They'll be pretty pricey at $340, $750 and $1,000. The dual-core chips are significantly cheaper but at the expense of cache size. The quad-cores should be arriving this fall, with the first of the dual-cores hitting in early 2010. Check out the image for more details. [PC Watch (translated) via Electronista]

Mattel Football: 1979's King of Timewasters [Games]

Dan Nosowitz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:00:00 -0400

Mattel's Football (just "Football") was one of the most popular standalone handheld games of the late '70s, in the same ultra-addicting category as Pong and Pac-Man. It was the beginning of the end for the attention span of American youth.

Even though I was -9 years old in 1977, when Football was first released, and can't specifically remember ever playing it, the handheld itself, as well as those tiny red dots, is immediately recognizable to me. It's been featured in films like Bottle Rocket and Wet Hot American Summer, and chances are a lot of you readers have one or two of them in the bottom of a box somewhere in your basement. It was an incredibly, powerfully popular game, the first major handheld videogame smash, and judging by the Amazon reviews, people are still playing and loving it today. [Handheld Museum, Thanks Sean!]

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

Our Favorite Lifehacker Pots (and Posts) of the Week [Roundups]

Jason Chen — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:40:00 -0400

Lifehacker many tips this week teach you how to stay cool, get your car fixed and curse like an unemployed pharmacist.

• Make your own sun jar
• Here's their review on Gmail's Todo list
• Check your air conditioner now to save yourself trouble later

• Combine Google and Wolfram results
• Build a DIY portable Air Conditioner
• Use OpenDNS to filter your content

• Test your mechanic with tiny jobs before big ones
• Google Gears gets updated for Firefox 3.5
• Learn the hidden benefits of your credit cards

• Sleep like an Egyptian
• Where to hide cash in your house
• Drop F-bombs, C-bombs, and S-bombs to relieve pain

• Use a damp towel to cool down your house
• Take better sunset photographs
• Diagnose and fix a running toilet

Someone Get Ricky Gervais This Crunching Elmo With USB Penis [Wrongmodo]

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:20:00 -0400

Come on, I could get the whole Rocky Third Leg USB Drive thing—since he used to be a porn actor—but frikkin' USB Crunching Elmo Elmo and his metal junk?

It's wrong. It's $22. [Craziest Gadgets]

It's Google's World, and You Only Live In It [Google]

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:00:00 -0400

Soon you may start seeing real Google Maps markers everywhere across the world: Google has asked a whole bunch of famous people—like the chef Ferran Adria, artist Maya Lin, or puppeteer Al Gore—to share their favorite spots.

Google is placing physical markers in all these places with icons and plaques identifying them. If I had to put one, I'll choose Shake Shack at the Southeast Corner of Madison Square in NYC. And then a whole bunch of spots across the rest of NY, Madrid, Göteborg, and various ice cream shops in Tampa, FL. [Google Favorite Places via Techcrunch]

DIY Business Card Calipers Give You An Edge...Or Two [Tools]

Sean Fallon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:40:00 -0400

If you are in a profession that involves tools, this caliper business card will certainly get you noticed. And the good news is that if you have access to a laser cutter you can easily make one yourself.

Check out Thiniverse for the templates you need to make the caliper card. You may also want to check out the Cardapult and the Planetary Gear business cards for other inspirational ideas. [Thingiverse via Make]

How Does ESPN's Magic Baseball Ball Tracking Work? [Sports]

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:20:00 -0400

Holy balls! Did you watch the Home Run derby the other night? I didn't. But if I had, I would have wondered: How did they manage to show those cool balls' trails in real time?

The mechanism involves a complicated math algorithm that tracks and predicts the ball's trajectory in real time, only 400 milliseconds after being hit. To get the data needed for the calculation, ESPN uses a 2000Hz Doppler radar which follows the ball's speed, location and spin, given precise data of distance travelled, something that before took seconds or even minutes to calculate. After calculation, the path is shown overlaid on screen in real time, chasing the ball precisely.

The results are quite cool, even while they fail (again) at making baseball exciting to me. [Popular Science]

And yes, I hereby declare today Gizmodo's Official Ball Celebration Day.

