TECHGEEK.com.au » Japan

All is not lost, Nintendo announces more 3DS games (in Japan)

Terence Huynh — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:00:23 +0000

Screenshot of TEKKEN 3D PRIME EDITION (Image: Nintendo/Bandai Namco)

Nintendo 3DS fans/owners/haters, don’t fret. Nintendo has announced some new titles – and some of them aren’t remakes. However, most of the dates we have now are only for Japan, but give or take a month or two and then you should get an European/US release date.

Knowing some people, you may have heard about Chris Southcott’s pure hatred of the Nintendo 3DS. Don’t worry, I like it. Not because I am an extreme hardcore fanboy unlike Chris who is for the PS3, I just really like playing the Legend of Zelda – and getting a free ocarina. Come on, a free blue ocarina. Who would not be attracted to such a deal like that?

Anyway, back to the story on hand. While my Japanese is a tad rusty, some of the games include the already-announced METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D by Konami and Luigi’s Mansion 2. However, in addition to those include:

Kid Icarus – coming first quarter of 2012
Beyond the Labyrinth, a RPG from Konami (Coming Soon)
Biohazard Revelations from Capcom (Coming Soon)
Tekken 3D Prime Edition from Bandai Namco (Coming Soon)
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, a RPG from Square Enix (Coming Soon)
Mario Kart 7 (December 1 2011)
Super Mario 3D Land (3 November 2011)
Fire Emblem (Coming Soon)

You can see the full list of games on their website, including screenshots. All of which in Japanese – and don’t bother cranking open Google Translator, most of the text are in images.

Nintendo 3DS to go pink to attract the ladies

Terence Huynh — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:00:18 +0000

I apologise for the title, but still it sums up what Nintendo is trying to get at. They have announced a pink colour version of the Nintendo 3DS at its Nintendo 3DS conference. Yes, pink. No sorry, I mean lightish red. A very, very, very lightish red in fact.

Dubbed the “Misty Pink”, the colour scheme is attract – according to TechCrunch – the ladies to the brand. Yes, it’s a desperate attempt to get the ladies playing games. Why? Well, Nintendo’s female-to-male ratio is pretty low the Nintendo standard of 50%. So it means that Nintendo is trying really hard to become a gender-neutral platform, or they really just love the colour ~~pink~~ lightish red.

That would also explain why there is a GIRLS MODE game coming out for Japan.

Anyway, the console is set to hit Japan on October 15 and will be priced the same as the regular models at 15,000 yen. No plans for international availability as of yet – so sorry to those who love the colour ~~pink~~ lightish red.

Hulu expands worldwide – heading to Japan later in the year

Terence Huynh — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:10:53 +0000

Hulu is going abroad. The company has announced that it will go international and expand to Japan. The Japanese version of the site is expected to come later in the year, but unlike the American version, it is going to be a subscription service.

“Japanese audiences are passionate about premium video content, and the country is a major producer of world-class TV and feature films,” Johannes Larcher wrote in a blog post announcing the expansion.

“In Japan, we also see an unfulfilled market need with respect to premium feature film and TV content, and very favorable environmental factors to a service like ours, including extensive broadband penetration, smart phone and other internet-connected device ubiquity, and strong consumer interest.”

It is unknown what content and format will be present in this version of Hulu – it could be similar in the US and have a mixture of archived shows and recently-aired-on-Japanese-television shows, or will it follow the BBC and just hold archive content. In addition, will it just air content from the American studios or will it also open up to Japanese producers?

However, with this expansion in the Asia Pacific, it is more likely that Australia could be next in their sights – if they can get the right deals with the broadcasters.

TECHGEEK Weekly 41: Copyright THIS!

Terence Huynh — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 20:00:03 +0000

Image: Fertala/Flickr (Creative Commons)

New Zealand is about to get a three-strikes law that remains very controversial, in how it got passed and what’s in the law. The TECHGEEK Weekly Podcast discuss the impact it has, while also discussing about Android’s latest security flaw and the BlackBerry Playbook.

Meanwhile, it looks like one post on our site is about to be a cause in an all-out staff rivalry – I’ll give you a hint, it is about zombies and chocolate. Also, we’re trialling a new format for our podcast, so please send your feedback in the comments.

