Engadget’s top posts, 2007

Filed under: Meta

Indeed it was a banner year here at Engadget -- completely thanks to you, of course. Google may have its Zeitgeist, but we figured we could at least cap things off with a few lists of the most well-read posts of 2007 (and a few stats, to boot). Also, don't forget to check out the lists at Engadget Mobile and Engadget HD! See you in 2008!

Top 20 most trafficked posts of 2007 (in order)

1. Live from Macworld 2007: Steve Jobs keynote
2. Steve Jobs live -- Apple's "The beat goes on" special event
3. Live from Apple's summer Mac product press conference
4. The Apple iPhone
5. Steve Jobs live from WWDC 2007
6. Xbox 360 Elite: new, black limited edition Xbox with HDMI and 120GB drive
7. iPhone unlocked: AT&T loses iPhone exclusivity, August 24, 2007, 12:00PM EDT
   
8. iPhone review
9. The second Xbox 360 revealed: codename Zephyr
10. Nokia's iPhone -- no, seriously
11. Live from Apple's "Mum is no longer the word" event in London
12. Apple keynote: live from NAB 2007
13. Is this the new iMac keyboard?
14. iPhone & LG KE850: separated at birth?
15. The Wii Laptop!
16. Apple's iPod touch gets official
17. The Motorola RAZR 2
18. LG's KE850 PRADA official: iPhone says, wha?
19. Leopard vs. Vista: feature chart showdown
20. Xbox 360 Elite vs. classic: the test

Man, people really seem to like Apple. Click on for more.

Continue reading Engadget's top posts, 2007

 

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LG & Mark Levinson launching two home theater systems at CES

Filed under: Home Entertainment

We didn't have to wait long to hear more about Mark Levinson's partnership with LG, resulting in two new home theater systems to launch at CES 2008. No longer limited to audiophiles searching eBay auctions for discontinued equipment, the AP3133 and LHT888 promise a high end AV experience at "astonishing" -- albeit TBA -- prices. The AP3133 HTIB puts LG's Super Blu BH200 dual-format player at the heart of a 7.1-channel system with 150 watts x 7 ICEpower output, multi-input HDMI switching, Burr-Brown PCM and Audessey Auto Room Multi EQ adjustment. The LHT888 fulfills our needs for a champagne-glass styled HT system, with each speaker in a tapered, integrated pedestal, to math the 1080p upscaling, DivX / MP3 / JPEG / DVD playing 700W 5.1-channel receiver. Prices (and pics) are due at LG's press conference January 6th.

 

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Final contest reminder: two round trip tickets on JetBlue departs tomorrow night

Filed under: Announcements

It's (still) New Year's Eve out here in the States, meaning in a few more hours you'll not only see what it's like to live in the future (i.e. 2008), but you'll also lose your last chance to enter to win two round trip tickets on JetBlue (and some noise canceling headphones, to boot). Check out the rules, and to the young'ns out there, remember: if someone tells you that you're going to a "key party" tonight, we recommend you politely bow out.

 

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How-to build your own wireless, autonomous hovercraft

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation, Wireless

So to be clear right off the bat, this is not the type of hovercraft that you might commute to work or class in, but rather a small RC version more suitable for transporting babies or adorable pets. That being said, Instructables user bradpowers has posted step-by-step guide for the ambitious modder to build his or her very own remotely-controlled or autonomous 'craft, from constructing the frame to assembling the lift and propulsion systems to setting up the onboard PIC. Definitely not a project for the easily distracted, however, a successful build will surely make you the delight of neighborhood children for blocks in every direction. Check out a video of the little guy in action after the break.

Continue reading How-to build your own wireless, autonomous hovercraft

 

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Mega Drive Portable gets rebadged, available to order

Filed under: Gaming

 

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DIY time lapse intervalometer saves dough, improves creativity

Filed under: Digital Cameras

We know you've had plenty of time to recreate that shutter release hack, and if you found yourself impressed with the results, you're bound to adore this one. Eagleapex has struck again with yet another swank camera mod, this time giving DSLR owners an easy (and affordable) method for handling time lapse photography. Granted, this creation isn't the simplest to build, and there's still a few notable limitations that keep it from supreme greatness -- namely the inaccurate interval setting and the occasionally problematic short output pulse -- but neither of those quirks are ones that pros can't remedy when concocting their own. Check out a video of the results after the jump, and don't ever say that watching ice melt is a bore.

