March 11, 2006
gadgetry
They showed one of these on the BBC news I want one. Not that I'll ever be able to afford one.
Home brewed PVRs.
DRM-ed TV broadcasts? Oh great. The other week I had my DVR glitch out on me and I got an on-screen message telling me the BBC programme I was already recording was protected (although it shouldn't've been). So I've had a quick taste of things to come -and it doesn't taste nice at all.
Posted by groc at 06:49 AM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2005
mmmmm - teeny tiny media recorder/player thingy
I want one of these.
Posted by groc at 05:30 AM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2005
game cubes
Posted by groc at 02:57 AM | Comments (2)
October 13, 2005
vid-ipod
the video iPod - I'm wondering what deals they'll forge with media companies in the UK.
Posted by groc at 02:58 AM | Comments (0)
October 09, 2005
flashy flash drives
mmmm. Interesting article.
"...he invented Migo, software that lets removable storage devices such as USB drives and iPods essentially function as portable computers.Plug a Migo-enabled device into a computer and enter your password, and a secure session launches in which you can send and receive e-mail and work on documents, with the background desktop and icons from your own PC rather than the ones on the host computer."
Posted by groc at 01:17 PM | Comments (1)
April 27, 2005
portable personal multimedia
I wrote this back in Feb. 1994 - it migt help to explain why I've always been unimpressed and completely underwhelmed by the iPod.
Oh it's small, it plays music. It's a walkman? Oh, it stores *all* your music. Oh. Is that it? Is that all? Yawn. I so was over the idea of the iPod years before it was even invented.
Posted by groc at 02:36 AM | Comments (1)
April 07, 2005
musical kitchen
Yes - I want a PlayStation Portable but not to play games on... ooooh no...
(which of course begs the question why are PDAs supposed to be dying out? Except they're not really, they're just evolving into Smartphones...)
Posted by groc at 04:21 PM | Comments (2)
March 22, 2005
we're naughty
UK is a hotspot for downloading Merikan TV apparently. I know it's terrible isn't it? Downloading stuff we'd otherwise have to wait months for, and having it complete and uncensored and with all those pesky commercials removed.
via the sashs report.
But on the other hand: the BBC is grasping the nettle, and is planning pay per download TV programme downloads.
Posted by groc at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
March 10, 2005
beam me up...
Looks like someone’s been stealing ideas from Earth: Final conflict, the agents in that futuristic sci-fi series had exactly the same design for their video-camera phones cum portable computers (and I want one).
Designers have always nicked ideas fron sci-fi - from the flip-open mobile phones they nicked from classic Star Trek, to the current promise of 3G video phones - and the PDA tablet from later STs...
Posted by groc at 01:24 AM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2005
want!!!!!
Posted by groc at 01:39 AM | Comments (1)
February 16, 2005
in the fuuutuuure...
Oooh want one -or two, or three...
Mini-side rant:
For years I've had my own ideas for a fantasy computer - one that consists of mainly a flat touch sensitive panel - no stupid mouse, no stupid keyboards -imaging that voice recognition would improve so much that it'd hardly be necessary any more - and on those few odd occasions when you needed one you could just pull up an on screen one - like on a Palm pilot and tap away.
It looks like -with the tablet computer and this - we're starting to get there.
My other fantasy linked to this is that the masses of different software we use to do various things would disappear. No one but me seems to think it's really stupid having to have one separate program for writing - a word processor, another one for handling bitmapped images (photoshop or whatever) another one for drawing vector-based art (freehand, illustrator etc.) another to make paper-based thuings - like Quark Xpress, yet another for web pages... What's more these programs seem to know it themselves as in every upgrade they add in limited functions from other dedicated programs. If instead software writers concentrated on a more modular approach -where you could add in various functions to one main program as and when needed.
Er... you know like how a web browser works... notice how that's grown and grown from it's humble beginnings which was to only show text, to show pictures, to later show animations, then vector based animations (flash), then to handle databases and forms, and to run varous java and VB and shockwave programs...
So i know I'm not talking out of my hat and that it's completely possible, it just takes a different approach to how we see computers working...
Posted by groc at 11:28 AM | Comments (2)
February 03, 2005
talking of d-d-d-d-digital
Oooooh. I think I want one. It'll never happen though.