Stewart and James are not here, so Terence, Chris and Tom are left to hold the fort. With an hour to fill, we managed to go overboard. Don’t forget to listen and subscribe.

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TECHGEEK Weekly 37: Kicking in the Front Seat

Terence Huynh — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 19:00:21 +0000

We’re back with a new episode, and while the tech industry is at a standstill, the Internet gets a red-light district, and the Zune bids adieu. Meanwhile, the week has been dominated by security flaw after security flaw, and Rebecca Black infects ~~our~~ Chris’ mind with the weekend.

We also wonder why 13-year olds are driving cars, and Internet Explorer 9 is finally out – and Stewart hates it. Why? Well, you have to find out and listen. It’s a trio this week, as James and Tom are again not here, so you’re left with Terence, Chris and Stewart.

We also make an effort to try and go clean (for once). Don’t forget to listen and subscribe to our podcast!

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Show Notes

Stewart’s Briefs (1)

Tokyo Hackspace plans solar LED lanterns for use in relief efforts

Google releases WebM video plug-in for IE9

Exclusive: Engadget’s Top Editors Topolsky and Patel Exit From AOL’s Giant Tech Site

In Other News

Thousands of Twitter users hit by classic Facebook scam

Hackers exploit Flash zero-day, Adobe confirms

Spam Network Shut Down

Off Screen, Porn Sites Trick Advertisers

Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media

Delicious sold for $1m, heading to StumbleUpon?

Fan backlash over adverts injected in Angry Birds HD

Telstra unveils it’s first $99 smartphone

Who is Rebecca Black? And is she really bigger than Japan?

More Undiscovered Talent From Ark Music Factory

Pwnage Playtime

New version of Minecraft to have pet wolves

Mortal Kombat appeal unsuccessful, Still banned in Australia

Mario… a First Person Shooter?

Stewart’s Briefs (2)

Paramount Pictures Partner With BitTorrent Release Movie

Video: A History Of Internet Explorer

Facebook for BlackBerry v2.0 comes with Facebook Chat, new UI

Ubisoft ‘Pirates’ Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Music From Demonoid

Why the Internet can be useful and cruel at the same time

Terence Huynh — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 06:14:37 +0000

Image by: Tom Solari/TECHGEEK.com.au

OPINION: The Internet is a marvellous place where we can all communicate instantly without waiting several weeks to communicate internationally, or when we need something instant. But the true power of the internet is always in a major breaking story – such as a natural disaster.

This year, we have seen three: the Floods in Queensland, the Earthquake in New Zealand and the powerful tsunami-and-earthquake combo in Japan. And the Internet has made it easy to communicate necessary information.

While Twitter was used for the floods in order to disprove myths and even send out necessary information (we did our part as well on our Twitter feed); in Japan, the Internet was used to not only disseminate information via Twitter, but due to the geographical landscape of Japan, also broadcast NHK and two other television stations via the Ustream and other platforms in order to keep them up to date. Google also helped by making it easier to help find people – such as they did with the earthquake in Christchurch.

In addition with information, everyone on Twitter send their prayers with the hashtag #prayforjapan.

But, like everything, there is a downside with every disaster.

Of course, we will keep seeing those who exploit the disaster for their own interests: such as those conspiracy nuts spewing that the end of the world is nigh, or that this is the start of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as spelt out in the Bible. I’m sorry, but if I’m going to believe you, you’ll need credible and scientific evidence for me to believe that – not some religious text which could be fictional.

However, I was stunned to read this:

Watching the news about the #tsunami in Japan and smiling, thinking of it as pay back for Pearl Harbor. Karma always finds a way.

March 12, 2011 10:46 AM via webReply RetweetFavorite

@TroyHoban

Troy Hoban

… or read these, provided to you via the marvellous OpenBook (which brings to another unrelated point, FIX YOUR SECURITY SETTINGS ON FACEBOOK!!):

Of course, while I don’t usually publically shame people (on TECHGEEK.com.au), I do find it horrendous that people would think that this is simply karma for bombing Pearl Harbour. A natural disaster compared to something in World War II, something obviously man-made. Really? What about the fact that you bombed them twice with nuclear weaponry? Or even better, what about the fact that you helped their economy and then crashed the entire world’s economy? But no, a natural disaster that costs over 1,000 lives and that could rise exponentially is simply karma?

