Opinion

Phonearts.net is a free ticket to a cell phone art exhibit

Online image editors and smartphone apps like Aviary and Instagram give everyone the tools to manipulate images on their phone, but a small group of contemporary artists are already exhibiting these works at the URL phonearts.net...probably because pharts.com is already taken.

The site is a gallery of works curated by an international coalition of artists who only use cell phones and illustration apps. It started when Daniel Littlewood and Hugon Guillaume found friendship on Flickr based on their shared interest in interactive design, and decided to recruit others to exhibit similar creations online.

All the images you see on the site are the size of the average phone display, roughly 3 or 4 inches, and one thing they all share is their temporal nature.

The subjects jump from rotating GIFs to application screenshots and other images I don't even know how to describe, but they all communicate themes of spontaneity, cyber-nostalgia, and universal access.

View them with a sly eye, and enjoy the infinite scrolling!

More photos after the jump.… Read more

The 404 955: Where we steal this record (podcast)

Leaked from 404 Podcast 955:

Elvis Costello tells fans to "Steal this record." Little Printer chews your feeds into a bite-size newspaper. Groupon stock is tanking, and Jill's here to tell us why! Facebook IPO coming next spring? Bathroom break video 1: Using Siri and Viper to start a car. Bathroom break video 1: Girl totally owns the treadmill.

… Read more

When does technology become obsolete?

I was surprised by the comments regarding the definition of "obsolete" in my post last week on timing an iPad purchase.

"I fail to see any case for 'obsolescence' just because a new model of anything is released," commented "moonbeard."

"Just because the iPad 3 comes out, the iPad 2 isn't 'obsolete' by my definition. Now a dial-up modem, that's obsolete. Windows 95, that's obsolete," wrote "Rick3904."

"The only Apple devices I would dare consider to be obsolete in the 'i' line are the original iPhone … Read more

CNET's holiday guide to printers and peripherals

Though not the sexiest products out there, printers and peripherals are some of the most useful. These are the types of products that sit in the backdrop of your tech life, unnoticed; but as soon as they're gone, you'll be ready to give your right arm to have them back.

Unless we're talking turkeys, you hopefully won't have to resort to too much dismembering with the list of top holiday printers and peripherals picks we've compiled. And no matter your poison, we've got you covered with a list that includes monitors, storage, input devices, … Read more

Rumor Has It, Ep. 9: iPad 3 is the loneliest number (podcast)

Spinal Tap ruined Karyne's life last week, and now she's losing the betting round this month.

She has one more week to get two points, or else it's her turn (once again) to embarrass herself. So put on your thinking caps, and send in your suggestions for the show of shame.

On this week's show, we learn how to pronounce Asus (kinda), the Facebook phone is one step closer to truth, the Amazon phone might be, too, and the Xbox 720 has Emily rescinding her vote. … Read more

$4.23 a day: On the timing of a Black Friday iPad 2 purchase

Apple released the first iPad, the 16GB Wi-Fi-only model for $499, on April 4, 2010. The $499 iPad 2 came out 342 days later, on March 11, 2011.

Another way to look at it is that you paid $1.46 a day for the original iPad before it was obsolete.

We lack the proper sample size for true statistical accuracy, but based on the number of days into a new year Apple released its first two iPads, we can take the average of April 4 (92 days in) and March 11 (69 days in), and guess that the iPad 3 will arrive 81 days into 2012. That would be March 22. That would also mean a 377-day life cycle for the iPad 2.

If you agree to play along with that projection, then the $499 iPad 2 comes out to costing $1.33 a day before obsolescence. That's a relative bargain compared with the first iPad.

But what does that mean for the value of an iPad 2 purchased this holiday buying season?

Let's take Black Friday--November 25. There are 118 days between November 25 and our March 22, 2012 guess for the debut of an iPad 3. That translates to $4.23 a day, or more than three times the daily cost of an original iPad during its life cycle as a new product. For an iPad 2 purchased (or opened) on December 25, that's only 88 days until it's out of date, or $5.67 a day.… Read more

Remastered video games: Good or bad?

This holiday season, we're seeing a trend toward classic games presented in close-to-original form, but with their original graphics rerendered at the higher resolutions today's consoles and displays use. Is this a great way to make older games more accessible, or is it, like colorizing black-and-white movies, widely considered a bastardization of the original art?

Unlike film or music, video games age badly. Technology changes, screens get bigger, and the host games of even a few years ago look positively primitive to the jaded eyes of consumers. Despite this, we've still seen some vintage games enjoy a second, or even third life as iOS arcade classics, hermetically sealed retro downloads on GOG.com, or even those vintage-game-filled joysticks that plug directly into a television.

What we're seeing more than ever of this year is a little different: classic games presented in almost their original form, but with redesigned graphics, or at least with the original graphics rerendered at the higher resolutions today's consoles and displays use. … Read more

Rumor Has It, Ep. 8: Google TV is a dead, dead horse (podcast)

The month is almost up, and Karyne is beating Emily by a smidge. With only two shows left, however, it's time to start thinking of embarrassing things for Emily to do when she loses.

On this week's show, we cry over CDs going the way of the dodo; we laugh about Staples selling the PlayBook for $199; Google Music is going to 11, whatever that means, at an event on Wednesday; and according to nobody, the iPad 3 will be able to fly.

Things are heating up in the Twitter wars, too! Stephen, at the time of the … Read more

Crave in Comments: From Razr to iRex

This edition of Crave in Comments features another five reader comments from the week past that made me giggle or think critically.

It's important for me to surround myself in comedy with a dash of enlightenment during the winter months or I'll turn into a grinch. I've always wondered what it would be like to actually be a grinch. Do you think people would call you one during the holidays, or would they think twice?

In regard to Droid Razrs pop up for free, on sale, and rooted:

"I think its weird when people associate electronics with organic properties. "We took the DNA from the..." come on, it's plastic and metal. They don't have DNA. Weird. And people wonder why the younger generation is hard to relate to." --by cyfivirus

In regard to Call of Duty: Elite experiences rough start:

"The Modern Warfare series like Apple has built a name for itself; they can afford to make mistakes because people will still support them regardless." --by negativeone2

… Read more