Video, and Universal Music, Killed the Radio Star [Music]

Adam Frucci — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:00:00 -0400

How's this for irony: "Video Killed the Radio Star," released in 1979 by The Buggles, is about how TV (MTV in particular) would kill radio. And now, 30 years later, Universal has disabled embedding the YouTube video.

Really, it's good that Universal has embedding disabled. If I could put it in this post, you'd be able to watch it. It might even get stuck in your head. And then, perhaps, you could buy the song on iTunes or Amazon via the link to purchase it that's over the video. Instead, I won't, because I can't. Universal will keep protecting its property by slowly killing it, and their unembeddable video will continue to kill their radio stars.

Maybe in 30 more years they'll have figured out how to survive on the internet, but at that point there will probably be something else that's come along that will take them a decade to figure out. [YouTube]

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

Glowing Router Clock Tells You The Best Time To Use Bandwidth [Design]

Sean Fallon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:40:00 -0400

On a basic level, the Route O' Clock looks fantastic. But the colorful face is about more than just looks—it's a router that monitors your broadband signal and indicates its strength with different colors at each interval.

This router is essentially a twenty-four hour clock divided into half hourly segments. As a reaction to the broadband signal, a different traffic light color indicates bandwidth strength at each interval.

It is, in design, an object of reflection – helping the user to manage their time online more efficiently, understanding and making the most of bandwidth strength in the local area throughout the day.

It appears to be a concept at the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up becoming an actual product. [Future Routers via The Awesomer]

TSA Uses Decoy Luggage To Bust Airline Laptop Thieves [Crime]

Sean Fallon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:20:00 -0400

This is why you don't check valuables people. A TSA officer and baggage handler working at JFK airport were recently busted stealing a MacBook Air and a T-Mobile Sidekick out of decoy luggage.

Both suspects were filmed by authorities rummaging through luggage bound for Miami on July 7th. They also switched luggage tags in a futile attempt to hide their crimes. The pair faces up to 4 years in prison if convicted—giving them plenty of time to swap stories with this guy. [Daily News via Gothamist via The Consumerist / Image via Flickr]

Summermodo Contest: Win a Trip to Surf Camp With Gizmodo [Contests]

Jason Chen — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:19:00 -0400

Want to come with us to surf camp? Here's how. All you have to do is follow simple directions.

1) Change your commenter name into a surfer name. "64BitDude" would become "64FootWaveDude" or something. Use your imagination.
2) Write a short paragraph explaining why you want to come learn to surf with us.
3) Put these thing in an email to summermodo@gizmodo.com along with your full name, your phone number, your city, and a picture of yourself.

We're going to choose five lucky men or women to attend Real Kiteboarding Camp from July 31 to August 3. Winners will be notified at 6PM PT on Thursday evening (that's tomorrow!).

Here are the legal rules. Thanks to our friends at Heineken for helping to make this happen.

Walt Mosspuppet Answers Reader Mail: "Call Pogue, He Knows How to Do Useless Sh*t Like This" [Media]

matt buchanan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:00:00 -0400

Walt Mosspuppet answers reader mail, exactly like you'd expect the only technology journalist in the world to, but super funny and mean. [YouTube via Fake Steve Jobs]

Google Voice for Android: Better, But Not Perfect [Google Voice]

Jason Chen — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:40:00 -0400

Google's native app versions of Google Voice for Android and BlackBerry is an example of what we want to see on ALL phones, including the iPhone and the Pre. But that doesn't mean it's perfect.

The major issue we have is the fact that text messages aren't "intercepted" by the Google Voice app in order to send it through your GV number. You have to send your messages using GV instead of with the default messaging client. This wouldn't even be an issue (the unofficial iPhone Google Voice clients have this as well), except that outgoing calls DO get intercepted and piped through Google Voice. The inconsistency is what's bugging us, and since this is Google's own OS and Google's own app, there should be a way for them to implement this feature.

Other than that, everything works pretty much as expected, and better than other GV implementations on other phones. You can view all the folders in your account, listen to voicemails, see their transcripts, make international calls and do just about everything you can do on the Google Voice webapp.