The fact these comments were made were obviously signs that they forgot that these are in the public arena. But still, these are horrendous comments. If every natural disaster occurred because we have done something bad to the United States, then was the New Zealand earthquake was karma for New Zealand for implementing a nuclear-free zone, affecting the United States’ nuclear program in the 1980s? Well, no. Unless you are really an idiot to believe that.

I have two words to say to you, and I am very sorry to other readers who find this out of character: f**k you!

These people (though it is very questionable), however, detract us from the main story. That Japan faces several problems – first with the nuclear reactors in its country, and the fact that it has a large budget deficit and braces for the worst, both in the disaster and economically. And with heartbreaking footage that has been screened on news bulletin after news bulletin – all sourced from NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster – the devastation is simply to hard to watch.

So while we understand the economic climate and donations to both Christchurch and Brisbane, we urge everyone to simply find some cash they have, such as some spare change, to help Japan in their hour of need.

Zuckerberg to partner with Baidu to open Facebook China?

Terence Huynh — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 22:27:00 +0000

Image: Sina (via guardian.co.uk)

Founder of Facebook and recent inductee to Time’s Person of the Year, Mark Zuckerberg, has been spotted in China taking a tour around Baidu; and now, speculation is rising of a possible Facebook in China, with the help of Baidu’s power in one of the largest markets in terms of users on the Internet.

Baidu has been quick to downplay such rumours, telling that his meeting with Baidu’s founder Robin Li was simply “two nerds comparing notes”, according to a spokesperson.

However, with Facebook already hinting that it could launch a full scale assault in Asia – mainly at China, South Korea, Russia and Japan – where it, like Google and Yahoo, have failed to capture internet users because of local rivals. (Twitter is a notable exception, where users from Japan have used the microblogging site, causing Twitter to create a localised version – the very first one)

The key important thing is, sadly, censorship. In order to make a big mark in China, it has to satisfy China’s strict censorship program, and with that, self-censorship as businesses are held responsible for the content hosted on their servers. As well, it could be forced in a situation that it would have to hand over data to the Chinese government – whether that it is done voluntarily (similar to Yahoo) or involuntary is unknown at this point.

And with controversial figures (in China) such as the Dalai Lama, and groups opposed to Chinese censorship and prisoners of free speech – either Facebook has to create a Chinese-language site that blocks access to these types of groups, or even worse, pull them down and causing more negative backlash.

The strict censorship has already caused Google, who agreed to do so in order to capture Chinese users into its web of users, to pull out this year and move to Hong Kong, where it continues to offer Chinese-language advertising and services, but only to Hong Kong users and to some Chinese users, depending on the filter list updates.

But for Facebook, if it can accomplish such a feat and capture a lot of the one-billion strong country, then it means more money for the growing social network, and attractive to be bought out. But whether that is a good move at the sake of losing users, is a whole different story.

Kinect sells one million units in 10 days

Terence Huynh — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 07:27:30 +0000

Think the Kinect is a passing fad, with the fact that it just happens to be a camera that manages to track almost every move you make and could have potential gaming applications to it? Well, it might not be as Microsoft has announced that the Kinect has sold one million units just in the past ten days.

While Japan and Asia haven’t experienced the Kinect just yet, Europe and the United States already have the Kinect. And with heavy than expected demand, Microsoft raised its expectations just before its launch to 5 million units sold before the end of the year, from 3 million. Now, it looks like to be on track.

“This is a great start to the holiday season, and we will continue to work with our retailer partners to keep pace with high demand and deliver against our plan to sell more than 5 million Kinect sensors worldwide by the end of this year,” Don Mattrick, President of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business group, said in a statement.

Don’t forget. Black Friday hasn’t approached yet – the day when the holiday shopping season begins – so more units can be snapped up in order to raised that number.

Overheating iPod stops Tokyo train during rush hour

Terence Huynh — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:54:36 +0000

Unlike here where Metro Trains have the luxury of having a 15 minute allowance of being late, Japan takes late trains seriously – heck, drivers can be fined for being late over a minute than the expected time.

Well, the drivers don’t have to blame themselves today, when a train delayed the entire network for just eight minutes during the morning rush hour. They can blame someone’s overheating iPod.

Yes, an overheating iPod.

You thought that would have ended by now, did you?

