FocuSoft Tech Blog

RIM’s BlackBerry Curve 8900 hitting AT&T next month? Posted: 03 May 2009 08:34 AM PDT We’re beginning to wonder if we’ll ever see RIM’s BlackBerry Curve 8900 hit the AT&T airwaves, but considering just how long it takes for a phone to navigate through the carrier’s absurdly long certification process, we’ll chalk this one up to technical delays. After spotting the so-called Javelin in AT&T attire way back in November of last year, Boy Genius Report now has it on authority that the handset will finally debut next month. Unfortunately for those hoping for a little bonus in exchange for their patience, it’s said to be “a mirror” of the T-Mobile version outside of the bundled Bold themes. Pricing details are still under wraps, but if you’ve waited this long, do the dollars really matter? Go here to see the original: RIM’s BlackBerry Curve 8900 hitting AT&T next month?

Heresy! Apple Rejects Trent Reznor’s NIN iPhone App Update For ‘Objectionable Content’ [App Store] Posted: 03 May 2009 08:00 AM PDT I Do Not Want This news to be true, but it is: Apple rejected the NIN app update for “objectionable content.” I have never felt Closer to Trent Reznor that I do today, little Piggy. And just what was the bad, potty-mouthed content? Why, it was a reference to The Downward Spiral, hence the ridiculous references in the lead of this post. That’s about all we know for now, but sadly this is yet another example of the increasingly wonky Apple App Store approval/rejection process. Late last month, there was the infamous baby shaking app, which inexplicably managed to get through the approval process, before getting quickly pulled. Perhaps that major gaffe has made Apple’s trigger finger a bit more itchy as of late? Perhaps. [Trent Reznor's Twitter via Slashdot] Here is the original: Heresy! Apple Rejects Trent Reznor’s NIN iPhone App Update For ‘Objectionable Content’ [App Store]

T-Mobile’s HTC Magic Shall Be Known Henceforth In U.S. As ‘MyTouch’ [Cellphones] Posted: 03 May 2009 07:30 AM PDT Someone more adept at navigating the T-Mobile inventory screens than I am has discovered that the carrier’s version of the Android-packing HTC Magic might have a more official U.S. name in “MyTouch.” Hrmm. Now, to be frank (you can be Shirley), thinking about the name doesn’t exactly make me want to MyTouch myself, but it isn’t the worst cellphone naming convention in the world, right? (that would probably be “shitstick” or something) Unfortunately, the name is all the inventory screen provides. Aside from some interesting color choices in Merlot and white, there are no release dates. If a device is listed in inventory, however, you can bet a U.S. release day isn’t too far behind. Anyone want to weigh in on that name? Politely? [TMO News - Thanks, David] Read more from the original source: T-Mobile’s HTC Magic Shall Be Known Henceforth In U.S. As ‘MyTouch’ [Cellphones]

Rumor: Sony UK Support Page Reveals ‘Alpha 330′ DSLR Line, Lenses [Rumor] Posted: 03 May 2009 07:00 AM PDT The Canon Rebel T1i and Nikon D5000 aren’t the only DSLRs having fun this week, if a new rumor pans out. Apparently, Sony’s preparing something new for the Alpha series—but what?! A DSLR, that’s what. The mysterious entry-level DSLR was revealed accidentally in the lower levels of the company’s support pages, of all places, as were a complementary line of new lenses (they bear the previously unused codes Y and L in the drop-down menus). Photoclub alpha speculates more on the nature of the new lenses for the A330 body: Since two new lenses - presumed to incorporate focus motors because of their design - are also shown on the support website, 50mm f/1.8 and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, it can be assumed the camera will be sold with these lenses as no existing models have the codes Y or L when used in kits. There is a possibility that these budget lenses are not SSM, but use a cheaper internal micromotor. It may also be fair to assume to the body could lack mechanical focus drive support. Further rumor and speculation on the part of several camera rumor sites and the dyxum forums indicates this new body might be a play at the very cameras referenced earlier in this post: the D5000 and the T1i. Something with a similar price range, and the ability to shoot video. And they seem to think the unknown A330 might be out soon, along with other models, including an A230, A380, A800 and A1000. Unfortunately, clicking through the the product oage at Sony UK support reveals the error message at right, so we’ll see. [Photoclub Alpha via Imaging Insider via Photo Rumors] Read more from the original source: Rumor: Sony UK Support Page Reveals ‘Alpha 330′ DSLR Line, Lenses [Rumor]

