Filed under: Firmware Updates

While it doesn’t really do a whole lot other than fix the bugs you may have encountered from version 1.92, a new software update has been released for the PS3 and you should download it. If you can’t get on the network to even download the update, there’s always the option of sticking it on a flash memory and uploading it directly.

From what we saw at the PlayStation forums, that doesn’t seem to really be an issue for anyone yet, but it may happen if you’re somehow locked out of all things internet-related. Well, enjoy being able to play Warhawk again, if you were hit with the bug!

[Update: the servers seem fairly unstable at the moment, so if you’re in no big rush, it’s probably a better idea to wait until the morning to download the update. It’s not necessary, just saves you a bit of trouble if you keep getting a network error.]

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As we’ve all learned from countless sitcoms and romantic comedies, nothing cures the blues better than big old bowl of cookie dough ice cream. And that’s the very logic at work behind artist Demitrios Kargotis’s new vending machine, which doles out portions of frozen custard based on a customer’s mood. The sadder the customer, the more ice cream he or she is rewarded with.

The Mr. Whippy machine debuted at the Ars Electronica digital art festival currently underway in Linz, Austria. It works by having a customer answer a series of questions — the responses to which are analyzed using software that measures voice stress. If Mr. Whippy determines that you’re having a bad day, the machine attempts to cheer you up with a bigger portion of ice cream than you’d otherwise receive if you were happy.

Sadly, the contraption is only an art project at this time and can’t even be classified as a prototype in the works. So, while it’s very unlikely we’ll see Mr. Whippy machines installed on street corners any time soon, it did get us thinking what else this voice- and mood-detecting reward technology could be used for in the future:

• An automatic HR department machine that doles out raises based on how much butt you kiss?
• A mechanized therapist that spits out Prozac when you’re really down in the dumps?
• DVDs that stop playing and dissolve into thin air when they determine that you’re completely dissatisfied with your rental?
• A Windows operating system that apologizes when it detects frustration?

The possibilities are endless! Share your own ideas in the comments below.

From Boing Boing

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Warner Brothers, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand

Warner Bros. is wicked smart: They looked and they said, “What’s some of the hottest stuff out there right now that we don’t have?” The answers: Giant f**king robots and Tobey f**king Maguire. And so Warner Bros. did what they do best — they went out and picked up the rights to the anime classic Robotech, brought Maguire on to produce through his Maguire Entertainment and are currently seducing him into starring in the lead role. Better yet — they’re also eying this as their next tentpole sci-fi franchise. Whether or not this means Maguire will not reprise his role as Peter Parker in a Spider-Man 4 is hard to say; yet, if he does decide to star in the film (with plans on making it a franchise), I’d imagine chances of him donning the Spidey outfit for a fourth go-round are pretty slim.

I’m not too familiar with Robotech; The Hollywood Reporter tell us it was a “cartoon series during the 1980s from Harmony Gold USA and Tatsunoki Prods. It was re-edited and re-dialogued to combine three Japanese anime series to give the producers enough episodes to air as a daily syndicated series.” The story apparently takes place during a time when the Earth has used alien technology to create giant robots in order to use as defense against three successive waves of alien invasions. Giant robots versus aliens, with Tobey Maguire using his small-town charms to kick tons of ass? Yup, I dig it. Craig Zahler will write the script, although there’s no indication whether Warners will want to go live-action with this or stick with something in the CGI realm. Which would you rather see: Tobey in Robotech, Tobey in Spidey 4 or Tobey in both?

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Filed under: Cellphones

Not a lot of dirt on this one just yet, but BoyGeniusReport has it that the HTC “Juno” should be headed to T-Mobile, and soon. Of note, the Juno moniker is apparently just a codename that could change upon official launch, but this sexy handset will purportedly include Windows Mobile 6, a “consumer friendly interface (TouchFlo?),” and a whole lot of wow-factor in the display. Regrettably, that’s practically all of the details available at the moment, but considering that it should hit T-Mobile exclusively late next month, official word shouldn’t be too far behind.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Forecasts, Rumors, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Motorola (MOT), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Palm Inc (PALM)

Three years ago in August, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) went public and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was still out explaining to the world what an iPod is. Established cell phone manufacturers and service providers were wrestling with each other for market share and trying to maintain pricing structures. Cell phone companies like Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Motorola (NYSE: MOT) were trying to figure what the next move would be in the lucrative, up-and-coming Chinese market. The world was good and the lines of division were clear. Now Apple has “revolutionized” the cell phone industry and Google appears to be right on its heels.

The cell phone industry is roughly a billion units per year in size — that’s one billion. Apple stated with the iPhone launch its intentions of “just capturing” 1%, or 10 million units by 2008 year end. What’s remarkable about that “minuscule” number is that is comes from a player that was never a cell phone maker nor marketer but was starting from scratch. The really interesting number will be what is Apple’s share in two years or three years or five years. The iPhone IS a revolution and now it seems another player is jumping on board — Google.

