Android 3.0 caught on camera?

It’s certainly not much to look at. Though if that little “3.0″ in the Android Version section turns out to be the real deal, the Android nerds out there could literally explode with excitement. Of course, such subtle things as version numbers are easily faked. Some other food for though — some Linepack benchmarks and browser statistics metrics from several Android websites also showed future versions of Android out and about, albeit in deep cover. Of course, just like the Android version number, linepack benchmarks and browser identifier strings are also easily manipulated.

For what it’s worth, the owner of the image above sent the picture to Phandroid and capped it off with some rather ominous text: “stay tuned for more”. It could mean we’ll see some real (as in real revealing) images of Android 3.0/Gingerbread very soon. The other less welcome outcome could be a multitude of disappointment when nothing happens and we all find out these are fake. I’m hedging on optimism. What about you?

AT&T/Alcatel-Lucent upload speed patch currently rolling out.

Recall the whole AT&T upload capping drama from a few weeks back? It turned out that it wasn’t some menacing plan by the Death Star carrier afterall. Instead, one of their business partners, Alcatel-Lucent suffered from a software problem that rendered AT&T uploads on their hardware painfully slow. Good news folks — a fix is rolling out as I type!

According to AT&T, a mere 2% of their user base was affected. Nonetheless, the current update should restore those blindingly fast (unless you live in San Fran, New York, Chicago…..) upload speeds if it hasn’t already. I would point out that it’s been nearly a month since the whole thing went down, but at this point I’m just happy to report any good news concerning AT&T. Upload away folks…

Galaxy Q specs leaked?

Samsung is raging a fast and furious takeover attempt with their Galaxy S handset. That handset just so happens to have a footing in one of each of the four major US wireless carriers. A massive release is certainly a way to make a name for yourself. Then again, so is giving consumers options when it comes to hardware. Introducing, the Galaxy Q.

The name isn’t official, nor is the spec list. Speaking of which, this upcoming Galaxy device will be a sort of “mini-S”, as it features a smaller 720 x 480 3″ S-AMOLED display and candybary-like body. While the physical dimensions may be smaller, the internal hardware appears to be just as brawny as its bigger “S” variant. The 1GHz Hummingbird CPU, 16GB of onboard storage, improved 8mp (rear) and 1.3mp (front) cameras and inclusion of Android 2.2 (Froyo) signal another serious contender from Samsung — if you like small, candybar phones that is.

I’m more of a slider type of guy. Though if the onscreen keyboard is good enough (ala iPhone) I could be wooed into forgoing the physicality a slider provides. Looks like we’ll need to stay on top of this one. Anyone interested?

Common sense prevails: Exemptions made in DMCA clause to allow for jailbreaking/rooting/hacking (for legal content)

Each and every day, it literally pains me to read headline after headline of some new boneheaded politician or government body who makes a law based solely on the persuasion of company lobbyists. We all know what I’m talking about — companies who “donate” money to politicians so they’ll push for laws that favor monopolistic ways for the company on top and just fuck over customers overall. But there is hope!

The Library of Congress announced today a change to the DMCA’s god awful anti-circumvention clause. Specifically, verbiage pertaining to the act of hacking/jailbreaking/rooting your handset for the purpose of installing “legally obtained” software is permitted. Score +10 for consumers!

Though don’t get too excited just yet. While the law specifically states end users more or less have final say what they do with their phones, it does not say manufacturers can’t try to stop consumers — as Apple has time and time again…and failed repeatedly. Furthermore, the DMCA still prohibits “tools” (read: software in this case) that aid in DMCA-type circumventions from being discussed or publicly shared for others to download. Stupid — yes. So technically, it’s legal to jailbreak our phones, but obtaining the software and retweeting the hell out of new updates about Dev-Team products is not. Fluster cluck it is.

Still, it’s a huge win for consumers who have in recent years, seen plenty of their rights trampled on by the almighty corporate dollar. Baby steps folks, baby steps.

Real nerds have a bios boot animation on their Android devices…

Flashy boot animations certainly have their place. But sometimes you want to be low key and simple, yet still have that nerdy flair. For those situations, a boot animation that resembles a computer’s bios screen as it boots up would be perfect — simple yet nerdy. Since this involves Android, nerdy stuff, and hacking a phone, you can probably guess that it originated from XDA. At that thread, you’ll find one of the coolest Android boot animations yet. Go ahead, hit the link and download that which you so greatly seek…

USB flash drive constructed out of old Mac keyboard.

If you happen to have an old Mac keyboard or two sitting around the house, why not get crafty and USB-ify it? Stuffing USB flash drive internals into mundane objects is the latest rage. But you know what, I love it. Many years from now, geeks will compare their flash drive collection as a sort of “right of passage”. No joke, I want this.

If DIY isn’t your cup of tea, thesleekgeek (Etsy) will happily do the grunt work for you, $60 donation provided of course. So what do you say: DIY or pre-built?

PS3 first person shooters just got exponentially more enveloping: The PS3 Assault Rifle Controller

Gun controllers have been around for ages. My first taste of shooting games came way back in the day with the NES and Dunk Hunt. Many of you out there may share the same basic start to your gaming/shooting days. Those were the days, weren’t they? But we’ve moved on since those laughingly fake plastic gun days to this: The PS3 Assault Rifle.

The new PS3 controller is meticulously designed to give the gamer the look and feel of Modern Warfare 2, though the gun will work with any PS3 game with the provided USB wireless dongle. It’s interactive gaming to the max.

You see, my biggest peeve with the Wii is that the games basically suck. The graphics suck. And therefore, the overall immersion experience sucks. I want to be made to believe I’m really in the game. With the PS3′s graphics, a sick home theater, and this handy dandy Assault Rifle controller, I’ll be more in the game than ever.

Look for the PS3 Assault Rifle to drop August 2nd for a rather reasonable $65 USD.

[Product Page: Amazon]