I wouldn't be surprised if the DRM-ers are probably at this very minute working out ways of having a credit card slot built into this and any other similiar device so you have to pay to watch or listen everything you already own.
Ah shoot - I hope I haven't just given them the idea...
Posted by groc at 08:15 AM | Comments (2)
January 26, 2005
review of the JuiceBox
The Register reviews Mattel's JuiceBox -the portable multi media player gadget for kids.
(Yes I'd quite like one. But I might be better off with a Palm Tungsten or a Sony Clie or something...)
Posted by groc at 06:32 PM | Comments (0)
keep your lame iPod shuffle
I want one of these!
Posted by groc at 06:34 AM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2004
gameboy mpeg4 player
mpeg4 player for the Gameboy SP.
want.
want.
want.
Posted by groc at 07:02 AM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2004
5 meg camphone
At this point I thought - oh for pity's sake just put all the mobile phone gubbins in an normal digital camera's body and have done with it now.
Posted by groc at 03:32 PM | Comments (3)
October 20, 2004
gasp
oh no yet another Olympus camera I want, nay neeeeeed.
Posted by groc at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
camera fetishism
Is it wrong that I got all excited when I saw an Argus camera being used in 'Niagara' -the afternoon film shown on Channel 4 (this Tuesday). It's much the same camera as seen being held by Gwyneth Paltrow on the 'Sky Captain' poster.
Posted by groc at 01:31 AM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2004
new Sony clie
Oooooh. Pretty. But sooooooo expensive.
Posted by groc at 12:55 AM | Comments (0)
October 08, 2004
If I had
recently spent money on an iPod - I'd be feeling a bit peeved by now. But no doubt the Mac-cultists will just shriek with glee and dig deep into their pockets yet again...
Here's another link.
Posted by groc at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)
how many megapixels do you need?
"The discontinued C-2100 is a bit of a secret weapon". (That's my baby that is...)
Posted by groc at 09:55 AM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2004
matching...
Look! matching portable TeeVee sets to got with the PeeCees mentioned earlier. How ace is that?
Posted by groc at 06:53 PM | Comments (1)
October 04, 2004
Hi there
We've come to piss all over your boring beige monitors and even that dreary new white square im-mac.
Why is it that the Japanese do all the coolest fun stuff and most everyone else is so staid and boring?
[via fridgemagnet.]
Posted by groc at 10:22 AM | Comments (3)
September 28, 2004
sorry folks,
but with gadgets like this the dreary little iPod is so over. Especially when mobile phones will start coming with built-in mpg players...
via Overyourhead.
Posted by groc at 08:44 PM | Comments (8)
August 27, 2004
the iPod generation
gggrrrr Nero 6. So you spend time sorting the files you want to copy into a DVD you let it determine maximum burn speed, you let it do a simulation which it claims successful and after all that it still fails on the actual burn. Twice. With the same totally cryptic error message. Grrrrr.
Posted by groc at 06:55 PM | Comments (0)
August 25, 2004
the futur -proper
I look at these lovely things and I can't help thinking that the iPod is soooooo over. In a few years time when these new gadgets are ubiquitous people will be looking back to this time and going 'what the hell were we thinking'.
iPods are to the early 2000s as flares were to the 70s, padded shoulders and big hair were to the 80s and the smiley t-shirt to the 90s.
Posted by groc at 05:23 AM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2004
mmmm portable
I've seen the ads for these things on the kid's cartoon channels, a 'toy' portable video player. Want.
Posted by groc at 05:50 PM | Comments (3)
July 31, 2004
mmm
want one via gizmodo.
Posted by groc at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2004
note to self
that there gorgeous-looking camera that's being held by Gwyneth Paltrow in the Sky Captain poster looks very similiar to an Argus C-3. I think I want one.
Groc loves cameras.
Incidently, trust Microsoft to cack up what could otherwise be a great idea... DRM sucks and it's stifling emerging technology -not to mention potential new markets. Stupid entertainment industry.
But then again Bill Ryan likes it -lots.
all via Player blog.
Posted by groc at 03:34 AM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2004
Want one
but as I'm already having a long wait until the price of mpg-players comes down to a level where a pauper like me can afford one - I expect an even longer wait until I'll ever be able to afford one of these babies...
But again they can stuff any idea of DRM. Jeez, what is wrong with these people?