Continue reading DIY time lapse intervalometer saves dough, improves creativity

 

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Crapgadget: mammoth iPod touch knockoff

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Although we don't encourage you to lower your standards in 2008 like so many already have, our eyes did rest upon a couple of janky devices that you might want to take a gander at before the year's through. Just don't look too long, they might make you blind -- or somehow willing to shell out some cash. Which, we cannot say. Crapgadget signing off for 2007.

Read - The most massive iPod touch knockoff you ever did see. Ok, so it's probably not that big, and just suffered from a crappy image editor. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read - Yeah, it's a mango talking clock, so what?
Read - "State of the art" Versus Scoreboard / boombox. Righteous garbage.
Read - TakeTV goes the way of SDHC in the TV Card Player
Read - USB egg cluster (huh?)

 

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Vonage, Nortel call a truce — no cash changing hands

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Although the press release issued to announce the settlement between Vonage and AT&T earlier this month is still the shortest we've seen in all of 2007, we're pretty certain the one doled out to trumpet the truce between Vonage and Nortel is holding down the two-spot. In just five wee sentences, we learn that the two have agreed in principle to end the litigation pending between 'em, and though no cash will be changing hands, the agreement does involve a limited cross license to three patents per firm. Way to put the past behind before entering into the new year, we say.

 

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FCC gives broadcasters more flexibility in 2009 digital TV cutover

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Just a few months back, the FCC approved a set of rules for the 2009 digital TV transition, but now the entity is apparently okaying even more guidelines that will give US broadcasters "more flexibility in making the switch to digital television from traditional analog signals." More specifically, the new rules would allow some stations to make a "phased transition" to digital broadcasting, and furthermore, these stations will also "be allowed to reduce or terminate their analog service before the February 17, 2009 deadline for the transition if doing so is necessary to achieve their transition." According to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, the new rules are being enacted in order to "provide broadcasters the flexibility they need while at the same time ensuring that any disruption to over-the-air viewers is minimized to the fullest extent possible." Still, even those affected by the cutover will have ample time to pick up a converter box, and considering that some stations may now start the switch before February of '09, acting soon is looking better all the time.

 

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Touchmods SIP VoIP client for iPod touch is out tonight

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video, Networking

Got an iPod touch? And some audio input hardware? Want to make some VoIP calls? If you answered yes to all of the above, you'll want to check out the Touchmods site later tonight, when they'll supposedly be releasing their full-on SIP client for the touch. Hopefully by now it's a little more prettied up than the last time we saw the thing above. If those last videos are anything to go by, though, it looks like it will be.

 

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Poll: Have you been affected by the Xbox Live outages?

Filed under: Gaming

Of all the weeks to have a major outage of your online gaming service, the holiday and vacation weeks of Christmas and New Years may have to be the worst -- which Microsoft has learned all to well over the last ten days. We know you've heard plenty about it here at Engadget -- but that's really only because Xbox Live has had such a solid track record over the years, and we're all just as surprised as you. But while it's perfectly clear users have been seeing these issues, it's still unclear exactly how "intermittent" those issues really are. Care to let us know how you've fared in our wholly unscientific poll?