“When a member of staff went to investigate inside the train, a passenger came over showing him that the iPod she was listening to had burst apart,” a spokesperson told Reuters. No injuries have been reported.

Turns out, an overheating iPod is an emerging problem in Japan. There have been sixty different incidents, with four cases involving minor burns; and Apple have blamed the incident on a single battery supplier – which, of course, have not named. It also is running a recall program to replace those affected.

The model isn’t exactly clear, however, but we can speculate that it was the first-generation iPod nano, because it has been known to cause problems.

Sharp to have 3D smartphone this year, no glasses required

Terence Huynh — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:59:44 +0000

Thought 3D would be dead? It has infected movies, televisions and gaming, and the most logical step has to be mobile phones. Right? Sharp is said to be releasing a 3D-capable smartphone sometime in the year. However, you will not need to wear any glasses, a la the Nintendo 3DS. A spokesperson for the company, telling Reuters, said that it will likely have a 3D capable camera.

And like all these types of announcements, nothing else has been confirmed or denied.

However, expect this to be only seen in Japan. While Sharp is a well known company in Japan, it does not have a huge presence around the world – with one of its projects, the KIN phone with Microsoft, flopped, seeing Verizon returning the leftover stock and a planned European launch cancelled. Ouch.

Though, with the iPhones, Androids and BlackBerry phones (and yes, Windows Mobile too – despite being a dying breed) out there in the market, is there a need for one in the market?

USB hub lets you control your ports like a power board

Terence Huynh — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:41:34 +0000

Ever got tired of pulling the port of an external hard drive for a few minutes but realise you have just messed up your configuration? Me neither, yet it is such a problem that Japanese electronics manufacturer Elecom has tapped into to make a USB hub that allows you to simply switch off the device from being connected to your computer, rather than pulling it out – just like a power board.

Great thing is it also double as a power recharger for USB devices (for certain models), meaning that you can take this on the go and charge your iPod without paying money for an iPod recharger. Also included are some stickers (which are in English) that will help identify the port for each device.

It comes in three versions – a four port version with the USB option, and a four-port and seven-port options with the power recharging capabilities. It comes in Black or Silver, and costs starts at ¥3,700.00 (or AU$47.19), and is already on sale in Japan – and for those not living in the land of the rising sun, it is also on GeekStuff4U.

Yeah, my Japanese is rusty – well, nearly non-existent – so some of what I just wrote is based on the pictures.

Microsoft to make small name change in Japan

Terence Huynh — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 07:49:20 +0000

According to the Japanese website MyCom (in Japanese with Google Translate), Microsoft is making a small, but sentimental change to its corporate name.

In celebrating its 25th year in Japan, Microsoft will be – on February 1st of next year – changing its company name from “Microsoft Co. Ltd.” to “Microsoft Japan Co. Ltd”. Like I said, small change; but it puts more emphasis on the country where the company has some of its roots.

It’s similar to how Nintendo has “Nintendo Co Ltd” and “Nintendo of America” in the US – it is to put more emphasis on the country.

Also part of the change, it will move its headquarters to the Shinagawa district in Tokyo.

Can you decypher the time on this watch?

Terence Huynh — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:25:00 +0000

Believe it or not, this is actually a watch. No joke. Called the Zonal – and yes, I don’t even know what that means exactly – it is essentially a watch that depicts time in red segments of a squircle, or a rounded square. The top right one tells the hours, while the bottom left tells the time in increments of five. The bottom right tells the one minute increments of that five minutes.

It is a concept, however, so don’t expect this at Target any time soon. However, despite telling time in a complicated way, it does kinda look a bit cool – though, I’m a geek, what do I know about fashion?

Source: TokyoFlash

Rumour: Nintendo 3DS to have software install?

Terence Huynh — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 13:52:29 +0000

RUMOUR MILL: Other than the 3D gaming experience without wearing those hideous (and possibly unhygienic) glasses, there might be another feature that was not revealed when Nintendo showed off the 3DS. According to Nikkei, the new console may allow users to install Nintendo 3DS games right onto the onboard storage – allowing users not to carry those games with them on the go.

According to the Japanese equivalent to the Wall Street Journal – via Andriasang – the 3DS will be able to store multiple games and can switch between the two by selecting a title from the main menu, and that you will not need to swap cartridges.