It's free, so get it now.

Configuration screen
Texting (inside the Google Voice app)
What the app's allowed to touch on your phone
The folders you can view
Account balance (for international calls)
Voicemails

Nikon D300s DSLR in the Flesh, Apparently [Rumor]

matt buchanan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:20:00 -0400

Looks like a real live D300s to me. The Nikon leaks are speeding up, so I'm thinking we'll see this get official in August. You know, if it's real. More shots here: [Nikon Rumors]

Pizza Hut's iPhone App Makes Pizza Ordering Easier, More Gimmicky [IPhone Apps]

Adam Frucci — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:00:00 -0400

Pizza Hut has just unveiled its new iPhone App, one that lets you order food as well as, uh, play a racing game.

This app does what you'd expect it to do — order pizza and wings — while also making full use of the iPhone's functionality to gimmicky effect. When you order wings, for example, you need to shake your phone to get the wings covered in sauce. Cool?

And there's "Hut Racer," a basic-looking racing game that they tacked on there to trick you into opening the app more and then randomly deciding to order a pizza.

But hey, in the end, this is another way to order food without having to interact with another human being, so I'm all for it. [Pizza Hut]

When Tech Gods Were Mortal Men [Gizmodo 79]

John Herrman — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:20:00 -0400

Anyone who knows tech knows certain names—Gates, Jobs, Woz, Kamen, Stringer—but before they became legends, they were busy doing, well, some curious stuff. Here's a glance at their lives circa 1979:

Steve Jobs

Now: Just returning to daily work at Apple after a prolonged health scare, he's still one of the most powerful—and recognizable—names in the industry.

Then: This was the year Steve started work on the Lisa, but also the year he became kind of a square. This happened in stages: he bought his first house; began his lifelong Mercedes habit; trimmed his hippie mop; bought some suits; and became a father—at least as far as the courts were concerned—to his daughter, Lisa Nicole. Sellout. [Source]

Bill Gates

Now: Having stepped back from a day-to-day role at Microsoft, Bill now dedicates most of his time to his giant philanthropic foundation. For many, he's still the voice of Microsoft—a perception he seems to appreciate.

Then: Still in his mid 20s, Bill Gates the businessman was busy rebranding his company from Micro-Soft to Microsoft, and moving operations from Albuquerque to the state of Washington, where they would stay from there on out. Bill Gates the nerd, on the other hand, was solving the so-called "Pancake Problem," publishing a paper on it—his only academic work. Apparently, n being the number of pancakes in a stack, (5n + 5)/3 flips will always be enough to sort them into a desired order. Why? I have no idea, but it's probably got something to do with me not being a genius billionaire. [Science News]

Steve Wozniak

Now: Sometimes he's Segging, sometime's he's dancing, sometimes he's even Giz-ing. In any case since distancing himself from Apple, he's been doing whatever the hell he wants.

Then: He had begun work on the Lisa, which would later be passed to other engineers. But outside of work, he was diversifying his portfolio. Before he was a voluntary spokesperson for Dean Kamen's Segway, he was a paid spokesperson for Datsun, featuring in a TV commercial for the 1979 280zx in which he drops such memorable elocutions as "I prefer the Z!" and "IT. IS. AWESOME." It is, Steve. It is.

Steve Ballmer

Now: At Microsoft, he's the dude. He basically runs the show, filling Billy G's old shoes, as it were. In any case, he's at his peak.

Then: Fresh out of college, Steve hadn't even joined Microsoft yet. It wasn't until 1980 that he even pitched the company, who later gave him a job, then a few more jobs, then THE job. A distinguished student at Harvard, he had lofty dreams, which led him to LA, where he tried to make it in Hollywood. (Behind the scenes, of course.) His bid for fame, or at least, profit made from others' fame, didn't pan out, so he went back to school at Stanford. In an alternate universe, Ari Gold's character in Entourage is based on Steve. [Seattle Times]

Michael Dell

Now: Michael Dell helms the second largest PC manufacturer in the world, and is currently trying to navigate a difficult economy and a precipitous drop in some of his core businesses.