 

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Broadcom wins major injunction against Qualcomm

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

In the latest major twist in this epic battle between wireless chipmakers, a US District Judge has slapped a permanent injunction on any products containing those Qualcomm 3G chips ruled to be infringing on Broadcom's so-called '686 patents. Not only can Qualcomm no longer offer infringing devices nor the chips themselves in the US, the retroactive nature of the ruling means that the company can't even provide service or technical support for '686 products already on the market. At this point, with a voluntary licensing agreement seemingly off the table, the next move for Qualcomm is establishing a plan of action to show Judge James Selna how it plans to redesign its products into compliance. [Warning: PDF link]

[Via Reuters]

 

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OLPC sells 150,000 laptops to public, may do Give1 Get 1 next year

Filed under: Laptops

Shockingly enough, Laptop magazine -- of all magazines in print today -- wanted remind everybody that tonight's the last night your hard earned (and increasingly devalued) American currency can be exchanged for an OLPC. But they also got a few words out of NickNeg as to how many OLPC units sold in the decidedly successful Give 1 Get 1 program (150,000+, not counting big buyers like Birmingham, Alabama), and why not continue the program indefinitely ("We are a charity and not a business. If we continued it, it would become 'sales' versus a charitable promotion.") While we kind of take umbrage with that attitude -- isn't it better, after all, to seed as many machines to underprivileged children as possible under any circumstances you can? -- we're hopeful at least that the gang at OLPC will bring back the G1G1 program next year with their v2 hardware. Hopefully by then some sovereign nations will have actually bought some OLPCs of their own.

 

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ARCwelder gives root / binary executable to Archos 605 and 705 players

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Ah, how we do love a good root-hacking resulting in the ability to run homebrew code. And being that we also have a soft spot in our heart for Archos's 605 and 705 series players, ARCwelder ought to do our kind and yours quite nicely. If yours is running firmware 1.7.13, check it out, it should get you root access to the device's Linux shell, enabling you to do all kinds of fun things, like develop and run your own apps, or see how long it'll take to break the DRM on downloaded media. Did we say that?

[Thanks, Justin and Nathan]

 

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Xbox Live: still up and down ten days later

Filed under: Gaming

It's been ten days since we started tracking The Great Xbox Live Outage of Late 2007 -- ten days that the team at Microsoft has spent working 24/7, apparently unable to quash the issues affecting untold thousands (or millions) of users. Things were supposedly looking better until earlier today when they apparently got worse again, resulting in Xbox Live's service status box making a decisive turn towards the apology side of the spectrum. Granted, the whole thing may seem a little gratuitous at this point, especially considering that the issues are still tagged as intermittent -- but at least our informal polling at Engadget HQ has improved, with some of us even able to get on and play a game (slow and sticky though it may be).

We suggest everyone get a little extra drunk tonight on behalf of all those at the Xbox NOC who will be ringing in the new year sitting at terminals so we can have our precious Live service back.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

 

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Gizmodo’s Most Popular Hits of 2007 [Zeitgeist]

Here are Gizmodo's Greatest Hits 2007, the most popular stories, the best of the best in a single bubblelicious list full of gadgets, juicy industry happenings, in-deep reviews, shocking tech news, weird war planes, Star Wars, boobs and sex. With dogs. Sometimes, all combined into one. What are the most popular Giz stories of 2007? See the top 20 and the monthly top 5, re-read the stories and pick your favorite 2007 article after the jump:

Top 10 Giz Stories for 2007

1. Hotdoll: The Sex Doll for Dogs - 721,911 views

2. Rocket-Powered 21-Foot-Long X-Wing Model Actually Flies, Has Built-in R2-D2 - 468,346 views

3. Verizon's LG VX10000 Voyager Revealed and Groped (with Gallery) - 444,887 views

4. Sidekick 4 and Sidekick Slide? - 437,106 views

5. Storm Trooper Stripper (OK, Prostitute) 410,361 views
newVideoPlayer("stormtrooper_stripper_gawker.flv", 475, 376);

6. X-Wing Rocket Launches, Disintegrates Mid-Air - 398,872 views
newVideoPlayer("xwing_launch_gawker.flv", 475, 376);

7. The World's Most Effective Speed Bump - 376,581 views
newVideoPlayer("speedbump.flv", 475, 376);
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8. The iPhone: Price - $499 4GB, $599 8GB in June - 356,735 views

9. Video of Bill Gates Showing off his Expensive Table - 301,060 views
newVideoPlayer("gates_table_gawker.flv", 475, 376);

