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I wonder what’s going through the minds of the people at Plantronics as they employed a descendant of King Midas who somehow retained his famous ancestor’s ability to turn things into gold, touching a new line of Plantronics Bluetooth headsets known as the Discovery 925 Jewel. This cell phone accessory is worth a stunning £50,000, and will feature 18k gold, 40 diamonds and 31 natural pearls to adorn it. No doubt the man on Main Street is unable to afford it, while fat cats on Wall Street are more interested in keeping their jobs instead of having the latest bling Bluetooth headset to worry about. Only royalty and sheikhs need apply, I guess.

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The unused portions of the television broadcast spectrum known as white spaces has become the new battleground pitting celebrity performers against big name technology companies.

Country singer Dolly Parton is the latest among celebrities to urge the Federal Communications Commission to put off a vote scheduled for Nov. 4 on the issue. Parton has mega pastor Joel Osteen on her side.

They, other broadcasters and live stage performers, fear that opening up white spaces to new devices will interfere with their ability to use wireless microphones.

But Parton and Osteen are up against a powerful coalition of tech companies. Google, Dell and Microsoft wrote their letters separately to the FCC urging for a vote.

Two weeks ago, an FCC report said the testing of new devices showed no interference with TV broadcast or wireless microphone signals.

"Unfortunately, groups that have long opposed opening up the white spaces are now employing stalling tactics to derail the technology, before the FCC can write the rules for this spectrum," wrote Google CEO Eric Schmidt in his letter.

Dell CEO Michael Dell joined in with his own plea. "Your approval of the white spaces order will trigger a boom in investment, job creation and consumer demand in the high-tech sector, which has been the engine of our information economy," said Dell in his statement. "We fully anticipate seeing billions of dollars of much needed new investment support, R&D and deployment for this exciting new technology."

Companies such as Google, Dell and Motorola are part of the Wireless Innovation Alliance, which is asking for the white spaces to be unlicensed and open to all. Those areas of the spectrum could then be used to deliver inexpensive broadband connectivity to rural areas at a tenth of the cost of today’s municipal WiFi projects, they say.

[via GigaOm]

Also see:
Google Founder Lobbies FCC to Free Spectrum
Google Wireless Plan Angers Audio-Equipment Makers
Google Sets Sight on WhiteSpaces Spectrum
FCC To Test WhiteSpace Devices

Photo: (prawnpie/Flickr)

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Got an old Sega Dreamcast lying around, gathering dust while you mope about the console’s short-lived reign in the market? Well, why not turn it into something useful like the Atari Punk Dreamcast? This Dreamcast case holds an Atari Punk/noise synth within, and will feature additional specifications such as :-

• Internal speaker with on/off function
• Opto-theremin (photo cell) with on/off function
• 4 Body Contacts
• Blue LED glow
• Furby eyes

Right - Furby eyes. That thing totally creeps me out. Commendable effort though - I’m pretty sure other older CD-based consoles will be able to house the same innards as well.

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Fancy taking India’s ubiquitous charkha and adding a dash of technology to it, aptly known as the e-charkha. This device produces yarn and does much more than that - it also generates electricity thanks to a maintenance free lead acid battery located at the bottom which doubles up as an inverter. The e-charkha is able to churn out 6 - 9 Watts of power, and two hours of continuous spinning will be able to keep its custom LED light source running for up to 7 hours, enough to extend working time late into the night without having to work in darkness. Also, these LEDs will reduce reliance on toxic and dangerous kerosene lamps, which indirectly lowers medical costs. It will cost around $200 to produce the e-charkha, so hopefully due time and advancements in technology will reduce that price to a more affordable for people living not only in India but other developing countries as well.

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We don’t know what it is exactly that the analysts analyze to get their analyses, but it appears that they don’t use the internet.

The latest crazy claim comes from Charlie Wolf of Needham Research. He says that Apple could take over the smartphone market if it were to cut the price of the iPhone to $99. He sees Apple taking the hit for the 50% discount, instead of the cost being passed on to AT&T, which is already subsidizing the handset at a cost of around $460 per iPhone.

It sounds neat, right? Crop prices, grow market share. Let’s take a look at the rest of the world. My home country, Spain, for instance. Here an iPhone can be had for nothing. The handset is free on the higher tariffs, and you can be sure that Apple isn’t absorbing those costs. In theory, then the iPhone should be everywhere, but how many have I seen since the launch of the iPhone 3G? Two. That’s it. And remember, I have the kind of gadget-honed eyes that can spot the difference between a first and second generation ipod Touch from 50 yards.