Researchers develop technique to unscramble light for a much sharper picture Posted: 03 May 2009 05:42 AM PDT Trying to circumvent the need to choose between getting a wide-angle shot and zooming in for details, a team of researchers at Princeton led by electric engineer Jason Fleischer have developed a new method to get the best of both worlds, by passing the light through a “nonlinear crystal” that would normally distorts the picture. A computer algorithm then pieces together the data and, as they claim, produces a wide-vew image that also manages to capture the finer points otherwise missing when using conventional techniques. The goal is to build “super-resolution” microscopes for better medical diagnostics, but the group also sees uses in the fields of data encryption and lithography / microchip production. Is it too much to ask that our next Canon or Nikon have this a standard feature? [Via PhysOrg] Continued here: Researchers develop technique to unscramble light for a much sharper picture

Cowon’s 32GB S9 PMP goes on sale in America Posted: 03 May 2009 02:44 AM PDT We knew you’d do the right thing Cowon, we just knew it. Barely a fortnight after the company introduced its most capacious S9 to date over in South Korea, said player has made its way stateside… at least that’s the impression that we get. Listed now as “in stock” on Amazon, the 32GB Titanium / Black unit is shown as being sold by JetAudio, which just so happens to be Cowon’s official online home for sales. If you surf over to the S9 section on JetAudio’s website, however, the 16GB model is still listed as the largest one available. We’re guessing the latter’s admin hasn’t had time to update things between that Friday night rave and that six pack of Dos Equis on Saturday, but we hear Amazon has a pretty good reputation, anyway. [Via PMP Today] Originally posted here: Cowon’s 32GB S9 PMP goes on sale in America

A Peek At The 100 Million Views Club: You Won’t Be Invited Any Time Soon Posted: 03 May 2009 02:43 AM PDT So I got up this morning, fired up Techmeme to see what was happening in tech and on top was this blog post from online video tracking company Visible Measures featuring a home-brew list of the 18 most watched viral videos of all time. It's important to note that the video measurement startup didn't simply analyze which videos got this total number of views on the 150+ video sharing sites it currently tracks, but also took into account views that were generated on other online properties where the videos were spread, like blogs and social networking services (a measurement method it refers to as True Reach). I won't bore you with the full list of very viral videos - check out the Visible Measures blog post to see who's currently on top etc. - but there is a general observation I'd like to share and discuss with you. Here's what the company concludes after featuring the list: As you can see, the list is a diverse collection of older and newer campaigns, and includes music videos, movie trailers, user-generated spots, and clips from TV shows. What they all have in common is a massive total audience. I wouldn't call it that diverse, actually. If you break the list down, you'll note that it counts 8 music videos, 4 movie trailers, 2 TV show clips, and 4 user-generated clips. So out of the 18 online videos that amassed over 100,000,000 views according to Visible Measures, 14 are professionally produced videos that were arguably created for airing on television primarily, and certainly not specifically for online video sharing sites. Furthermore, if you break down the list of 4 clips that were classified under 'User Generated', two of them are actually professional artist performances that were simply recorded and/or uploaded by a regular YouTube user ("Jeff Dunham: Achmed the Dead Terrorist" and "The Evolution of Dance"). Another one ("Lezberado: Revenge Fantasies") features a woman talking about a professionally produced TV show (The L Word), and the video that Visible Measures links to on YouTube is actually one from the official channel of Showtime, where The L Word was aired on from 2004 to 2009. So if you really want to be a pain about it, the only real user-generated video that was viewed over 100 million times would be "Charlie bit my finger - again!", a video featuring two cute kids that funnily enough I had never seen before. This isn't abnormal, of course: mainstream media are called mainstream for a reason, just as celebrities are celebrities for a reason (well, most of the time) and popular music artists, TV series and movies are popular for a reason (well, most of the time). You'd have to be pretty naive to think YouTube (or any web service originally meant for amateurs to share videos on) isn't always going to be used to massively spread professional music videos, movie trailers and clips from and about popular TV shows, and that they'll overtake most if not all videos about dogs riding skateboards and whatnot. This isn't to say user-generated (amateur) content doesn't have any value - it always does for at least one person - and could never be on par with professionally produced content, but looking at the list you've got to wonder whether we're not all mostly craving for the latter on whichever medium we're using at the moment we're in the mood for it. Your thoughts? CrunchBase Information Visible Measures Information provided by CrunchBase Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. Original post: A Peek At The 100 Million Views Club: You Won't Be Invited Any Time Soon