Then: Baby Dell has was just getting a taste of his two lifelong passions: computing and cash. He got his first machine, an Apple II of all things, in 1979 at the age of 14, and promptly tore it apart. Soon after, he tried his hand at entrepreneurship, hawking newspaper subscriptions to newlyweds, whose information he scrounged from public records. This quickly made him a thousandaire. [Source]

Sir Howard Stringer

Now: Currently serving as the Emperor of all things Sony, Stringer is hoping to overhaul the company's lumbering, inefficient structure into something a little more streamlined, a little more manageable, and a lot more profitable.

Then: Our Howard, not yet a Sir, was killing network news. In 1979 he was working for CBS, and in 1980 presided over wide staff cuts at the network, mainly in the news department. Apparently, this gutted the network, dragging it down in the ratings races to this day. Not an auspicious start as far as restructurings go, but Sony's a totally different animal, I guess. Right? [NYT]

Bill Hewlett and David Packard

Now: Passed away, so R.I.P.. But, when they were less dead, they founded what would become the largest PC manufacturer in the world, and drove innovation in personal computing, printing and computer science for years.

Then: As loads of exciting innovations were swirling around them, courtesy of people who were more or less children, Bill and David were in the twilight of their respective careers. David had returned to HP after a stint in Richard Nixon's Defense Department, where he became an expert in weapons procurement. Half-employed by HP and still advising the government from time to time, he could be seen wandering the halls of the company, doing odd jobs and making new employees kind of sad. By this time, Bill Hewlett had stepped down as CEO, though he and David still featured in some seriously rad company literature from time to time. [HP, Ralph Sanders, Image from BusinessWeek]

The Google Guys

Now: Eric Schmidt, Sergey Brin and Larry Page run the internet, to put it bluntly. Google's got the most popular search engine, a wide range of successful web services, and a lion's share of the online advertising market. They might have even made the OS on your phone.

Then: This is where Silicon Valley exec age disparities start to get funny. In 1979, Eric Schmidt was on his way to becoming a respectable adult, heading into a PhD program at Berkeley. Meanwhile, Sergey was emigrating from the Soviet Union. With his parents, of course, since he was only six. While Schmidt was churning out a dissertation over in Oakland, Sergey and Larry were building block castles at Montessori schools. Tech-savvy PhD candidates take note: Those kids at the Waldorf Academy down the street? They might be your bosses someday. I mean, don't worry, you'll be filthy rich. But still. [NNDB, The JC]

Dean Kamen

Now: Though he hasn't birthed truly high profile invention since the Segway, Kamen is still doing some really cool stuff, be it designing water purification systems, bionic arms for vets, or rock-climbing wheelchairs. Or hanging out on his own private island.

Then: In 1979, Dean was running from the tax man! Sort of. Having failed to graduate from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Dean had jumped headfirst into a new project called the "Auto-Syringe," which would later be known as the first insulin pump. After his project gained traction, he moved from Massachusetts to New Hampshire for tax reasons, and promptly got rich. [Wired]

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

New Mad Catz Arcade FightSticks for PS3 and Xbox 360 Replenish Your Fighting Spirit [Gaming]

matt buchanan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:19:00 -0400

If you missed the initial run of Mad Catz's excellent Arcade FightSticks, don't cry—Play Asia's taking pre-orders for new sets coming out later this year, sans sweet SFIV art, still $150. [Play-Asia, Play-Asia via Joystiq]

Microsoft Opening Shops Right Next to Apple Stores This Fall [Microsoft]

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:00:00 -0400

Hell froze. Microsoft is openly acknowledging Apple's consumer electronics threat and going for the jugular. The company's COO Kevin Turner has officially announced that they will open their own retail stores "right next door to Apple this fall":

And stay tuned, because we're going to have some retail stores opened up that are opened up right next door to Apple stores this fall. Stay tuned, just stay tuned.

He said it today at the Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference keynote. His words were later confirmed by a Microsoft representative. In other words, after Apple's success in the retail channel—which has helped the Cupertino company to win the mindshare battle—Microsoft wants to fight right back right there, doing the same thing—sounds familiar?—and showing whatever cool things they want to show.

