Disqus - Latest Comments for Tony C

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » Working Prototype Of Microvision’s Cellular Projector

Tony C — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 23:29:25 -0000

Here's what I saw:

The demonstrator attaches the PicoP microprojector to the back of a mobile phone and that's what's projecting the image on the small white screen to the right. Note the keystone effect (smaller on the bottom than the top) caused by the low angle of projection.

The device (likely a prototype or demo of one of their other products) visible in the left hand side of the frame appears to be mounted to project onto the larger screen that's just visible to that side.

My two cents.

Re: OhGizmo! » Archive » The IceJacket, Doesn’t Just Look Cool

Tony C — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 23:50:09 -0000

Thanks for the extra info Davis! If I could make a suggestion, I'd ask for a detachable handle that snaps onto the base and loops around the bottle neck. The FAQ's suggestion of holding it by the base one-handed or base and neck with two hands doesn't sound all that helpful.

If I were to guess, I'd say that they took a screen capture of your Shockwave animation, then resized the image.

Re: Zune-alicious: The Unboxing

Tony C — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 23:01:36 -0000

Allen: Not too surprising, really, since the Zune is really just a cosmetically modified Toshiba Gigabeat...
Nzo: Great link! I hadn't seen anyone post the dissection anywhere else yet.

Frankly, I'm surprised that it's so much thicker than the iPod... I guess they have to chalk it down to the huge logic board and all-plastic case, because the 5/5.5 gen iPod uses a half length board with fewer components, a flatter battery (though possibly displacing the same volume), and other space-saving measures.

Re: Zune-alicious: The Unboxing

Tony C — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 15:43:06 -0000

Here's "Bunnie's" Zune dismantling -- they took some macro shots of various components, including its tiny WiFi module.

http://www.bunniestudios.com/wordpress/?p=131

Slashdot effect in full force, so YMMV on accessing the website...

Re: Zune-alicious: The Unboxing

Tony C — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:32:46 -0000

Me again...

Bunnie's "Zune Guts" is available in Google's cache, but there were a lot more comments the last time I was able to load his website...

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:MfJe91OJa0UJ...

Re: Zune-alicious: The Unboxing

Tony C — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 17:24:35 -0000

One quickie question Judie... How come some of my comments post immediately and other times it seems like they go through an approval/moderation process? Couldn't spot any rhyme or reason from what I've posted so far...

Re: Zune-alicious: The Unboxing

Tony C — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:40:41 -0000

Guess my one post is lost to the Internet godz then... Something along the lines of:

I was able to get to Bunnie's website before the slashdot hordes, so I posted his photos up on flickr while I still had them in my browser's cache. Of special interest is the jumbo-sized photo of the logic board, if anyone wants to play "name that integrated circuit!" like the visitors to his blog have.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karrock/sets/72157...

Andrew "Bunnie" Huang has an electronics engineering background (PhD from MIT!) and is perhaps best known for reverse engineering the XBOX, so perhaps he's taking a swing at the dark corners of the mysterious Zune... (Cue ominous music)

Re: Zune-alicious: The Unboxing

Tony C — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 20:58:53 -0000

Found this gem in Google's cache too -- for some reason it doesn't exist on their current website!

BleedingEdgeTV GearLive's Zune Disassembly Video

Gear Live's photo gallery of the Zune's dissection is also offline now... Should we start the Microsoft conspiracy theories now...? ;o)

Re: In New York for the Samsung Event

Tony C — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:17:44 -0000

Toilet *in* the shower?!?! o.O Where do you stand to take a shower? On the toilet seat? O.o Talk about your safety liability issues... Maybe if it tipped in and out like the one on Firefly... hehe

I guess they don't have to worry so much about keeping the toilet clean though... Just close the curtain and blast away with the hot water... lol

Re: APIOTek 18-in-1 Card Reader Express Card 34

Tony C — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:15:55 -0000

I picked up a 12-in-1 off of eBay for $23 or so including shipping. Same deal though -- you need the adapters if you want to insert MicroSD or any of the sub-sized cards. Works great, though sometimes it's picky about the alignment of the memory card in its slot.

Re: I Just Bought My First Mac!

Tony C — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:28:39 -0000

Grats Judie! I bought my MacBook Pro in May 2006 and while there's been a few problems along the way. Mostly tied to a clicking/freezing hard drive that refused to diagnose for the Mac Geniuses. And a battery problem that I have yet to go into a store to tell them about. I still love it! Not the first Mac I've purchased -- a PowerPC Mac Mini has that dubious honor (just kidding!). I still have both. The Mini serves as a HTPC connected to my big screen when the Shuttle PC is on the fritz (which seems to be more often than not). I did own a Mac SE 20 for a time, way back when, but it went the way of the pawn shop years ago when I was bad a managing my money.

