According to TorrentFreak, The Dark Knight was the most pirated movie of 2008. Ummm, hooray? Somehow I doubt Warner Bros. will include that stat on the DVD packaging. The movie’s been on and off the list of top BitTorrented films throughout the summer as people took video camera footage of the film in theaters or ripped it from screeners. TorrentFreak’s Top Downloaded Movies on BitTorrent As of Nov. 16, 2008 Rank Last Week Title 1 (new) The Dark Knight 2 1 Traitor 3 4 Tropic Thunder 4 2 WALL-E 5 3 Step Brothers 6 (new) Max Payne 7 9 The...
Filed under: Digital Cameras Mark it down as a coincidence if you'd like, but a flurry of lawsuits revolving around the same companies just became public knowledge. For starters, Eastman Kodak has decided to sue Samsung and LG, alleging infringement of digital camera patents relating to image capture, compression and data storage; the suit is asking for "unspecified damages, and both cases seek injunctions prohibiting Samsung and LG from further imports and sales of the products." Just hours later, Samsung hit back with this response: "Samsung plans to respond actively to these litigations and will remain committed to serving our...
Filed under: Blu-rayClearly unwilling to be seen as anything other than the premiere Blu-ray release of the year, The Dark Knight will follow Hellboy II in featuring a BD-Live chat session with director Chris Nolan -- but apparently only for the first 100,000 registered purchasers (regular or Bat-Pod edition). As TheHDRoom points out, with over one million copies headed to shelves for the launch, you may want to grab yours early. Also coming to the Bat-Channel is video commentary sharing, while details like how to submit questions and exactly when the viewing party will take place are still unclear, fans...
Filed under: Industry, Misc, Cables, Ports, Apple Man, you just can't win these days. So Apple offers up an energy-efficient, forward-thinking Mini DisplayPort on its latest MacBook / MacBook Pro, and now users that are still rocking displays sans HDCP-compliant HDMI / DVI ports are up fecal's creek without a paddle. Apparently select content in the iTunes Store is laced in HDCP, which isn't all that unexpected in and of itself; the problem comes in when you realize that the new unibody machines don't offer a VGA / VGA-to-component output, meaning that you have to connect it to an HDCP-compliant...
Filed under: Gaming, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Laptops Man, you just can't win these days. So Apple offers up an energy-efficient, forward-thinking Mini DisplayPort on its latest MacBook / MacBook Pro, and now users that are still rocking displays sans HDCP-compliant HDMI / DVI ports are up fecal's creek without a paddle. Apparently select content in the iTunes Store is laced in HDCP, which isn't all that unexpected in and of itself; the problem comes in when you realize that the new unibody machines don't offer a VGA / VGA-to-component output, meaning that you have to connect it to an HDCP-compliant...
Filed under: Blu-ray, InternetHellboy II: The Golden Army director Guillermo del Toro (and avowed Blu-ray fan, take that Michael Bay) is the first to connect to viewers (as suggested by a particular EHD ed at the last CES) and chat live while watching the movie on Internet-connected players November 23. Exactly how "live" the chat will be remains to be seen, as questions will be submitted ahead of time on UniversalHiDef.com, before the event commences Sunday at 6 p.m. PST, but an opportunity to hear the director's responses in real time is not to be missed, and finally scratches the...
Filed under: Handsets, Samsung, Alltel, EV-DO, CDMA There's not a dry eye in the house now as the junior Hue goes out into the world, ready to pick up where its colorful parent left off. Like its predecessor, the Hue II has five interchangeable faceplates available -- blue, gray, purple, green, and white -- with blue and gray bundled in the box. It ups the Hue's ante by moving from a 1.3- to a 2-megapixel cam and offers stereo Bluetooth, microSD expansion to 8GB, navigation, and a price that's just $10 higher on contract -- $39.99 when purchased online. It's...
Filed under: Misc, CableIt's a proven fact that most HDTV viewers take for granted that their high-def favorites are grouped together in the EPG, but high-def onlookers in Shaw territory have been hunting and pecking for ages... until now. The Canadian cable provider has just announced that it will soon be shuffling its lineup around in order to "give Shaw customers a better viewing experience by grouping high-definition channels together for ease of channel surfing." The changes are slated to take place on November 18th for Calgary, Canmore, Banff, Edmonton, Redwater, Edson, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Brooks, Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, Winnipeg,...
Filed under: Desktops The details have emerged today on a couple new LG "high performance" desktops in Asia, so if you've been lying awake at night wondering when a new XPION would be hitting the scene, perhaps this evening you'll rest a little easier. The R20 is a slim form factor desktop PC featuring a 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Quad CPU, 3GB memory, a GeForce 9500GS GPU, and a cooling system "based on Multi Direction Platform Cooling, which also makes it run fairly quietly." Even less is known about the S20, aside from the fact that it's a standard-sized desktop,...