10. Breaking: Digg Riot in Full Effect Over Pulled HD-DVD Key Story - 268,268 views

11. How To: Install Apps on Your iPhone Easily, No Hacking Skills Required - 259,005 views

12. Terminator Sex Positions - 252,253 views

13. iPhone Firmware 1.1.1 Out and Tested: Breaks 3rd-party Apps, Relocks iPhones and Sends Them to Semi-Brick Activation Limbo (Updated with video) - 246,681 views

14. Exclusive: iPhone Free Software Unlock Confirmed (Death Star Explodes) - 243,591 views

15. Gang Kidnaps Gamer to Get Password Using Fake Orkut Date - 242,272 views

16. iPhone Review - 232,079 views

17. Squirrel Catapult is Awful, Yet We Can't Look Away - 226,650 views
newVideoPlayer("squirrel_trap_gawker.flv", 475, 376);

18. Biggest BSOD of All Time? - 225,035 views

19. iPhone Software Unlock Confirmed on Video - 222,088 views
newVideoPlayer("iphoneunlock_gawker.flv", 475, 266);

20. The Gizmodo Ultimate Black Friday Deal Guide - 209,135

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Monthly Top 5 Stories for 2007
The numbers of the monthly top 5 stories for 2007 are different from the top 20 above. The reason is simple: the following are the readers of a new story in that given month. The list on the top, however, shows the cumulative 2007 readership.

January
1. Leaked: Screenshots of OS X Leopard Terminal, Parental Controls, More
Jan 24 2007 153,475

2. iPhone Ringtone Sounds Like Holy Angels Tinkling: Download it Here
Jan 18 2007 141,867

3. Leaked Pt 2: OS X Leopard Spotlight, QuickView
Jan 25 2007 80,704

4. Zune: How We've Lived With It For Three Months
Jan 25 2007 75,430

5. Microsoft Ultimate Wireless 7000 Keyboard Hands-On
Jan 19 2007 68,750

February
1. The Original 1983 Microsoft Mouse
Feb 2 2007 102,235

2. Coolest... Lamps... Ever...
Feb 8 2007 92,891

3. Super Bowl Ad Watch: Top Spots
Feb 5 2007 82,479

4. The Most Ridiculous Windows Video Ever
Feb 7 2007 77,769

5. Horseshoes and Hand Grenades: Joel Johnson Returns...to Spank Us All for Supporting Crap
Feb 13 2007 75,338

March
1. AppleTV First Unboxing
Mar 21 2007 124,935

2. Best Booth Babe Ever: Samsung's Leopard Lady
Mar 12 2007 117,883

3. DirectX 9 vs DirectX 10: Worth Upgrading to Vista For?
Mar 9 2007 97,587

4. Real Picture of the Optimus Keyboard?
Mar 6 2007 76,200

5. DIY: Apple TV Hard Drive Upgraded to 120GB
Mar 23 2007 74,235

April
1. Hotdoll: The Sex Doll for Dogs
Apr 18 2007 466,081

2. This is Why You Shouldn't Clean Your HDTV with Windex
Apr 11 2007 145,288

3. Booster Blades: Honorable Suicide
Apr 22 2007 127,038

4. Exclusive Pics of the Vudu - Video Store In A Box
Apr 28 2007 73,004

5. Shocking: An Innovative iPod Case from DLO
Apr 18 2007 71,634

May
1. Breaking: Digg Riot in Full Effect Over Pulled HD-DVD Key Story
May 2 2007 264,776

2. F-35 Helmet Display System To Scare the Bejeezus Out of Enemies
May 15 2007 180,525

3. Video of Bill Gates Showing off his Expensive Table
May 30 2007 176,985

4. Intel Unveils Metro, World's Thinnest Laptop, Almost Skinny as a RAZR
May 24 2007 130,423

5. World's Highest Swing Looks Terrifying
May 11 2007 111,855

June
1. Squirrel Catapult is Awful, Yet We Can't Look Away
Jun 19 2007 173,917

2. The iPhone: Price - $499 4GB, $599 8GB in June
Jan 9 2007 159,483

3. Amazing SawStop Cuts Anything But Your Fingers
Jun 4 2007 144,130

4. Angel Sword Guitar Plays Iron Maiden Songs, Slays Teen Pop Stars
Jun 21 2007 139,922

5. Megan Fox Gets Ready for Transformers Debut By Lounging Around in Her Underwear
Jun 27 2007 106,588

July
1. <a href="http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/sex-crime-and-videogames/gang-kidnaps-gamer-to-get-password-using-fake-orkut-date-280966.php
">Gang Kidnaps Gamer to Get Password Using Fake Orkut Date
Jul 20 2007 225,306

