Obama’s iPod Filled With Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z and Bob Dylan
June 30, 2008
Filed under: Audio/Video, Celebrities, iPod, Summer Fun
Proving that politicians can have good taste in music, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke with Rolling Stone magazine about his favorite artists — which include Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Jay-Z, and Stevie Wonder — and how they’ve affected him personally.
“If I had one musical hero, it would have to be Stevie Wonder,” states Obama, who grew up in the ’70s, on bands like Earth, Wind & Fire and The Rolling Stones. “When I was at that point where you begin getting involved in music, Stevie had that run with Music of My Mind, Speaking Book, Fulfillingness’ First Finale and Innervisions, and then Songs in the Key of Life. Those are as brilliant a set of five albums as we’ve ever seen.”
Wondering what’s on Obama’s iPod Well, he keeps it iPod varied with “everything from Howlin’ Wolf to Yo-Yo Ma to Sheryl Crow.” And he states he has probably thirty Dylan songs on there as well. “Maggie’s Farm” is “one of my favorites during the political season,” states Obama. “It speaks to me as I listen to some of the political rhetoric.”
He’s also friends with and fans of some new-schoolers as well. “Every time I talk to Jay-Z, who is a brilliant talent and a good guy, I enjoy how he thinks,” says Obama. “He’s serious and he adores his art. That’s somebody who is going to begin branching out and can help shape attitudes in a real positive way.”
We’ve been counting, and Obama’s got 99 problems … but musical taste ain’t one. [Source: Rolling Stone]
Alltell Rolling Out EV-DO Rev. A
June 30, 2008
Alltell has announced that they’re rolling out EV-DO Rev. A, which will promise an improvement on their downlink speeds from 400-700kbps on the existing Rev. 0 network to somewhere between 600kbps and 1.4Mbps. Uplink is something that Rev. A really shines, with speeds as much as ten times faster than it did before, 800kbps on a good day with bursts of up to 1.8Mbps.
There will be 2 data cards offered to take advantage of the service, one from Huawei, and one from UTStarcom, with the HTC PPC6800 and Touch being compatible as well. This roll out is targeting “select markets” at the moment, which include Charlotte, New Orleans, Phoenix and Tampa amongst a total of 18. Alltell is targeting 82 percent of it’s footprint to be upgraded by the year’s end.
AirPiano single-handedly redeems air instruments from irrelevancy
June 29, 2008
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
With the introduction of the Air Guitar Rocker, we pretty much bid the art of air rockin’ adieu. No longer could we slam our belt buckles in an attempt to whammy a downright nasty Bb chord without feeling ashamed. Thanks to the AirPiano, however, imaginary musicians the world over may have one more chance to garner the respect of innocent bystanders. This instrument, which is truthfully more akin to a theremin than a bona fide piano, enables users to emit beautiful tones without ever touching the “keys.” It’s even smart enough to sustain a note if you hold your hand over a particular area for an extended time. We don’t hand out unwarranted props, but we can’t help but tip our hats to this one. Head past the break for a video of what we’re gushing over.
[Via Hack-A-Day]
Continue reading AirPiano single-handedly redeems air instruments from irrelevancy
Nike+ Gym Equipment Coming July — iPhone Integration Imminent
June 29, 2008
Filed under: iPod, iPhone, Summer Fun
24 Hour Fitness just announced that it will be the first to offer Nike+ iPod enabled gym equipment at select clubs starting next month. The press release says the following:
“Nike and Apple worked with major gym equipment manufacturers to make their cardio equipment Nike + iPod compatible so gym members can easily track and record workouts on cardio equipment like treadmills, stair steppers, elliptical trainers and stationary bikes.”
The press release only mentions the iPod nano. In fact, that might be all that we’re speaking about here.
Nevertheless, July is synonymous with the iPhone 3G, 2.0 firmware, and App Store launches and there’s that little ol’ patent application (the source of the picture above) which describes leveraging the iPhone’s sensors to turn it into a “lifestyle companion.” Nike of course, already confirmed that its Plus system would be extending to the iPhone and iPod touch sometime in the future. July seems as good a time as any don’t you think [Source: Business Wire]
||| Via [switched]
Accidental ‘WTF’ License Plate to Be Replaced, Free of Charge
June 29, 2008
Filed under: Car Tech, Cell Phones, Summer Fun
Poor DMV officials. They’ve a hard time of it, between re-taking digital I.D. pics until little newly-licensed Kayla or Callie gets her bangs just right and, well, they’ve to spend all day in the DMV. We can’t blame them for being a tiny behind on the Web-SMS shorthand lingo, but this Really
A adorable 60-year-old Grandma from Fayetteville, NC happily drove to and from her teaching job with the kickin’ set of WTF license plates that had been issued to her by the DMV. Last July, she figured out what the somehow not — thanks to some help from her teenage grandchildren. When the kids informed her of the true implications of the letters on her license plate, the woman was so vexed that she complained to DMV officials.