That probably includes topless girls fully oiled and playing Virtua Tenis using Natal.

There are no details about the actual strategy except that it will start happening this fall. I can't wait. I love this kind of war. [Business Insider and CNET]

World's Most Perfect Pair of Balls—Yes! [Image Cache]

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:40:00 -0400

This is one of the two most perfect spheres ever. Exactly one kilogram—Imperial units be damned forever—smooth to the nearest 0.0000000003 meter (1.18110236 × 10-8 inches), and round to within 0.00000005 meters (1.96850394 × 10-6 inches).

They were made using silicon by metrologists from the by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. [Makezine]

Video Piracy Was Big Business In 1979 [Piracy]

Sean Fallon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:20:00 -0400

Back in the day, new fangled VHS technology opened up a world of piracy and paranoia that we are abundantly familiar with today. The only difference was that many pirates were making big, big bucks.

As you will see in the following hard-hitting 60 Minutes report on the state of video piracy in 1979, insiders with access to films were able to command as much as $1000 ($3,308 with inflation) for masters that were later copied and sold by resellers for between $50 and $500 a pop ($155 to $1654 with inflation). Apparently the novelty of watching a movie in your home was enough to justify the expense at a time when a movie ticket cost $3 or less.

"60 Minutes" on Video Piracy - 1979 - part 1 of 2
by videohollic

"60 Minutes" on Video Piracy - 1979 - part 2 of 2
by videohollic

"They said it would happen, and it has. The day when you could go to the movies without leaving your living room!"

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

Gadget Deals of the Day [Dealzmodo]

Johnny Tzeng — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:00:00 -0400

It's Wednesday, but with many bargains on laptops, games, and more, it doesn't matter! Looking for a TV? Check out this 40" Sony Bravia. Are you a gamer? Mirror's Edge is a steal! Lastly, a trip to Mars... sort of.

Personal Portables:
• Samsung HMX-H100 HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom for $479.99 plus free shipping (normally $538).
• 2.5″ Creative ZEN X-Fi 32GB MP3/MP4 Player with Wireless LAN for $229.99 plus free shipping (normally $299.99).
• 80GB Zune Multimedia Player (Reburbished) with Home Audio/Video Pack for $149.99 (normally $240).
• 4.3" Magellan Maestro 4200 Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator for $99.99 plus free shipping (normally $400).
• LG HBM-770 Bluetooth Headset for $14.99 plus free shipping (normally $59.95).
• Plantronics MHS213 Stereo Headset for $7 plus free shipping (normally $13).

Hobomodo:
• Trip to Mars for $0.
• 24-Hour download of Aurora Photo-Editing App for $0.
• Always Infinity for $0.
• 10-day supply of New Advanced Night Repair for $0 (valid 7/24 only).
• "Guilty Pleasure" by Ashley Tisdale MP3 Album download for $0.
• Tru Thoughts Amazon Album MP3 download for $0.
• "Love Came Tumblin' Down" by Monks MP3 download for $0.
• BombBlocks on iPhone for $0.
• Breakfast at Ikea for $0 (valid this weekend only).

If a deal looks too good to be true, investigate the store and see if it's a good, reputable place to buy. Safe shopping!

[Thanks TechDealDigger, DealNews, GamerHotline, SlickDeals, Cheap College Gamers, CheapStingyBargains and TechBargains.]

Japan's Electromagnetic Trains Cause Paperclips to Dance [Science]

Adam Frucci — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:40:00 -0400

These paperclips, when placed on the floor of a japanese commuter train, stand up on their ends and dance whenever the train accelerates or brakes thanks electromagnetism.

The video - shot on the Rokko Liner in Kobe, Japan - shows how paperclips stand on end when the train accelerates and brakes. The magnetism, which is produced by the electric current that drives the motors located under the floor, apparently poses no harm to the human body, though it could damage credit cards, mobile phones, or other electronic devices if left on the floor. The Kobe New Transit Company, which operates the Rokko Liner (as well as the Port Liner, which uses similar trains), says extra shielding is being installed just in case.