A similar aspect is found within the R4 – though it deals with pirated versions of the game, but you can load multiple games onto one SD card and select it via an interface. However, this one most likely would see a dent into piracy as more and more would be able to ask their friend for the game, install it on their memory, and return it.

Pokemon Black and White: Starters & Trainers

Adrian Cajili — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:43:32 +0000

It is never too early to start picking out your kick-ass team of Pokémon for the new Pokemon games, even if it’s still quite a ways away from being released. Of course, the most important decision to build up a Pokemon team is two choose which of the 3 Starter Pokemons you begin your journey with.

‘Thanks to an image published in latest issue of CoroCoro (Japanese Magazine), you can now choose between the formerly silhouetted Pokémon Black and White starters, based on which one you think it the cutest, which is basically the most important factor of choosing your starting Pokemon.

The three Pokémon pictured above are named Tsutaja, Pokabu and Mijumaru (from left to right), and probably will change the names for the English-language versions of the game.

Tsutaja is a lizard like Pokemon, and the Grass-type starting Pokemon. It is the colour light green with a cream coloured stomach, it has really big eyes and a flat leaf tail. Pokabu is a pig-like Pokemon that is Fire-type. It has a chubby body, is the colour orange with black, and has a red orb at the end of its curly tail. Mijumaru is a Sea-Otter-like Pokemon, which is the Water-type starting pokemon. It looks more of a sad clown with a badly shaped body and face.

CoroCoro also revealed the somewhat older-looking trainers featured in the game, it has been said that the Trainers are young adults instead of children, in the past Pokemon games. The Story of the game is unsure, and the North American and European versions of Black and White have been confirmed for a Spring 2011 release date.

If you compared the 1st Generation to the 5th Generation, you would realise that over the years, Pokemon have become more uglier and complex. The Pokemon in Generation 4 and 5 look nowhere near like the 1st generation. These three starting Pokemon in Black and White look alright, but they don’t seem like Pokemon as they have weird body shapes, and the Trainers look as if they haven’t seen a Barber in a few years.

Pokemon Black and White: Legendaries

Adrian Cajili — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:04:59 +0000

The Japanese Pokemon Website has revealed the fifth generation Pokemon or Pokemon Black and White Legendaries, Reshiram and Zekrom.
The cover of the Pokemon Black version will feature the Legendary Pokemon Reshiram, and the White version cover will feature the Legendary Pokemon Zekrom.

Reshiram is white in colour with blue eyes, possessing big wings and claws. Reshiram somewhat has familiar features such as Palkia’s feet and Darkrai’s head and tail? It also has a weirdly shaped body and tail, and it looks quite powerful and elegant.
Zekrom, on the other hand, is colour black with glowing red eyes.

It has a more ‘robotic’ look, which also has similar features to Magmortar’s hands, Mewtwo and Dialga. Zekrom has a similar body shape to Scizor and looks as if a jet engine is connected to its tail. It looks more slower and defensive out of the two.

The two Legendaries look quiet amusing, but Zekrom is the better looking out of the two as it doesn’t look like a long-necked chicken
Their type is to be Dragon-type. Whether they will get a secondary type is currently unknown.

The Japanese site tells that the two Black and White Legendary Pokemons have a strong connection to the history of the Isshu Region, and they are the key to the games story. Other than these two versions, there will be a new generation of Pokemon (Hopefully they are more amazing than the previous 2 games). The game will also be available on Nintendo DS, and possibly the 3DS.

New footage of Pokemon Black and White released

Terence Huynh — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 08:11:05 +0000

Yes, despite what you may think about these creatures – weird may be one of them – the Pokemon Franchise is set to come out with another edition, and you would have thought that they could have waited about a year or so after the new HeartGold and SoulSilver, but Nintendo likes to milk this puppy. Anyway, in Japan, there is a show called Pokemon Sunday and they have shown some new images of the new game.

If you have been living in a rock for the past month or so, Nintendo has decided to call this Black and White – shifting from colours, to gemstones and now to shades? Anyway, despite the constant rumours that the game will launch in the new Nintendo 3DS, Japan will be seeing the game in the fall on the DS – despite the 3D graphics, which I have to say, is an improvement – but not that much.

To watch the video – with the fake enthusiasm from the adult presenters, and one that has a Hitler moustache – after the jump, in all of its Japanese glory.

