If you’re a discerning eater, you know the age-old mantra: everything’s better with bacon. Out in Germany, they’ve really taken it to heart, and have made fabric gadget cases that look like they’re constructed out of every gentile’s favorite pork product. The Bacon Case seems to come in different sizes, at least one of which can fit the iPhone, and is selling for 25 Euro. The description’s all in German, and I don’t know what or who a “Frühstücksspeck” is, but the case is “Absolute Trendtasche!!!” and who am I to argue with that? More pictures after the jump.
Rovio owners have been able to control their all-seeing sentry bot from their iPhone (or any other internet-connected device) from day one using WowWee’s browser-based interface, but one enterprising individual apparently found that a tad lacking for his taste, so he decided to take things one big step further by building his own full-fledged iPhone / iPod touch app. In addition to giving you a larger view of the Rovio’s webcam feed, the app achieves the inevitable by letting you use the iPhone or iPod touch’s accelerometer to control the Rovio, which should let you give your Wiimote a rest for a while. Better still, the app is free — you know where to get.
According to a recent analyst study, we are on pace to lose 180,000 tech jobs this year—the most since 2003. Even without the figure, we could have assumed that things are epically bad. You can’t get through a day’s worth of news without hearing about some big tech company layoffs. In this month alone, Circuit City, AMD and Sun Microsystems are among those trying to shed costs on the payrolls. So, I’m curious—how bad are things really? For those of you who work in a tech-related company, have there been job cuts in the last year? [Image: revdancatt/Flickr]
When we first laid eyes upon the slick box pictured above, we were struck with an eerie feeling of déjà vu. Now, it all makes sense. After receiving an all-but-completely-dead MacBook, one particular modder decided to rip the motherboard out, break out the soldering iron, throw in a few replacement parts and shove everything into a Macally G-S350SUA aluminum hard drive enclosure. Wanna know why? Because he had a peek at this — a Mac Pro Mini mod that popped up here in March. Talk about taking inspiration and improving upon it.
Hope you’re eager to break into that Halloween candy early, because you’ve got some (re)celebrating to do. If you’ll recall, we first heard that laptops accounted for over half of US retail computer sales back in 2003, and in June of 2005, we found that it was somehow worth getting jazzed over once more when it happened again. Here we are in the latter half of 2008 shaking our heads in disappointment, as IDC has amazingly discovered that notebook shipments into the US market have exceeded the 50% threshold for the first time evar. Go ahead and stock up on rave supplies early — we get this weird feeling that we’ll be doing this same song and dance in 2010 or so.
You may be wondering why every netbook we write about seems to have the same Intel Atom processor. Some of it has to do with Intel’s prominence in the entire processor market at the moment (which makes competition from Via little contest), and some of it has to do with AMD not stepping up to duke it out in the tiny laptop arena. AMD simply has no interest in the mini-laptop market, and CEO Dirk Meyer makes it abundantly clear:
We’re ignoring the Netbook phenomenon—just thinking about PC form factors above that form factor.
AMD also claims that the public has been unhappy with the tiny machines and cite high return rates as proof of dissatisfaction.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out…but if netbooks do stick around in their current form, it’s too bad that AMD won’t be there to keep Intel on their toes. [CNET]
I usually don’t get excited about home appliances unless you can cook with them or they vibrate, but this Miele S7’s video has actually amazed me. Not only because it looks like it came from outer space thanks to the front LEDs, sensors, and LCD screen, but because of its smart design, which allows it to twist in every direction—to the point of laying flat—and transform with all kinds of built-in contraptions.
The Miele S7 has LED lights to illuminate every place it can reach while you suck pizza crumbles, Lego pieces, and dead spiders thanks to a 1,800-watt engine, built-in sensors that adjust speed and height depending on the surface, and a six-litre vacuum bag. As you can see in the video, every place really means every place: The S7 has a twisting head design that allows it to turn into every direction possible, including laying down on the floor, completely flat.
Unlike other vacuum cleaners, this one comes with all the different accessories to clean special surfaces built in its own body. No need to go to the closet to get them. Available in five different models, going from $370 to $551. [Miele via T3]
Oh Rolly… we know you’re an overpriced, 2GB dancing robot with convoluted controls and questionable sound quality. But dammit, your impractical, big-corporate ways have gnawed a soft-spot deep into the noxious cesspool we call a heart. Now this: Rolly model SEP-50BT with Bluetooth control from your cellphone or laptop. Shipping in Japan on November 21st for an expected ¥40,000 or about $427. Sold. Watch it all unfold in the video after the break.
It seemed earlier this week that AMD’s new Conesus chips would take on Intel’s dominant Atom platform in the netbook market, but it sounds like that was just wishful thinking — according to CEO Dirk Meyer, the chipmaker is “ignoring the netbook platform” in favor machines “above that form factor.” AMD says that it’s seeing high return rates on netbooks, a phenomenon it’s chalking up to an unsatisfactory user experience on smaller machines. Of course, that doesn’t quite jive with the sales numbers being posted by Acer, ASUS, and HP — and although return rates are indeed higher for Linux machines than for XP, we’re puzzled as to why AMD cares about anything other than raw chip sales to OEMs, since we were under the impression that that’s how AMD makes money. Of course, really smart companies don’t just sell what people want, they convince people to want what they sell, and that seems to be AMD’s tactic: it says that the higher-powered, dual-core Conesus with ATI RS780M graphics will deliver a full-featured user experience that more people will spring for, even if it’s in a slightly larger package. We’ll see if this strategy plays in the market — while we’d love to see a machine like the Inspiron Mini 12 with some real horsepower in it, it’s hard to argue with a $280 Atom-based Eee.
If you’re a discerning eater, you know the age-old mantra: everything’s better with bacon. Out in Germany, they’ve really taken it to heart, and have made fabric gadget cases that look like they’re constructed out of every gentile’s favorite pork product. The Bacon Case seems to come in different sizes, at least one of which can fit the iPhone, and is selling for 25 Euro. The description’s all in German, and I don’t know what or who a “Frühstücksspeck” is, but the case is “Absolute Trendtasche!!!” and who am I to argue with that? More pictures after the jump.
[DaWanda]
According to a 
You may be wondering why every netbook we write about seems to have the same Intel Atom processor. Some of it has to do with Intel’s prominence in the entire processor market at the moment (which makes competition from Via little contest), and some of it has to do with AMD not stepping up to duke it out in the tiny laptop arena. AMD simply has no interest in the mini-laptop market, and CEO Dirk Meyer makes it abundantly clear:
I usually don’t get excited about home appliances unless you can cook with them or they vibrate, but this Miele S7’s video has actually amazed me. Not only because it looks like it came from outer space thanks to the front LEDs, sensors, and LCD screen, but because of its smart design, which allows it to twist in every direction—to the point of laying flat—and transform with all kinds of built-in contraptions.
I can’t tell you how bummed I am that 
It seemed earlier this week that AMD’s 
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