Google is rumored to be entering this market soon. Nothing definitive has been announced by Google, which is normal as the company rarely announce anything anyways! But through several indications, the rumors seem to be true. Google has acquired a private company in 2005, Android, for the specific purpose of launching a new mobile platform. The platform could rival Nokia’s, Palm (NASDAQ: PALM)’s and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)’s operating systems and is setting Google up to be a “major player” from day one.

The cellular industry is an evergreen industry. New versions and iterations are launched on an annual basis, plus people lose phones or just get plain-old bored with their existing ones. The cellular industry is undergoing the paradigm shift of becoming the laptop-in-the-hand and not just a simple communication device.

Apple and Google have a powerful brand, especially with the consumer market, which of course is the biggest market in the world. These two companies are emerging as the bellwether technology names for this decade and possibly beyond. Google and Apple have basically taken the reigns from Microsoft, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and IBM (NYSE: IBM). Both are superbly managed, well-capitalized and ironically, are not the best communicators with Wall Street.

As we look out five plus years from now, the dominant list of cell phone operators/providers will include both Apple and Google in probably the top five to six spots. The world is a changin’…

Georges Yared is the CIO of Yared Investment Research and the author of Baby Boomer Investing…Where do we go from here?

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Filed under: Gaming

You might have seen a story floating around earlier this month about an Oregon nine-year-old who took the wheel of his dad’s big rig and steered it to safety after the father suffered a seizure and blacked out. Well, the kid, Matt Lovo, said all he wanted in return for his heroics was a new Playstation 3, and after the dad rebuffed a community effort to pitch in and buy one, Sony stepped in a donated a unit. Big ups to Sony for the generosity and to Matt for his bravery — we hear he’s planning on installing the console in the truck, so maybe the vibrations from the engine will make up for that lack of rumble.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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Filed under: Videos and Screenshots

We’ve already met the crazy soldier and heavy artillery guy of Team Fortress 2, now we get to meet the surprisingly resourceful and musically talented Engineer. Solving “practical problems”, he seems more interested in pounding back a few brews and sitting by a fire, playing his guitar than running around fighting. That’s because he seems more adept at building machinery to do his bidding for him, something we’re interested to see translate into actual gameplay. Either way, it’s a very fun video, so enjoy!

[via Joystiq]

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Fresh water is essential in keeping anyone alive, which is why the Life Saver bottle has already garnered plenty of attention as it is able to make foul-smelling water drinkable within seconds. Each bottle can distill between 4,000 to 6,000 liters without having to change the filter, making this the perfect solution in emergencies such as natural disasters and even war. Heck, it works so well, it can even clean up faecal matter without the help of chemicals. Each Live Saver-Filter enabled bottle retails for approximately $385, but when you think of the lives it can save, that is but chump change.

Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones

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Filed under: Breakfast, Dessert, West Coast, Grains, Dairy, Recipes, Baking, On the Blogs, Eggs, America, Comfort Food, Sugar

There are some combinations of food that just taste good together. Cheese and crackers. Peanut butter and celery. Tuna salad and mashed potatoes. What? You mean not every family ate those two items together? It is actually quite delicious (and fun to mold). Another classic combination is donuts and coffee. Over at the Cupcake Bakeshop, Cheryl has reimagined that traditional pairing by turning it into a cupcake (topped by a small, homemade donut). She is one of those bloggers who’s food photography makes me drool every so slightly each time she puts up a new post.

Photo link

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Filed under: Cell Phones, iPhone

So much for AT&T’s exclusive on the iPhone. After just 74 days on the market and more than a million units sold, the iPhone can now be used on any SIM-card based cellular network, which for the U.S., basically means T-Mobile.

Since the day the iPhone was launched, hackers have been hard at work trying to break the handset free of its AT&T imprisonment. First, some hardware hacks appeared which required cracking open the iPhone and messing around with its innards. Then there was the kid who figured out an easier way, but sold his secret to a cell phone company in exchange for a new car. Most recently, a piece of software appeared on the Web called iPhoneSIMFree, which promised to unlock the iPhone for use with other carriers, only it cost you $99 (If you haven’t seen this Engadget video of iPhoneSIMFree in action, watch it now).

A group of hackers paid for iPhoneSIMFree and got a look under the hood, and before long they engineered an alternative solution, dubbed iUnlock, which they are now giving away to the masses. The program is available on Gizmodo, but we must warn you that the unlocking process is still a bit techie. And remember, it more than likely voids your iPhone’s warranty, so tread lightly.

For now, Apple isn’t doing much to prevent people from using the hack. In a recent interview with PC Magazine, the company’s vice president of Hardware Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak, said that Apple is taking a neutral stance on homemade iPhone applications, meaning the company doesn’t support them, but also won’t purposely impede their development.

That said, there’s a big difference between a program that lets you play old Nintendo games on your iPhone and a program that effectively slaughters the undisclosed, but no doubt costly deal that was brokered to give AT&T exclusive rights to the phone.

From Engadget and Gizmodo

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