planets

The 404 882: Where everyone did it in the '90s (podcast)

If you willingly choose to pay to see a movie like "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," you give up your right to complain about your fellow theater-goers. This is the lesson Wilson and I impart to our third co-host, who got suckered by the trolls on Rotten Tomatoes into seeing the pre-prequel to "Planet of the Apes."

The big news, of course, is Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, so we'll discuss what that means for existing patent trolls, Android handset competitors, and the Android platform in general.

Stick around until the end of the show, when we'll announce which two lucky listeners won our V-Moda Faders earplugs giveaway contest!

The 404 Digest for Episode 882

Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5B. Air Swimmers let you fly your own fish. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: An animal-rights manifesto disguised as a prison-break movie. Weekend breaches: BART page by Anonymous.

Episode 882 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Able Planet NC1100B review: Bose busters?

Able Planet makes a number of noise-canceling headphones, and the NC1100Bs are the Colorado company's highest-end model with a retail price of $299.99.

Let's start with what's good about these guys. For starters, they're comfortable and appear to have a sturdy design and a nice soft-touch black finish. While the earcups aren't quite as soft as those on the Bose QuietComfort 15, the fact that they're a bit thicker and firmer doesn't hurt their comfort level and may be more appealing to some.

Aside from their black coloring, the NC1100Bs look similar to the QC15s (and QuietComfort 2s), with the same over-the-ear design and earcups that swivel and fold flat to fit in a simple black case. The resulting package is slightly bigger than a CD wallet, which makes it easier to tote, though it's still not terribly compact. As you'd expect from a set of headphones designed for frequent travelers, Able Planet throws in a two-prong in-flight adapter.

Like with Bose's active noise canceling, the earcups' cushions effectively sealed off our ears from the noisy environment. Flipping on the noise cancellation dampened the noise even further. While the NC1100Bs aren't as effective at canceling out noise as the QC15s, they did noticeably muffle the sound of a very loud air conditioning that this reviewer has in his office (it isn't quiet as loud as the inside of an airline cabin, but not too far off).

Read the full review of Able Planet's NC1100B headphones.… Read more

Summer is time for electric lemonade

Summer is a time of great activity. The sun is shining, the weather is warm, and the kids are (most likely) out of school. Even though the days are longer, there never seems to be enough time to pack all the fun into a single day. Luckily, time-saving measures are easily accomplished: one could pack a picnic the night before a trip to the park or beach, plan day-trips around peak traffic hours, or even just concentrate on the good activities. And of course, let the lemonade make itself.

The Smart Planet ELM-1 Electric Lemonade Maker is a gadget that … Read more

The 404 834: Where an iPad 2 can do more than a kidney (podcast)

Wilson's out sick today, but Mark Licea joins us to fill in with a review of "X-Men: First Class." The movie came out today, but Mark's a diehard fan of the comic series so he checked out the 12 a.m. showing. The spoiler-free review is positive, but as usual, the true believers might leave the theater disappointed by the lack of continuity with the original storyline.

Speaking of movies, we also take a moment to point out the most ridiculous trailer of 2011 for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." From title to content to technology, we should remind you that it's not a joke--this is a serious movie, starring James Franco who falls in love with a primate.

The 404 Digest for Episode 834

Chinese student reportedly sells his kidney to buy an iPad 2. " Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is the WORST. White ninja crashes into Apple store.

Episode 834 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Waffler makes finger food

Waffles, being part of a healthy breakfast--depending what you serve them with--have a welcome spot at the dining table. Delicious and sometimes nutritious, the fun food can be prepared in many ways. When hot off the waffle grill, they make excellent platforms for everything from fresh fruit to powdered sugar. They can even be used in more savory applications. The versatile circles of deliciousness not only have endless possibilities in flavor, but they can also be made into finger food.

The concept of snacking on waffles one after the other no longer has to be a fleeting dream. The Smart Planet MWM-1 Rotating Mini Waffle Maker … Read more

Your iPhone as a window to the night sky

SkyView lets you use your iPhone camera view to create an augmented-reality view of the sky complete with constellations, planets, and satellites. Simply launch the app and point your iPhone camera skyward to see constellations and other celestial bodies where they are in real time. You also can touch planets, stars, and constellations to get more info and history at the bottom of the screen.

While you can spend plenty of time simply pointing in different directions and viewing celestial bodies, SkyView offers a few more handy features for finding what you want. You can use the search tool to … Read more

Gaze at the stars and play the arcade classics: iPhone apps of the week

In a CNET News story yesterday, our very own Josh Lowensohn explored Apple's recent patent application for an interesting touch-screen concept. The patent details separate smaller displays outside of the regular iPhone touch screen. According to the patent filing, these separate displays could be used in tandem with the main iPhone touch screen or used by developers to show added information in apps and games. Josh is careful to point out that patent applications don't necessarily mean a company will use an idea in a future product, but they are nonetheless interesting to consider.

Obviously, adding separate screens would open up all kinds of options for apps, but I wonder if these areas would be used by Apple for showing things like battery life, current time, camera information, or other more generic smartphone-related uses. But if these added touch-screen areas could be used by app developers, it would open up a huge number of possibilities for more interesting on-screen controls and other information widgets related to what's happening on-screen.

Even without knowing whether this will come to light, what sort of uses can you envision for extra displays around the main iPhone screen? Let me know your ideas in the comments.

This week's apps include an app for star gazing that uses augmented-reality technology and an app that lets you play classic arcade and console games from the golden age of gaming.… Read more

Network, don't fail me now!

Everything in IT depends on the network.--and not just in an abstract, "need it occasionally" sort of way. The packets must flow for virtually every operation, every job, every transaction. Whenever packets drop, or links go down, we're disconnected and isolated. Information doesn't flow; apps don't work; users don't proceed. We need the network up and running, millisecond by millisecond, every millisecond of every day.

Our utter, urgent dependency won't lessen in the coming years. It will intensify--redoubling and redoubling again. Cisco calls its vision of the future "together." HP … Read more

Biofuel center to replace citrus plant in Florida

Construction began yesterday in Florida on the grounds of a former citrus-processing factory to build one of the first commercial-scale biofuel plants in the U.S.

When completed and fully operational, the Indian River BioEnergy Center is expected to produce 8 million gallons of bio-ethanol per year.

The center will be run by Ineos New Planet BioEnergy (INPB), a joint venture formed by Ineos Bio, a subsidiary of the chemical conglomerate Ineos, and New Planet Energy, a company specializing in the commercialization of sustainable refinery technology.

The plant will use technology developed by Ineos that enables bacteria to produce biogas … Read more