Gran’s plates were replaced gratis, and the North Carolina DMV has offered to exchange any WTF or other questionable plates free of charge.
Embarrassingly, it took DMV officials nearly a year to realize that the sample plate on their site is also, ironically, of the WTF variety. Apparently some NC Webmaster has an, er, awesome sense of humor.
They are currently trying to take the picture down. [Source: WXII12]
||| Via [switched]
Street-Legal DIY Electric Motorcycle Costs Under $2000
June 29, 2008
Filed under: Automobile Tech, Green Tech
We’ve seen more silly homemade electric cars than we care to remember, but Ben Nelson’s electric motorcycle manages to retain some of its original two-wheel charm while using only a penny of juice per mile — roughly the equivalent of 300mpg.
Nelson bought the bike for $100 and swapped out the original engine for a Briggs and Stratton 8HP DC motor he picked up on eBay for $500, using four $160 Optima Yellowtop lead-acid batteries for power. Nelson says he can get the rig up to a top speed of 45MPH, and he’s got a range of about 20 miles before he needs to plug in — enough to run errands around town.
Best of all, the say of Wisconsin willingly registered his bike as a “hobbyist” vehicle, which means he’s free to (silently) roam the streets at will. Ben first built the bike about a year ago, so he’s accumulated a ton of useful info if you’re interested in following in his tire tracks — hit up the read link to learn more, and check the video after the break.
[Via ecomodder]
Continue reading Street-Legal DIY Electric Motorcycle Costs Under $2000
Is MMS Included In The iPhone 3G
June 29, 2008
Will users get MMS on the iPhone 3G That just can’t be possible, after all, the iPhone doesn’t have MMS! An internal memo circulating around AT&T (which doesn’t seem so “internal” now) reportedly lists a couple of features that’ll supposedly be included in the upcoming iPhone 3G. Surprisingly, this MMS is reported to be listed amongst stated features.
Whether or not the iPhone 3G will really have MMS remains to be seen. Either way, all will be answered pretty soon, as the official launch isn’t too far away.
Blizzard introduces Diablo 3
June 29, 2008
click to enter gallery
Joystiq will make any sacrifice to bring you the latest news — even if it means flying to Paris, France in order to attend Blizzard Entertainment’s Worldwide Invitational. Only seconds ago we were shown a cinematic from Blizzard’s newest game: Diablo 3. We’re currently being shown a live demo of the game (which we’re reminded is a work in progress) by lead designer Jay Wilson. The look and feel of the game — though graphically updated from its aging sibling — looks a lot like the dungeon crawls we all know and love from the original series. We’re promised more loot, more quests (and some old friends like Deckard Cain), and new environments. Classes demo’d include the familiar Barbarian and the brand new Witch Physician (a master of disease and fire who will control pets). Says Wilson, the game is “primarily cooperative” and it will be swift and simple to form groups over Battle.net. Sorry, folks who were expecting an MMO, but it sounds like Diablo 3 will continue in the tried-and-true Diablo format.
Update: Blizzard’s European site is now live with the cinematic teaser and gameplay footage for your perusal!
Motorola’s touchscreen Blaze for Verizon in the wild
June 29, 2008
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Remember that touchscreen Motorola Blaze we’d mentioned a while back that was on the hook to get Verizon’s visual voicemail service It might not be in Verizon stores yet, but it’s all up in Boy Genius Report’s labs with a dark red body, MING attitude, and nearly limitless mediocrity on board. The touchscreen apparently requires ridiculous amounts of effort to actuate, and that problem is compounded by a lame on-screen keyboard that makes texting tricky at best. EV-DO Rev. A is cool and all — and the visual voicemail support should be a pretty popular add-on feature — but that giant Motorola logo up front with the red ring and three pounds of chrome leaves the Blaze with a face only a mother could love. Let’s hope Verizon’s positioning this one as its low-end touchscreen offering, because we’re not seeing it cha-chinging many registers otherwise.
SCIV Character Creation: Hey it’s Ryu!
June 29, 2008
Filed under: News
While those who skipped over the series’ PS2-exclusive third installment won’t be familiar with Soul Calibur’s Create-A-Soul mode, those who used it know that it had tons of depth and granted for all manner of wacky options and crazy characters. For the Soul Calibur IV Create-A-Soul mode, Namco-Bandai looks to be increasing the amount of customizability available to players, giving us some interesting (Cat-man & Afro-dude) and recognizable (Ryu & Snake) characters before the game is even released. Hopefully Namco has taken into account all the various parodies we’ve got in mind and allows for as many custom characters as can fit on the storage device …
Gallery: SCIV Character Creation
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