End of world tool box: Water, flashlight, radio, Universal Network Cable.

Tired of spending umpteen dollars on various networking cables for simple IT related tasks? Whether you’re an IT guru in a massive company or a solitary home user, having a universal adapter for network connections seems like it would be a lifesaver. I’m sure we can all agree that realizing you need a different cable and then rushing to the store only to find they’re out or closed is a frustrating experience of epic proportions.

Featuring (5) cable options in a single, twist-style body, users of the Universal Network Cable can choose between:

• Rolled: Connect to Cisco routher or switch

• Crossover: Direct PC-to-PC to connection w/o a hub or switch

• Straight-Through: Standard RJ45 patch cable

• ATM/Loopback: Network test with no need for hub or switch

• T1: Connect to DDS lines/T1 trunk lines

Ya, it’s $50 for an adapter. But this adapter could save you and your company a considerable amount of time and money. Money makes the world go ’round these days, so what are you waiting for?

Ok, it’s really $25 (thanks, Jeff) — much better.

[Product Page: ThinkGeek]

Coolest-Gadgets

Apple backtracks on mature apps. Boobs & butts getting sent packin’

For all the flack Apple receives on about App Store policies, one of the more prominent issues was the restrictions on sexual content in the App Store. Now, some will say good riddance, and that such vulgar content isn’t needed. Buuuut…that’s what the whole 17+ restriction is for. Not to mention, if you don’t like something, don’t look at it/seek it out. With all that said, the developer of “Wobble iBoobs” (figure it out) has come forward and shared his recent rejection after the fact by Apple. According to Apple, the app was removed because of “sexual content”. Apple goes on further saying: “We have decided to remove any overtly sexual content from the App Store, which includes *your* application”.

So tell me again, what’s the point of having a mature rating system and measures to prevent minors from purchasing mature content if you reject all of the content that’s supposed to occupy that space? Either way, there are hundreds of sexually oriented apps on the App Store that have made it through the approval process just fine. Why the change? Wiping these apps from the store so abruptly and without warning until after it’s already been removed is a slap in the face to the developers who spend time and money developing for the platform.

Then again, this isn’t the first time (or second, or third) that Apple has spit on developers. Any devs out there care to share any experiences?

Pocket-Lint

The X-ray Umbrella

Recycling old gadgets and stuff is a great way to not only make the planet just a wee bit happier, as I can’t tell you how many awesome creations I’ve seen created from recycled materials. Awesome creations such as the X-ray Umbrella show that even after a gadget or product’s “useful” lifecycle, there’s still plenty to be had. In the case of this umbrella, used up x-ray sheets were spliced together to create a pretty neat head turner. Though, being made out of x-ray sheets, I’m not sure how resilient it would be to repeated down pours. Oh well, at least it would look cool hanging in your foyer no?

The “Android SIM”: CPU, OS, and 1GB of memory on a tiny, hot-swappable card.

Smartphones have the ability of usually being fairly customizable on the users’ end, allowing various configuration changes and other software tweaks. The biggest reason that such tinkering catches on however is generally dependent on the OS and hardware inside. Because of that, the ability to customize a device varies from handheld to handheld. But what if the typical notion of a smartphone were removed from the traditional plastic shell and shrunken down into a card no bigger than your standard SIM card?

Such is the task and goal behind the “Android SIM’. Shown off by SK Telecom at MWC, the Android SIM may not replace the high-end smartphones (yet), but it will make everything else below it obsolete. The real beauty is that the Android SIM features an integrated CPU, 1GB of memory, and of course, the Android OS — again, all on a SIM card! Impressed isn’t quite the right word…Geeked is more like it.

The big winners of such a card would be lower end phones since you could make them even cheaper by leaving out the processor, memory and OS and instead rely on these little cards to do all the heavy lifting. Such cards are not only cool because of what they can do, but what they’ll lead to. Just think, evolving this Android SIM even further can lead to other cool stuff such a stick on CPU’s, batteries, electrical plugs, etc. Now if I could only get a hold of a few of these…

Engadget

Sony getting all pissy over used games, forcing purchasers of used SOCOM games to pony up for new online licenses.

Sony loves their customers. Ha, that’s a joke. Need one of many examples? Take for example people who pick up a copy of SOCOM US Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 3 from a used game retailer. Said customers will find a nasty surprise when they get home — online access doesn’t work. That is, online access won’t work unless 2nd hand customers cough up $20 more bucks to Sony. The reason being Sony and other game developer companies hate used game retailers because they don’t see a single dime of the resale. But, it’s completely legal. Bonus for the consumer.

Sony’s Solution: start removing online features and then charing a “re-activation fee” for new users, regardless if it’s a used game or not.

Such a stance by Sony isn’t anything new. Over the years, they’ve become the poster child of of how not to embrace technology and increase customer loyalty. DRM has also been a staple of their constant failure ridden history as they’ve tried to obsessively control things that aren’t theirs to control. But they’ll never change.

In the end, it’s Sony being the same idiotic, backward thinking company. And these companies wonder why people are driven towards piracy…

Gizmodo > Consumerist > IGN

Google: “Sony, will you hook us up with some bangin’ new hardware?” Sony: “No, hell no.”

The Sony Nexus One? Sounds weird doesn’t it? It almost came to be that. That is, until Sony shot it down in flaming glory. According to Sony Ericsson CEO Burt Nordberg, “Sony will never be sub-contracted for anyone” (read: No, hell no!)

Woah. Calm down there bud. I can surely understand their stance though — not wanting to be anyone’s worker bee. But doesn’t it make you wonder what kind of sexiness Sony would have conjured up for such a high-end Android device? Oh, wait…

Would you have bought a Sony made N1?

AndroidGuys

iPhone download cap raised to 20MB. Is it enough?

When your employer comes to you and says they’re going to double your income, you’re pretty stoked, right? Of course. So when Apple subtly bumps up the data cap on iPhone downloads from 10MB to 20MB, happiness should also consume your soul should it not? Though even at 2x my previous capacity, I’m still finding 20MB to be rather limited. With many iPhone apps easily surpassing 20, 50, and even 100MB, is higher 20MB cap really make that much of a difference? Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing 50MB or more. Over AT&T’s 3G network, even something as high as 50MB wouldn’t take more than 10-15 minutes. To some, that’s an eternity though.

Looking back over the recent VoIP revelations, the Slingplayer back tracking, and now the raised data limit, is this a sign AT&T is finally working on something?

TiPB