Calrec’s Apollo digital audio console is an OLED-laden beaut Posted: 02 May 2009 11:24 PM PDT We reckon a good 97% of you will never need an audio mixer of this magnitude, but regardless, Calrec’s digital audio console is a behemoth of knobs and sliders that should be easy on the eyes for just about anyone. Shown off at last month’s 2009 National Association of Broadcasters show, each control changes color to reflect the assigned function or group, and each has its own display for monitoring individual status. Above those rest large OLED displays and touchscreen monitors for even more feedback. Audiophiles can hit up the read link for all the specs, and be sure to check after the break for a full-sized shot. Now can someone figure out how to get Super Monkey Kong up and running on this thing? [Thanks, Tom] Here is the original: Calrec’s Apollo digital audio console is an OLED-laden beaut

It Turns Out That Google Even Has A Competitive Advantage In Scanning Books Posted: 02 May 2009 08:27 PM PDT Google is serious about scanning books. Throughout the objections raised over the years by authors and publishers and the more recent delays in its settlement with the Authors Guild, Google has been scanning millions of books all along trying to digitize as many as it possibly can. It is so serious about capturing and indexing the knowledge stored in books that it has a patent, which was issued on March 24, 2009, on how to scan books faster than was previously possible. The basic technique it uses involves two infrared cameras which determine how flat or curved each page to be scanned is and then adjusting the optical character recognition software it uses to read the text accordingly. In other words, the infrared cameras help figure out a book's three-dimensional shape and then back out any resulting distortions. This results in much faster book scanning since each page doesn't need to be flattened by glass plates and spines don't need to be broken. There are other book scanning projects besides the Google Book Project. The Internet Archive, for instance, runs 18 scanning centers around the world, which all together digitize only 1,000 books a day. I am not sure what kind fo technology the Internet Archive uses, but I wouldn't be surprised if Google's scanning operation is much faster. Those are billions of pages of high-quality information just waiting to be indexed and searched. For Google, the faster it can get those books scanned, the faster it can start to serve ads against those searches. Now, I wonder how it flips the pages. (Hat tip to Buzznewsroom). CrunchBase Information Google Information provided by CrunchBase Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware. Read the rest here: It Turns Out That Google Even Has A Competitive Advantage In Scanning Books

Weramouse V2 and V3 are a trackball / trackpad to have and to hold Posted: 02 May 2009 08:25 PM PDT Sometimes it’s a bit refreshing to find a handheld mouse that doesn’t track your motion, just in case you feel like waving your arms wildly and not having it screw up your apps. The Weramouse V2 handheld trackball mouse works wirelessly from up to about 26 feet away, using what we gather is a USB dongle to sync. Its Li-ion battery is claimed to be good for up to 28 hours and charges via USB. Cost is $99 NZD, which translates to $56 in US dollars. At one point the site listed a V3 model with a trackpad — same specs otherwise, with a $199 NZD / $113 US price tag — and while it’s since been removed, the product page is still available via the great halls of the internet archives. [Via Technabob] Read - V2 with trackball Read - V3 with trackpad (cached) Read the rest here: Weramouse V2 and V3 are a trackball / trackpad to have and to hold

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