About that amazing Nexus One display…

If you still feel that your Nexus One is the king of crop as far as smartphone displays are concerned, you may not want to read this. (Spoiler alert: N1 display isn’t so hot!) Care for more info? Right, cheerio then.

Looking at the picture above, one can easily see the difference between the top (iPhone 3GS) and bottom (N1) displays — the latter looks like junk. It looks like junk if you know what you’re looking for that is. That striping non-sense is called banding, and it’s a good indicator of screen quality and color depth. Ironically, the N1 display which is so highly regarded for it’s amazing eye popping color reproduction is actually displaying nothing more than 16-bit color. The iPhone 3GS as well as many other smartphone use 32-bit. As a result, color intensity levels (and more specifically, image quality) suffer.

Oh there’s more. (Told you not to read this if you’ve got a soft spot for the N1). Besides the missing color depth, sub-pixel rendering, and below average brightness. Above all else however, it’s worth mentioning that to most users, the added pizazz that has wowed you so far were likely chosen by Google over such things as touchscreen accuracy and outdoor performance.

Even still, the once almighty N1 just became a little less almighty. Why is it that ’till this day, no one can seem to build a quality, spec beast of a smartphone without screwing some feature(s) over?

For a much more detailed account of the exact issues with the N1 (and subsequent murdering of your so far near flawless opinion), stop on by DisplayMate and soak it all in.

Gizmodo > DisplayMate

LEGO junkies, meet your master: “LEGO Crawler Town”

Wow, wow, and more wow. Just when I thought I’d seen the coolest and most complex LEGO creation, someone has to come along and smash my previous idol to pieces. Though you have to admit, being impressed and having your “idol” smashed to pieces because a newer, bigger, and better one comes along can actually be pretty exciting. In the case of the “LEGO Crawler Town”, perfection and creativity have reached a new peak.

The description according to the builders:

“Crawler town roams the barren wastes of a post steampunk world after cataclysmic climate change do to excessive coal use. Several such cities exist but Crawler town is the most popular due to the Aero 500 hydrogen fuel cell Air races that are held. Many people travel the wastes to Crawler town for vacation and to enjoy rare luxuries like Pizza, fresh vegetables and Beer. Traveling the wastes in search of minerals and aquifers (vital for survival) the mobility of the city keeps it away from the vicious sand storms of the wastes.”

…one can never have too much pizza and beer. I’m still amazed actually. No, even more-so. I’m dumbfounded and completely geeked. Starstruck?

Technabob > Make > Brothers Brick

When function meets form: The Elis “WiFi Lamp”.

Far too often I see gadgets with all fluff and no flavor pass before me. While a pretty face is more than welcome, and in fact a major bullet point I look for, at the end of the day I tend to fall on the utilitarian side. That is, what good is a pretty face if it doesn’t do anything but sit there and…look pretty? The whole function vs. form thing is exactly what Onda Communications is fighting with their “Elis: Wifi Lamp”.

In short, the Elis is a rather trendy looking lamp that also doubles as a WiFi router. No more unsightly router sitting out for all to see. It’s a pretty neat concept and one that would definitely sell truckloads of units if implemented into other household designs as well. For the function minded people — it’ll top out at 21Mbps. See, it isn’t so bad now is it?

Irony at it’s finest: Microsoft giving away Macbook Pro’s as rewards. Icicles to jut from the ground in 3..2..

As I myself look for a new computer, I find myself pulled every which way trying to make sense of the non-sense that normally fills my head on top of spec sheet after spec sheet. What should I get? Well, if I want to save a buck or two I can enter “Mac Office Loves You and win a free Macbook Pro. Sweet. Who doesn’t love free, not to mention a shiny new Macbook Pro free? Answer: No one. The irony: It’s a giveaway by Microsoft.

I totally get the whole Office for Mac push (I hate iWork by the way), but giving away a free Macbook Pro even if it benefits Microsoft in the end run is still mighty comical if you ask me. Then again, Microsoft makes a lot more money on software than they do on hardware purchases. Of course, a Windows OS license costs a bit more than Office. Oh geeze. It can go both ways. What do you think, smart decision?

TUAW

Magic is real: Eye controlled earphones.

There’s out there, and then there’s truly out there in regards to ideas and crazy gadgets. Earphones/mp3 players that can be controlled with you eyes — don’t write them off just yet. In fact, they’ll soon be grouping an eyeball near you.

Thanks NTT DoCoMo, handless operation of your headphones and music will soon be a reality. Operation (leaving technical science out of it) is pretty cool, using the charge between your retina and cornea to determine what exactly it is that you want. Such things as blinking and looking different directions will control playback and volume.

Ya, that’s impressive. Now all I’m waiting for is the eye mounted lasers. Only then will my life be complete. Check out the vid below if you so desperately crave more.

Video

Geeky-Gadgets > ElectricPig

Nerds everywhere may now rejoice, we finally have a weapon! Get ready to defrag a drive while defusing a bomb…

Now, if you are like me, you worship the ground MacGyver walks on, you, well, sometimes dream of what it would be like to sport the World’s prettiest mullet, get all the ladies, and have a partially mentally handicapped friend like Jack. But then you wake up and realize you are a nerd that will never see the inside of a locked control room gazing at a bomb set to explode.

What would you say if I told you there now was a way you can still load Portable Apps as well as fight crime by slowly cutting your foes? What if I said you could actually protect yourself while backing up very important personal data? *still waiting for your answer*

USB SWISS ARMY KNIFE FTW!!!!

Okay, this little guy might be on the pricey side, but, it is still probably the greatest invention, besides the chewing gum wrapper fishing lure. This little fella packs a mean punch, equipped with 1 to 4 gigs of storage, led light, ballpoint pen, and of course all of the MacGyver classics.

I know you’ve probably already sold your first born to purchase one of these, but the site I am linking to is sold out at the moment, but if you use your superb Googling skills you can dig up other sites, that even have bigger sizes. All I ask of you, please, while backing up your pr0n, don’t cut yourself.

Think Geek

IE 6 refuses to die. But why?

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time criticizing Internet Explorer 6′s continued lingering in the public sector. For consumers, IE6 is at the very bottom of the totem pole of relevance. The corporate sector however, is an entirely different story. My personal opinion was that the reason for the reliance on old software and technology was simply because of legacy hardware and software dependent on the outdated browser. Well, I was right — partially. There’s actually several good reasons as highlighted by Esther Schindler in her article: “Why You Can’t Pry IE6 Out of Their Cold Dead Hands”. Now before you start jumping on this as another anti-IE6 rant, take note that this is actually a well laid out explanation.

So why exactly do businesses stick with IE6?

• Companies simply don’t know, or don’t feel like upgrading.

• One or two company dependent programs hinder upgrades.

• “Why fix it if it isn’t broken?”

• “User control”: Most popular sites these days (ie: Facebook and YouTube) rely on modern web browsers to work properly. Why spend extra money upgrading software and paying for web filtering software on top of it when a broken, standards deficient browser does all of the work for you?

When you sit down and think about it, the reasons above make sense. Though at some point, relying on outdated IT equipment will come back to bite you. Whether it be in the form of greater upgrade costs when the company is finally doing a massive upgrade or a catastrophic hardware/software failure, staying complacent with old junk just isn’t a good idea.

So do I have more respect for the companies who do hold off for such reasons as highlighted above? No. Regardless if it’s a decision of the individual company or because of a 3rd party program developer that refuses to upgrade and support newer browsers, it all comes down to cheap and/or lazy people. Update or whither out of existence.

Read the full article at IT Expert Voice

Slashdot

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