2. Typhoon Strike Fighter Closing Dangerously On Hercules C130's Cargo Bay
Jul 29 2007 179,998

3. iPhone Review
Jul 9 2007 159,698

4. Google Streetview Camera Car Fleet Set to Invade America
Jul 17 2007 159,505

5. Why You Shouldn't Smash a Can of WD-40
Jul 19 2007 156,794

August
1. Storm Trooper Stripper (OK, Prostitute)
Aug 5 2007 389,709

2. <a href="http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/poll/the-ipod-nano-mockup-updated-again-yes-it-is-real-292295.php
">The iPod nano Mock-Up (UPDATED again: Yes, It Is Real)
Aug 22 2007 177,832

3. <a href="http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/two-worlds-collide/oops-iphone-display-needs-to-reboot-runs-windows-xp-285151.php
">Oops, iPhone Display Needs to Reboot, Runs Windows XP
Aug 2 2007 171,650

4. Best. Phishing email. Ever.
Aug 17 2007 164,397

5. F Cup Cookies Promise That Their Fat Will Go Straight to Your Boobs
Aug 6 2007 151,274

September
1. <a href="http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/exclusive/iphone-free-software-unlock-confirmed-death-star-explodes-298825.php
">iPhone Free Software Unlock Confirmed (Death Star Explodes)[
Sep 11 2007 188,569

2. iPhone Firmware 1.1.1 Out and Tested: Breaks 3rd-party Apps, Relocks iPhones and Sends Them to Semi-Brick Activation Limbo (Updated with video)
Sep 27 2007 179,010

3. iPhone Software Unlock Confirmed on Video
Sep 7 2007 144,263

4. New 8-mm-Thick iPod Touch Makes Us Drool, Itch with Desire Sep 5 2007 128528

5. 35 Years of Tokyo Progress in 10 Seconds
Sep 8 2007 122,991

October
1. Rocket-Powered 21-Foot-Long X-Wing Model Actually Flies (Updated: Built-in R2-D2)
Oct 2 2007 459,513

2. X-Wing Rocket Launches, Disintegrates Mid-Air
Oct 8 2007 393,467

3. Verizon's LG VX10000 Voyager Revealed and Groped (with Gallery)
Oct 3 2007 234,147

4. Family Guy Explains The Death Star Flaw
Oct 13 2007 151,608

5. James Randi Offers $1 Million If Audiophiles Can Prove $7250 Speaker Cables Are Better
Oct 1 2007 145,641

November
1. The World's Most Effective Speed Bump
Nov 26 2007 309,788

2. Biggest BSOD of All Time?
Nov 9 2007 221,151

3. The Gizmodo Ultimate Black Friday Deal Guide
Nov 20 2007 209,135

4. Soldier Uses Wii to Catch Wife Doing Up, Down, Left, Right, A-B-A-B With Another Man
Nov 20 2007 203,717

5. Desktop Evolution: Windows and Mac OS Visual Comparison Through the Years
Nov 26 2007 176,796

December
1. Very NSFW Video: Beautiful Topless Girls Playing Wii
Dec 4 2007 198,743

2. Best Windows Error Ever May Rip Time-Space Continuum, Destroy Reality
Dec 6 2007 196,517

3. Imperial Stormtroopers Arrest Santa, Emperor to Take Over Xmas
Dec 16 2007 145,247

4. <a href="http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/batman-trailer/the-new-dark-knight-trailer-334545.php
">The New Dark Knight Trailer
Dec 16 2007 144,614

5. Google Maps Catches Sophisticated High School Football Field Prank
Dec 5 2007 142,398

Do you have any other suggestion as the best post of 2007? Tell us your favorite in the comments.