Toyota Austalia issues recall on Prius hybrid

Terence Huynh — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:18:12 +0000

Toyota’s recall of its Prius Hybrid car has now extended to Australia, after Toyota Australia announced that it will start a safety recall campaign on the current models of the Prius – which have been on sale since July of last year in Australia. This effects a total of 2,378 cars in Australia – joining the already 430,000 cars affected by the recall in Japan, the United States, Europe and other territories where it has been sold – but most are said to be found in North America.

Two other hybrids – the Lexus HS250H and the Sai sedan – have been suspended from sale as they share the same glitch.

Toyota has said that the recall was because of “inconsistent break feel during slow and steady braking on certain road conditions such as a pot hole, bumpy or slippery road surfaces when the ABS is activated.” Only 111 cases have been reported, with two being found in Australia; and that no accidents have been recorded in Australia. The repairs will be free of charge.

Toyota has stressed that it is not related to the recall in North America, Europe and China because of the accelerator pedal and slipping floor mats.

TG Podcast: Ep. 1 – We’re Back…

Stewart Wilson — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:00:33 +0000

And we’re back with something new. Thanks to Stewart, we are getting back into the podcast game, though we are going to do this monthly. Yeah, I know, a monthly podcast. Basically that would mean that we would basically catch you up with an entire month’s worth of news in a 30 or so minute show, and thanks to Stewart’s wonderful (or infamous) editing skills, we did just that.

The episode basically covers CES and the first few day’s of news; and this was recorded a week before the Google incident – but we’ll cover it on the next episode, hopefully. See you in February!

Download – MP3

Warning: the following episode has a sample rate of 16Khz – blame Stewart or Audacity for the encoding, we hope to fix that in later episodes… hopefully. Show notes after the jump.

Episode 1 – We’re Back

Google Reveals the Nexus One
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/06/google-reveals-the-nexus-one/

Vodafone Aus. confirms Nexus One is coming (to them)
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/vodafone-australia-confirms-nexus-one-is-coming/

Seesmic acquires Ping.FM
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/05/seesmic-acquires-ping-fm-moves-beyond-the-twitter-client/

Microsoft dumps upgrades, trims retail editions of Office 2010
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/microsoft-to-dump-upgrades-trim-retail-editions-for-office-2010/

Tablet: Apple snubs Intel, may have huge learning curve
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/tablet-rumours-apple-snubs-intel-may-have-huge-learning-curve/

Japanese PM starts tweeting, opens blog
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/03/japanese-pm-starts-tweeting-opens-blog/

Palm releases Pre and Pixi for Verizon, adds Plus to its name
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/palm-releases-verizon-versions-of-pre-and-pixi-adds-plus-to-its-name/

Live: Microsoft Keynote
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/live-steve-ballmer-keynote/

Xbox 360 to go back in time with Game Room
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/xbox-360-to-go-back-in-time-with-game-room/

Alienware launches 11-inch gaming laptop
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/alienware-launches-11-inch-gaming-laptop/

Sony brings out SD memory cards… wait, what?
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/sony-brings-out-sd-memory-cards-wait-what/

Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid makes a kaptop into a detachable tablet
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/05/lenovo-ideapad-u1-hybrid-makes-a-laptop-into-a-detachable-tablet/

Plastic Logic brings out QUE
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/plastic-logic-brings-out-que-and-expensive/

Intel announce WiDi HD
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/intel-announce-widi-hd/

Skype Video Goes HD!
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/05/skype-video-goes-hd/

Sony completes with Flip with the “Bloggie”
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/sony-competes-with-flip-with-the-bloggie/

Confirmed: HP to make Windows Slate PC
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/07/confirmed-hp-to-make-windows-slate-pc/

Dell brings out tablet concept
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/dell-brings-out-tablet-concept/

Lady Gaga, Dr. Dre help Bono with new headphones
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/08/lady-gaga-dr-dre-help-bono-with-new-headphones/

Sean “Diddy” Combs, Dr. Dre to sell overpriced earphones
http://techgeek.com.au/2010/01/09/sean-diddy-combs-dr-dre-to-sell-overpriced-earphones/

Japanese PM starts tweeting, opens blog

Terence Huynh — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 14:21:37 +0000

First Kevin Rudd, then Barack Obama and now Yukio Hatoyama? Hatoyama, who is the current Japanese Prime Minister, has decided to join a long list of politicians who are hoping to gain some youth creditability by launching a blog and tweeting – especially when his government’s support rating has dipped after taking control from the long-running Liberal Democratic Party of Japan in September last year.