The only thing that happens to paper clips when they're placed on American trains is that they get fed up and decide to just drive next time. Hiyo! [Kobe Shimbun via Pink Tentacle]

Confirmed: iTunes 8.2.1 Breaks Pre Syncing [Pre]

Jason Chen — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:39:44 -0400

We just confirmed it on our own machines: iTunes 8.2.1 breaks Pre syncing. Apple warned that they may cut off the sync, and Palm said it would be a direct blow to their users. Direct Blow, she is a'here. Updated

Obviously if you're a Pre user you should not update to the latest iTunes. Not, at least, until Palm strikes back with some kind of firmware update to enable syncing again. It's not like 8.2.1 has all that many new features either, so you don't really need to update. [Pre Thinking]

Update: Here's Palm's official statement:

Palm's media sync works with iTunes 8.2. If Apple chooses to disable media sync in iTunes, it will be a direct blow to their users who will be deprived of a seamless synchronization experience. However, people will have options. They can stay with the iTunes version that works to sync their music on their Pre, they can transfer the music via USB, and there are other third-party applications we can consider.

Update 2: Here's Apple's official statement to Businessweek:

iTunes 8.2.1 is a free software update that provides a number of important bug fixes. It also disables devices falsely pretending to be iPods, including the Palm Pre. As we've said before, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with unsupported digital media players.

Angry Kindlers Sue Amazon Over Case Defect, Demand $5m In Damages [Kindle]

John Herrman — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:20:00 -0400

We know as well as anyone that Kindles can be frustratingly fragile, but that's why you buy a case, right? For the plaintiffs in a fresh class action lawsuit against Amazon, it was actually the case that caused the problems.

Matt Geise, the name behind the case, went out of his way to buy Amazon's $30 protective cover for his wife's Kindle 2. Over time, the points where the cover attaches to the device with metal clips began cracking. As the cracks got more severe, so did the Kindle's symptoms. Eventually, it totally croaked, as you can see above.

Geise went to Amazon, who told him to shell out $200 for repairs—less than the cost of a new or used Kindle, but not by much. So, as you do nowadays, he turned to the internet, where he found people with similar stories. Then, as you also apparently do nowadays, he parlayed it into a $5m class action lawsuit.

Fair enough, though I imagine Geise and Co. could have a tough time proving this is a design defect, and not just a symptom of rough treatment. Still, the Kindle's already got a somewhat flimsy reputation for, um, flimsiness, and this news doesn't help. Flexible displays can't come soon enough. [Seattle Times via Fast Company]

iPhone Server Farm Puts Old Models To Good Use [Storage]

Sean Fallon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:00:00 -0400

If you have been quick to scoop up new iPhones as they come out, you may have a couple of old models lying around right now. How about using them to start a server farm?

The prototype pictured here is intended to promote the ServersMan app, which gives iPhone users the ability to use their phone as network storage, file viewer or a mini web server. Hey, If you are not going to sell the phones or give them away, its better than leaving them in a drawer somewhere. [IT Media via DVICE]

This Is Why You Need To Know When To Say When [Man Vs Machine]

Sean Fallon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:40:00 -0400

Hey, I'm all for a night out drinking now and then, but not to the point where I'm crawling into industrial garbage bins to sleep one off. You might not wake up when it's crunch time.

Case in point—math teacher and rugby coach Scott Williams was recently crushed to death when he fell asleep in an industrial garbage bin in Brighton, UK. His body was discovered more than 24 hours later by sanitation workers.

Seems like an open and shut case, but I still have to wonder whether or not the Boozy Shredder was involved somehow. Then again, could someone else be to blame? [The Argus via Fark]

Apple II: The World Catches On [Computers]

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:00:00 -0400

Often it's an artist's second book or album that draws the public's attention—so too with Apple's number 2, whose story is excerpted here from Core Memory, photographed by Mark Richards and written by John Alderman.

Name: Apple II
Year created: 1977
Creator: Apple Computer, Inc.
Cost: $1,298 with 4KB of RAM; $2,638 with 48KB of RAM
Memory: 4K semiconductor
Processor: MOS technology 6502

Spurred on by the small but encouraging success of the original Apple, the two Steves, Wozniak and Jobs, retreated to the garage (Jobs') to craft the personal computer that was the most convincing case yet that such an item could have a mass market. The Apple II started where the Apple I left of, namely, with a case. It didn't look like an object dropped from a starship or developed in a military lab. It had a familiar, prosaic form of an elongated beige typewriter, though additions like the television monitor and the cassette player used to store programs made it look a little like a college-dorm entertainment center.

If its appearance was familiar, the Apple II was also attractive to consumers in a way that pervious computers just weren't—even if their manufacturers tried. It shipped with high-resolution color graphics and sound, and it had a rainbow-colored apple logo that seemed both fresh and optimistic. Said Wozniak, "The Apple II, more than any other early machine, made computer a word that could be said in homes. It presented a computer concept that included fun and games—human-type things." The ability to have a business and a social side was an important sign of computing's growing relevance.

The price made the Apple II affordable for businesspeople, well-off families, and schools. It was in the education sector that its influence lasted longest—although it certainly made its mark on business as the first platform to run VisiCalc, the first consumer spreadsheet program. It was the programs that really hooked people, and the Apple II had a great roster of educational and entertainment software. By attracting developers, a snowball effect occurred, and a new generation of developers became attracted and then obsessed.

Core Memory is a photographic exploration of the Computer History Museum's collection, highlighting some of the most interesting pieces in the history of computers. These excerpts were used with permission of the publisher. Special thanks to Fiona!

The top photograph was taken by Mark Richards, whose work has appeared in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Fortune, Smithsonian, Life and BusinessWeek. The eye-candy is accompanied by descriptions of each artifact to cover the characteristics and background of each object, written by John Alderman who has covered the culture of high-tech lifestyle since 1993, notably for Mondo 2000, HotWired and Wired News. A foreword is provided by the Computer History Museum's Senior Curator Dag Spicer.

Or go see the real things at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.

Gizmodo '79 is a week-long celebration of gadgets and geekdom 30 years ago, as the analog age gave way to the digital, and most of our favorite toys were just being born.

No One Really Knows How Many Albums Michael Jackson Sold [Michael Jackson]

matt buchanan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:40:00 -0400

Some earth-shattering sleuthing from the WSJ: No one really knows how many albums Michael Jackson sold—certainly not 750 million. See, in the barbaric days before album sales were electronically reported to Nielsen SoundScan—1991—it was all guesswork.

Here's how messed up the Billboard rankings were in the pre-electronic days: It used rankings, not actual sales numbers, assumed all albums on the chart had equal spacing between them, no matter how big the gap really was. So, whether a number one album sold just 10 or 10,000 more copies than the number two album, it showed up the same. And on top of only tracking the US and Canada—so not worldwide figures—SoundScan has no data pre-1991.

For what it's worth, Sony and the RIAA peg ~~Jackson's~~ Thriller's sales at 55 million, though Jackson's management says it's more like 100 million. The RIAA says he's sold 61.5 million albums through his career. And those numbers don't include the digital explosion over the last couple weeks. (He held 9 out of the top 10 albums on iTunes after his death.) Other mythical albums sales figures are a lie too, conflating songs and albums: The Beatles haven't sold a billion albums, AC/DC hasn't topped 200 million.

What a far cry from iTunes today: It not only tracks every song and album you buy, it tells you songs you might like based on what you buy after comparing it to what everybody else is buying, and songs you might wanna listen to based on what you already have. We have far too many numbers now. [WSJ]

A Car Horn That Can Be Heard 9 Miles Away [Cars]

Sean Fallon — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:20:00 -0400

Sometimes when a guy cuts me off I wish I had a gun turret mounted on the top of my car. On the other hand, a horn from a WWII destroyer might be just as effective.

[Break]

Seriously, I can't even imagine what this would do to a motorcyclist riding nearby. Of course, this isn't the first time some jackass annoyed their neighbors with a mod like this.