Have great fun tonight and a Happy New Year from everyone in Gizmodo!

Pointui Launches For Those With iPhone Envy

A new piece of software by Pointui launched this afternoon that makes Windows Mobile devices a little bit more iPhone-like.

The CrunchGear team isn’t answering emails or phone calls (It’s their job to test this stuff, but I imagine they are all drinking heavily somewhere celebrating the New Year), and I don’t have a Windows Mobile device in my house (they’ve been banned), so we haven’t tested it out yet. See the video below and screen shots, and if you are able to get it up and running, let us know what you think.

Why in the world all you people on Windows devices don’t just go out and buy an iPhone is a mystery to me. Yeah, Exchange Server and all that, I know. Anyway, perhaps now with Pointui you can be a little bit more like the cool kids and still sync with Outlook from the office.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Dell Latitude XT goes tablet to tablet with Lenovo’s X61T

Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs

 

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Qualcomm Can Use Rival’s Chip Patents until ‘09 [Qualcomm]

"A federal judge in California ruled on Monday that wireless chip maker Qualcomm can keep selling chips whose designs infringe patents held by rival Broadcom Corp through January 2009. [Reuters]

Qualcomm can use rival chip patents until ‘09 [Qualcomm]

"A federal judge in California ruled on Monday that wireless chip maker Qualcomm can keep selling chips whose designs infringe patents held by rival Broadcom Corp through January 2009. [Reuters]

Gizmodo Reader of the Year: David Bacio [Announcements]

Our official Gizmodo Reader of the Year for 2007 is David Bacio, also known as Deputy Sheriff David Bacio. He was one of the runners-up in the Inappropriate Gizmodo Browsing contest, submitting a picture of himself in front of a computer reading Gizmodo while at the station. So why is he the reader of the year? Because some douchebag called up his Sheriff, made a complaint, which ended up in a punishment for him just for being a loyal Giz reader.

In the end, David was determined (by the Sheriff's department) to have violated county internet policy and the code of conduct. He was also removed from his position, docked pay, and has a written reprimand that will stay in his file for three years. And for what? Taking an innocent picture of himself in front of a computer while on the job—an act that takes less time than going to the bathroom or taking a quick coffee break. We salute you, David, for being a loyal Gizmodo reader even despite the crap we got you into with the contest.

And here's to our worst Gizmodo reader of the year, the asshole who called up David's boss to complain. Please escort yourself out. Seriously. We don't want you here.

Gizmodo’s 20 Most Commented Articles and Top 5 Commenters of 2007 [Reader Participation]

Gizmodo would be a sad lonely place without you, the readers. Sure, we would keep drinking cocktails and having wild beach parties in the South Pacific, but it just wouldn't be the same. No, really. So here they are, without further ado, the Top 20 Most Commented Articles and the Top 5 Commenters of 2007. Check them out and vote for your favorite after the jump:

Top 20 Most commented articles of 2007

1. Halo: Halo 3 Swag Rebagging (Plus Apology) - 415
newVideoPlayer("halo3fanboyseatshit_gawker.flv", 475, 286);

2. iPhone Revisited (Verdict: Don't Buy) - 344

3. Contest: Win a Free iPhone Software Unlock - 336

4. How to Comment: Win a Free iPhone Software Unlock - 286

5. Apple: 8GB iPhone Price Cut by $200, 4GB iPhone Gone - 279

6. Homophobia: Shareholder Takeover Planned to Stop Microsoft's 'Homosexual Agenda' - 273
newVideoPlayer("gaymsft_gawker.flv", 475, 376);

7. Gizmodo iPhone Hands-On: I Called My Mommy - 237

8. Vote Giz: Vote for Giz! - 225

9. Apple: Apple's Beat Keynote Liveblog Here - 221

10. Exclusive: iPhone Free Software Unlock Confirmed (Death Star Explodes) - 215

11. Unicorn Chaser: We're Not Backing Out of Halo - 213

12. Top: Apple WWDC 2007 Liveblog - Steve Jobs Keynote - 211

13. Question Of The Day: Zune or iPod? - 209

14. iPhone Firmware 1.1.1 Out and Tested: Breaks 3rd-party Apps, Relocks iPhones and Sends Them to Semi-Brick Activation Limbo (Updated with video - 208

15. Whiners: Bitching About Too Much iPhone Coverage? Listen Up - 197

16. High Schooler Gets Detention for Using Firefox? UPDATE: Nope - 187

17. Announcements: Which Gizmodo Commenters Suck? - 184

18. Advertising: Intel Ad Might be Racist, but Boy Does It Make Me Want a Core 2 Duo 183

19. Oh, Food! I'll Just - Wahhhhhh!!: Squirrel Catapult is Awful, Yet We Can't Look Away 180

20. How to Comment: How Much Storage Do You Have? - 170

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Top 5 Commenters of 2007
1. strider_mt2k's Activity - 4,151
2. Kaiser-Machead's Activity - 1,986
3. nutbastard's Activity - 1,356
4. ANoel's Activity 1,327
5. omg-ponies's Activity - 1,245

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

If you have another favorite comments or commenters, tell us in the comments and then other people can comment to your comments until a time-space warp is generated and gets all of us sucked into the next year or a new dimension.

100 Years of Tech in the Times Square New Year’s Ball [Timeball History]

Most of us know the Times Square Ball as the symbol of the new year, fresh starts and the last moment of celebration before you puke up cheap champagne. But it's also an interesting gadget, so to speak, changing with the times alongside consumer trends. So for its 100th birthday, we've made a mega timeline (click for mega pic) to show the ball through its various tech fashions. And it's pretty neat. Yes, we just said neat.

The idea of a timeball was actually born in 1832 when Robert Wauchope, a Royal Navy Officer, devised a way for those at sea to sync their marine chronometers (watches) with the shore. A giant ball would drop at a pre-arranged time that could be seen for miles around. Sailors, of course, probably didn't throw confetti or kiss another in glee (though they were quite possibly drunk). Here's the rest of our timeball timline in written form.

1904 - Times Square coined.

1907 - The First Ball drops. It's made of iron, wood, 100 25-watt bulbs...and it's 700lbs.

1917 - First billboard with moving lights goes up (in Times Square).

1920 - Ball goes 100% iron, nearly 50% lighter at 400lbs.

1927 - Oleg Vladimirovich Losev discovers LED to little fanfare.

1939 - WWII begins.

1942 - Losev dies of hunger.

1942-43 - Ball out for WWII "dimout," people partied but offered a moment of silence at new year

1951 - Xenon lamps first went on sale in Germany.

1955 - Ball drops to 150lbs. Suck it, Oprah.

1962 - American scientists discover LED.

1976 - Times Square is declared most dangerous area of New York City.

1979 - Disco dies.

1981-88 - Ball becomes an apple for "I Love New York" campaign. Red lights, green stem...subsequent puke color not specified.

1989 - New Yorkers realize apple ball is stupid, go back to normal design with white lights.

1993 - BMW is the first to use Xenon lights in cars.

2002 - Gizmodo is born.

1993-2003 - Times Square violent crime drops 85%.

1995 - Ball is computerized, aluminumized, covered in rhinestones, and strobe lights.

2000-07 - Ball is made of Waterford crystal, now weighing 1070lbs (which is the heaviest to date, nearly 10 times its weight in the '50s). Lighting includes one 10,000W Xenon lamp and 432 multi-colored (5 colors) bulbs. Plus, it features 144 strobe lights and 92 rotating pyramid mirrors—disco anyone?

2008 - Today we have the same base crystal ball, but it's been fitted with 9,576 Luxeon LEDs from Philips with 16.7 million programmable colors. Needless to say, that's a lot more visual variety than the 5 available colors of just a few years back.

Happy New Year everyone!

For more information, check out New York's own guide and timeline on Times Square and this helpful wiki. And a special thanks to our own resident Jesus Diaz, who stayed in for part of his New Year's celebrations to make us this badass graphic.

Axiotron’s Modbook Now Shipping [Macbook Tablet]

We previously brought you news of Axiotron's brilliant Modbook, which is essentially the first real Macbook tablet. Although it's Apple authorized, it is not an official Apple product, obviously. Nevertheless, the guys at Axiotron have gone to work on an item all fanboys are lusting after, and the end result is looking rather tasty.

The main draw of the Modbook is the Wacom digitized pen-sensitive LCD slate-style display, which is combined with either a 2.0 GHz or 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a built-in iSight camera and an integrated 24x DVD Combo drive or 8x DVD SuperDrive. We have not tried it out properly yet, but if you have $2,290 saved away for a Macbook tablet, the Modbook maybe the solution to your weighty wallet woes. [Axiotron]

Canon said to be developing own tech for SED TV production

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

After being hampered by habitual delays both legal and technical, it looks like the long-awaited über-tech of the display world may finally be on the cusp of reaching market, as Canon is reportedly developing a way to build surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) TVs without using contentious IP. Specifically, Japanese newspaper Asahi is reporting -- without citing sources -- that Canon is working on a "non-carbon" method of producing the sets that bypasses the Nano-Proprietary patents at the heart of that lawsuit. Still no hint on when we'll actually be able to install one of these models in our home theater, but the promise of unrivaled black levels, brightness, and contrast could well have us drinking the SED Kool-Aid for years to come.

[Via Bloomberg, thanks Dr. MORO]

 

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Today’s most popular headlines are UPGRADES (13,067 … [Stats Feed]

Today's most popular headlines are

• UPGRADES
  (13,067 views)
• DO NOT WANT
  (9,403 views)
• TIMEBALL HISTORY
  (6,376 views)

Today's most discussed stories are

Hello Kitty Contact Lenses Shake Me to the Core (47 comments), Official Nintendo Fix for Malfunctioning Wiimotes: Smack It (35) and Gizmodo Reader of the Year: David Bacio (31).

Alpine announces iDA-X200 and X300 iPod-friendly headunits for 2008

Filed under: Portable Audio, Transportation

Alpine's cutting straight to the chase with its new iDA-X200 and iDA-X300 headunits. Forgoing a CD mechanism entirely, the two systems are designed primarily for use with an iPod, though they do pack a few extra goodies. The X200 works with Alpine's Sound Imprint system for some fancy DSP, while the X300 has USB input for pulling media off of non-iPod sources. No word on price or availability.

 

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The Best of 2007 Roundup [Best Of 2007]

All of us here at Lifehacker wish you a happy, fun, and safe New Year. Thanks for a great year! Until we meet again, have a look back at some of the best of 2007. See you in 2008!

• Lifehacker's 2007 Software Superlatives
  "Who had the Most Obnoxious Icon, Best Splash Screen, and Best Easter Egg of the Year?"
• Lifehacker's 2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps
  "As we wrap up the year 2007, it's the perfect time to put together an authoritative guide to our favorite pieces of free software and web services for common computing tasks on every platform."
• Lifehacker Zeitgeist 2007
  "In the spirit of the Google Zeitgeist, I've put our data-crunching elves back to work yet again to calculate the most popular posts and tags here on Lifehacker this year, as well as the most busy commenters and bloggers."
• Top 10 New and Improved Apps of 2007
  "From significant upgrades to apps we already know and love, to major operating system releases, to a few new tools that help us get things done (or at least point toward the future), '07 was a good year in software and productivity."
• Ask the Readers: Your Best Tech of 2007?
  "Was there some world-changing gadget, a delightful DIY project, or a piece of software that's made all the difference?"

Vonage, Nortel settle patent dispute (Associated Press)

Vonage, Nortel settle patent dispute  —  JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Vonage Holdings Inc. and Nortel Networks Corp. have settled their patent litigation, allowing for cross-licensing of the telecom companies' technology.  —  The agreement does not call for any payments by either company.

Source:   Associated Press
Link:   http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071231/ap_on_hi_te…

Techmeme permalink

HAI brings home automation control to your smartphone

Filed under: Cellphones

 

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