I've loved Macs for years, witnessing the systems birth on the Lisa and cutting my teeth on Apple II's before that. I only grudgingly turned to the world of PC-compatibles when my job and workplaces sent me in that direction.

Since I bought my MBP, the first thing I did was get an aftermarket gig of RAM and double the system memory. I've also upgraded the hard drive to a roomier and faster 200GB 7200RPM model without toooo much hassle. Yes, it's more difficult a procedure than your garden variety PC notebook, but the industrial design simply blows everyone else out of the water.

I've been envying the MBP upgrades that have cropped up over the past couple years, mostly the LED back-lighting and the high resolution panel on the 17, but the incremental CPU jumps and ability access to more system memory have looked nice too.

I figure my next MBP will be a high res 17, but the near-$3k starting point is just so painful, considering I originally spent only $1600 on my last one. I'm perfectly happy with what I have now. CPU is powerful enough, memory is fine, drive space isn't an issue, but I do sometimes wish I had a larger screen with more real estate for my desktop.

The question, of course, becomes when, because it has to be a major step up for it to be worth going for. If Apple is sticking with the tried-and-true Ti/aluminum PowerBook design for the long run, then great, I'd almost get a 17 now. *But*. If Apple intends on retiring the design and taking it to a true next-generation design in the near future, ala MacBook Air, then I think I need to wait somewhere in the neighborhood of six months to a year.

Decisions, decisions! ;o)

Re: VIA Artigo Review

Tony C — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:44:58 -0000

Very nice! A little on the pricey side, considering you can usually get a full eMachines system with a monitor for a few dollars more (after half a dozen mail-in rebates anyway). But I guess you're paying for the relatively low volume production, integrated components and ultra-tiny dimensions.

Re: Huge tracks of hard drive space coming to a laptop near you.

Tony C — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:02:38 -0000

If you're referencing a certain Pythonish cinematic feature of the Monty sort, wouldn't that be "huge tracts"? :mrgreen:

Re: The Litter-Robot Review

Tony C — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:03:47 -0000

I was curious about these, I don't remember where the first place was that I read about them. But wow, that price, noise and size? It didn't seem to add up for me, but I may rethink that now. Thanks for the videos Judie! I don't think a straight text & photo article would have had the same amount of influence.

If you're pinching your Litter-Robot pennies, note that you can get a "reconditioned" one for $269. Only problem there is maybe your cat(s) may not take to a "used" one as readily as one fresh and new from the factory.

http://www.litter-robot.com/litter-robot-r.aspx...

Re: iTunes 8.0 - The iPod cannot be synced. An unknown error occured (13213)

Tony C — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:29:02 -0000

I updated my iTunes and Touch 16G to 2.1 just fine. XP SP3 here as well.

Re: The T-mobile G1: Could be the one to beat Apple

Tony C — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:27:55 -0000

G1 is not micro-USB equipped -- it's a proprietary HTC ExtUSB connection.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/23/confirmed-t-...

Re: Open It! - The most useful product I have ever reviewed.

Tony C — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:24:28 -0000

So how ironic is it that you need a pair of Open It! cutters to open the blister packaging *it* comes it? ;o)

Re: World’s Tiniest Bluetooth Dongle - $14.99

Tony C — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:44:06 -0000

World's tiniest/slimmest? Nay! Methinks E-Blue's Nova is tiniestest! ;o)

http://usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_i...

Re: World’s Tiniest Bluetooth Dongle - $14.99

Tony C — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:49:07 -0000

And despite its overall size, I think "slimmest" title would have to go to the D-Tech

http://usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_i...

Re: Nike Air Zoom Triax - $46 shipped (Nike+ iPod system)

Tony C — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:19:11 -0000

Boo on RRS... Despite the 1/15 expiration, they killed the discount code early...

Re: LaTosta gives your laptop a lift and extra cooling - fits any computer - a steal at $9.95

Tony C — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:47:36 -0000

Reiterating the potential blockage of ports and optical drives -- also deters the use of front loaders as well, due to the angle, unless you're parked on the very front edge of your work surface.

I also don't see a notebook using these stands as one you can quickly and easily pick up, slide around and relocate without making sure they don't fall off the sides first.

A nice aluminum MacBook (especially the unibody) might be fine with those fulcrum points of stress, but what about the myriad of Apple and Wintel plastic chassis notebooks?

Not trying to be a negative Nellie -- it's a nice, simple idea and I'm sure it's a great product that'll be useful for many people. I just don't see myself liking it.