Filed under: Media PCsMost recently, CyberLink has been ensconced behind the DIRECTV2PC operation, but now it's stepping out again on its own to showcase the PowerCinema 6 software. Designed to give HTPC owners easy access to multimedia (photos, TV shows, music, etc.) as well as handle TV recordings / scheduling and channel management, the new piece now boasts support for high-definition TV -- an obvious requirement for you and your peers. Obviously, that means you'll also find MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) support, though it doesn't include a player for Blu-ray Discs. If that's not a bother, the software can be acquired...
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Internet, iPhoneRaging Thunder is one of those games we've been watching since the App Store was first announced, and now it may have reached another milestone. Polarbit says that with version 1.0.3, which is in the App Store now, they've released online, real-time competitive multiplayer. They say it's an App Store first, and I think they're right -- a few games have offered wifi multiplayer before (Apple's Hold'em does, and Raging Thunder did previously), and some games have done some non-real time multiplayer (Loot Wars is interesting in that way) but allowing players to...
Filed under: Laptops The Eee PC 901 has always been the sweet spot model in ASUS's alphabet soup of a netbook line, and the 901GO launched today in France makes it even more desirable with a larger 8700mAh battery and a faster 16GB SSD capable of 50MB/s writes and 87MB/s reads. Of course, you can get the same 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and 8.9-inch screen in the 900A for $280, so the new 901GO's €399 ($505) pricetag seems perhaps a bit much, but the cutting edge ain't a cheap place to live, kids.[Via Electronista]Eee PC 901GO with faster...
Filed under: Studies, MiscWe're not even going to pretend we fully grasp what's going on here, but the long and short of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences' latest findings are that cellphones can trigger the release of mercury from one's fillings. Yes, seriously. The study asserts that out of 14 test subjects with fillings, those who used mobile phones had a statistically significant increase of mercury from urine tests than those who refrained from yapping. The science behind all of this is far beyond our IQ levels, but we're a little freaked out/not freaked out, regardless.[Via textually]Cellphones are dangerous/not dangerous:...
Filed under: Major movement, Analyst reports, Forecasts, Competitive strategy, Chasing Value, Stocks to Buy, Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG) One of my top holdings, Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ: ISRG) and favorite stocks is taking a beating this morning and has been along with almost everything else. One of our readers who has been following this story line sent me an email asking what my current thoughts on the subject are. Andrew: “I’m just curious if you hung on to your ISRG or if you bailed on it… I’ve been following it since this article, and man, its really heading down...
Filed under: Media streamers, Other hardware, Others We asked, and we're receiving. LaCie's LaCinema Rugged was initially announced across the pond late last month, yet we rough Americans were left wondering if it would ever see the light of day on US soil. Just in time for the holiday rush, LaCie has indeed announced US pricing and availability for the bulked up multimedia drive, and it's not like you even have to wait around to get your mitts on one. Try right now starting at $199.99, with sizes including 250GB, 320GB and 500GB.LaCie's LaCinema Rugged multimedia HDD now available in...
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage We asked, and we're receiving. LaCie's LaCinema Rugged was initially announced across the pond late last month, yet we rough Americans were left wondering if it would ever see the light of day on US soil. Just in time for the holiday rush, LaCie has indeed announced US pricing and availability for the bulked up multimedia drive, and it's not like you even have to wait around to get your mitts on one. Try right now starting at $199.99, with sizes including 250GB, 320GB and 500GB.LaCie's LaCinema Rugged multimedia HDD now available in US originally...
Filed under: Software Update, Macbook Pro, MacBook If you are one of the early adopters who rushed out to purchase a MacBook/MacBook Pro, only to realize that the new Trackpad was a bit buggy, then you may be in for a treat. That's because Apple just released the much anticipated Trackpad fix for unrecognized clicks. Here's what Software Update tells us: This firmware update addresses an issue where trackpad clicks may not be recognized on MacBook (Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (Late 2008) systems.Apple notes that because this is a firmware update, you will need to follow the on-screen instructions...
Filed under: Software UpdateApple just released a software update for QuickTime. The update titled "H.264 Compatibility Update" claims to improve QuickTime compatibility with iChat.You can download this update by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update), or by downloading the installer package directly from the Apple website (it should appear there shortly). Thanks to Tony, and others who sent in this tip!TUAWQuickTime H.264 Compatibility Update is out originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments...
Filed under: Utilities, Office, Web services Deadline is a really great web-based alternative to the standard desktop to-do apps. There are several ways to interact with it and access your to-do list, including via Jabber/Google Talk, through Atom, RSS and iCal feeds, and email. Deadline understands input in natural language, so you can write something like, "call mom on Tuesday," and the web app will schedule it appropriately.The Deadline UI is well-designed and not distracting, with edit and delete buttons readily accessible next to each item. Inspired by Twitter, to-do items have a 140 character cap to accomodate SMS support...
Filed under: Accessories, Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Odds and ends, iPhone I have a feeling people will probably love these or hate these, but personally, I like the fact that they look a little different than most iPhone cases out there. The folks at Element Cases sent us a note about their new "gaming shields" for the iPhone. If you're trying to make your iPhone look different, they'll certainly help. Marketed towards gamers, the cases offer impact protection and an easier form factor to hold on to, even during raucous games of MotoChaser.I also like their "Flip-Lid" idea -- the...