Posted by groc at 01:48 AM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2004
teeeny tiny CD singles
Dammit someone's been reading my blog again!
Universal to revive dead CD single format.
Why haven't I got a well paying job as a trends consultant dammit?
Posted by groc at 11:37 AM | Comments (6)
May 28, 2004
Tamagotchi
Watch out. Beep beep. (I'll be waiting until the fad has long passed and hope to buy them from the pound shop like I did last time round.)
Bonus links:
Posted by groc at 02:59 PM | Comments (4)
May 13, 2004
something else
for my wish list...
Posted by groc at 02:49 PM | Comments (2)
May 12, 2004
want
I want one of these (but with a much more capacious HDD). Just imagine if you could hook it up to a monitor or TV. I can see a day when the big noisy clunky beige box computer will be long gone - to be replaced with a myriad of small handheld devices that can output to any size of flat screens. Yay for the future. Mind you -then I'd be always losing the wretched things...
Oooh this is even nicer...
Or a there's even a digital video recorder for Sony memory sticks...
Posted by groc at 03:17 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2004
phone home
I actually saw one of these on sale in San Francisco. I wish, I wish, I wish I'd bought it now.
I've been harvesting more Spongebob links:
About the creator:
Articles
Nicktoon Games
Merchandise:
SpongeBob SquarePantsTM Telephone Talker
Dodgy black SpongeBob Valentine Card
Popsicles and more popsicles.
toothpaste. Glow in the dark plasters.
Posted by groc at 04:26 PM | Comments (1)
May 08, 2004
i want my iMP
Hello, when I wrote this entry about wanting to see the death of broadcast TV... someone over at the BBC must've been taking notes. TV on demand that's what we want. When do we want it? Now. Not just when the broadcasters decide to trot it out...
Then I read this and sigh. No, they are emphatically NOT losing £45 million in sales. That's a figure they've plucked out of the air. I can do that - 'I lost two million in sales from all the cartoons, photos and writings that have been downloaded from my various websites over the years. Boo hoo, boo hoo.' See?
And let me tell you -if the Industry ever tried to sell you copies of TV programs and films at the wretchedly low quality you can usually download from the internet - they'd be lynched.
Posted by groc at 09:16 PM | Comments (0)
April 29, 2004
coming to a Gameboy near you.
Eeeek, cooo, wow! Being able to watch SpongeBob (and other cartoons) on your Gameboy Advance/SP (I sooo still want one of those. The Advance is a bit of of a pup - because it's screen is way too dark to be seen properly, but the SP screen is lovely and bright.) Yes I know you could get a handheld DVD player -and I'd like to have one of those too. But although they've gotten a lot cheaper recently -this is a cute cheap gadget thing, and cute cheap gadget things rule. I've long dreamed (long before they even had G3 phones) about being able to watch little movies on handheld PDAs. Now it's all coming true...
I'd like one of those Gameboy TV tuners too - but they've quite expensive for what they are.
Bonus link: Dress as your favourite SpongeBob character. (I bet that David Archontic will be having pervy plushy fantasties over this.)
Posted by groc at 03:57 PM | Comments (1)
February 17, 2004
fantasy shopping
Having already seen and lusted after a mini 3" CD MPG player, now I'm lusting after a Sony digital camera I saw on sale in a camera shop in the US -which instead of using a smart card or a compact flash writes the photos directly onto a cute little 3" writable CD. Even though it's only 3 or 4 years old it already seems quaintly retro - although they've already two newer versions that are only a year old. I wonder if they'll soon make an even newer one with an even higher megapixel rate and which writes to a 3" DVD?
I know Sony are now currently selling two (1-- 2) video-cams that write directly to a 3" blank DVD. So it can be done...
Now if I'd either one of those cameras or the 'phototainer' I've mentioned before, I'd have been able to share my San Fran photos with you straight away. Instead they're sitting on my bf's laptop waiting for the day he can get around to getting his technical support department to burn them onto a CD for him (& me). Hopefully it won't be too long.
[Oh and I'm currently slightly worried there's a chance that my 35mm film might have been fried by the Heathrow airport security X-rays. Although I carried the exposed film back through in my hand luggage (curiously only the American side had warning notices up about not carrying film in your suitcases) -they went through Heathrow security in my suitcase -ooops. I hope I'm lucky.]
Posted by groc at 05:34 AM | Comments (0)