His blog, titled Hato cafe, aims to "burying the gap between people and politics as well as changing this country together," according to Hatoyama. He even uploaded a picture of his office roof from his mobile phone camera, and promises to tweet once a day to get the hang of it (though, we are highly sceptical that he will be doing so and maybe get an aide to do it for him).

One little problem – it looks like it may be in hiatus for a couple of months sometime in the year because it is an election year for its upper house, as laws currently prohibit internet political campaigning; though they are considering in lifting the ban as many young politicians start using the Internet to campaign, following in the footsteps of Barack Obama – including Twitter, which has gain in popularity in the country after the microblogging site opened a localised version in April 2008.

You can follow TECHGEEK.com.au on Twitter. Our account name is @techgeekcomau.

Tether your feet to your laptop with USB slippers

Terence Huynh — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:24:07 +0000

From the same people that gave you USB eye warmers comes another way to tether yourself to your laptop. These are slippers that connect to that free USB port and warm your feet – though the manufacturer won’t call them slippers, but Hot Roomshoes (see URL). Though, it seems kind of redundant when you can have an electric heater in your room.

It only comes in one colour (brown), but in two sizes – one large and one medium – and both cost only 1, 980 yen (same price as the eye warmer), or approx. AU$24.21.

Japan goes crazy over … eye warmers?

Terence Huynh — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:21:12 +0000

From the home of anime comes this, a USB-powered eye warmer and – as the title says – it basically warms his eyes up to 44 degrees. It supports USB 2.0 and USB 1.1, and because its a USB, you can use this on both a Mac and a PC. There is also a button where you can switch this on and off, so you don’t have to constantly unplug it but still want it on your table – but why would you even want this.

This only costs 1980 yen, or AU$24.21; and you can find it at Thanko’s website.

Hitachi replicates 3D images that you can see without 3D glasses

Terence Huynh — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:33:35 +0000

It looks like Hitachi has finally solve a common problem when watching 3D TV – the glasses. Its new “Full Parallax 3D TV” product, though only having a screen size of 10 inches, recreates a 3D image without you needing those geeky looking glasses, which come in a one-size-fits-all.

It uses 16 projectors and a lens array to cover them, allowing the person to view it in any direction; and Hitachi aims to go over the limit. The current projectors use handle a resolution of 800×600 pixels, bringing the total resolution to 7.68 megapixels.

Just don’t expect to watch HD on it just yet. According to Tech-On!, there is a slight problem of the picture deteriorates if it is focused “too much”.

Source: Tech-On, via Phsyorg

TDK creates 320GB disc, stacks 10 layers on single disc

Terence Huynh — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:50:11 +0000

TDK is known to push the boundaries in storage devices, as it showed of a possible 960GB laptop drive and a 3.2TB desktop drive – yeah, you heard that right. But in preparation of the CEATEC trade show in Japan, TDK has announced that it has now pushed the boundaries in the optical storage devices world with a 10-layer, 320GB disc, and it still looks like an ordinary disc.

The disc uses a blue-violet semiconductor laser with an oscillation wavelength of 405nm and an objective lens that has a numerical aperture of 0.85 to read and write data. But most of you wouldn’t care about that; so lets make that a bit simpler to digest. The disc currently uses that blue laser that is used to read and write on a standard Blu-Ray disc.

Currently, the maximum capacity for the general population is 25GB.

But, how the hell did they manage to do that? Simple. TDK just simply increased the transmittance to more than 90 percent on the outermost layer of the disc, because every time there is a new layer added on top of the disc, it decreases the transmittance signals.

The structure of the disc will have a cover layer, where you can write on with a whiteboard or permanent marker; a hard coat layer, which protects the disc from scratches and dirt; and then the ten recording layers, with L0 being the innermost and L9 being the outermost layers. L0 is made out of a silicon copper alloy; and if you are a bit geeky, the recordings are maintained by an inorganic material composed of bismuth peroxide and germanium dioxide.

No word if TDK will actually release these new discs.

TECHGEEK.com.au » Japan

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