The persistent desire from analysts for Apple to drop its prices and gain market share, whether it be iPhones or Macs, is inexplicable. One look will tell you that Apple doesn’t compete in the low margin, high-turnover game. It keeps its prices reasonable and still sells a ton.

iphone could hit $99, rule smartphones [Electronista]

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Now here is a cell phone that is slightly different from what you get every day - the Emporia Clarity Amplified Phone comes with 20dB amplified audio to help you listen to the speaker on the other line in unprecedented clarity, while a quartet of easy-to-use buttons and large on-screen text clearly points this handset towards the direction of more senior folks. A flashing LED light is included to help alert you of an incoming call just in case your hearing aid runs out of juice. The Emporia Clarity Amplified Phone can be yours for $269.

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Whenever one country receives a highly anticipated piece of technology first, many other countries get jealous and find ways to illegally obtain that device.  Currently, T-Mobile’s G1 was only released several days ago in America and hasn’t been released elsewhere at this time.  Some Chinese are desperate to try out the first phone running Google’s Android and so they have begun buying G1s from American consumers for big bucks, or should I say big renminbi. 

For about RMB 3,999, about $584, you can purchase your own G1.  If you wish to purchase an unlocked G1, then it will cost an additional RMB 500, or $73.  It looks like the price of the G1 will remain high, until T-Mobile officially introduces the G1 to China, even though China is receiving a lot of illegal phones.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of other countries began to follow suit.  The G1 is such a hyped phone many people outside of the U.S. can’t wait to see how good it is and how Google’s open source Android works.

Read [Pacific Epoch] Via [mocoNews]

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by Darren Murph, posted Oct 27th 2008 at 4:35PM
We were fully prepared to start harshing on VHS as a dead-end technology that never went anywhere during its time in retail (as a joke, of course), and out of nowhere, a bona fide tear slowly ran down our left cheek. Today, friends, is a day worth remembering. Today truly marks the end of an era, as so far as we can tell, JVC really was the only company still producing standalone VCRs. Of course, the outfit will continue to serve customers with a need to play back VHS tapes by offering up DVD / VHS combo units, but those looking for a shiny new slice of retro in 2008 will be out of luck after remaining inventories dry up. All told, over 900 million VCRs were produced worldwide, with 50 million of those boasting a JVC label. We simply couldn’t think of a more fitting way to put the iconic VCR (which just turned 30 in 2005) to bed than by hosting up a poll and soliciting your input — here’s hoping the videocassette lives on in your domicile in one form or another, even if it’s just the resident dust collector.

[Via Impress]

Do you still own / use a VCR?

Yes! Use my standalone VCR regularly!I’ve got one in a combo unit.I’ve got one, but it hasn’t been used in eons.No way — sent mine to the thrift store years ago.Just picked up a huge lot on eBay!Did VHS really outlast hd dvd? Damn.Vote

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

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by Thomas Ricker, posted Oct 27th 2008 at 10:39AMGood news homebrewsters, the Homebrew Channel has been updated and is now compatible with Nintendo’s Homebrew killing (for new installs) October 23rd update. While the previous exploit was closed by Nintendo, Beta 9 of the HBC exploits a different flaw and works just fine with the latest system software. They’ve even tossed in SDHC support to make the brick risking maneuver a bit more enticing.

[Via HackMii, thanks Glen G.]

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Filed under: Gaming

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by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Oct 27th 2008 at 1:42PM
Once more it looks like Johns Hopkins has taken humanity a step closer to full-blown Borg-hood. A research team at the school has created water-soluble electronic materials that spontaneously assemble themselves into wires some 10,000 times smaller than a human hair, for potential uses that include regulating cell-to-cell communication, re-engineering neural networks, repairing damaged spinal cords and transforming individuals into cybernetically enhanced drones. The researchers also point out that the self-assembly principles used to create the nano-scale wires are based on those of beta-amyloid plaques (which have been associated with Alzheimers), so the research may someday lead to a better understanding of the disease. This is definitely good news, but we can’t help but think that once we’ve been assimilated into the hive mind Alzheimer’s will be the least of our concerns.

[Via TG Daily]

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets