MethodShop

iPhone 3G Settings [pic]

2008-05-12T08:11:00.006-04:00

Still doubt that the 3G iPhone is coming soon? This settings screen with a 3G toggle switch (see image) was found in the latest beta release of the iPhone's 2.0 firmware.

Why would you want to turn off 3G? Because 3G drains cell phone batteries very quickly. In this screenshot, Apple has included a toggle setting to turn 3G off, and use AT&T's slower but more battery friendly EDGE network instead. Probably a very useful feature if you are almost out of juice.

In April, Apple released beta version 3 of its iPhone SDK. Hackers found that the new firmware contains references to an updated chipset—namely, the SGOLD3H from Infineon. This chip adds support for 3G networking, including WCDMA - the 3G flavor used in Japan and Korea.

So according to Apple's SDK and Firmware updates, a 3G iPhone is definitely coming very soon.

Apple's stores are also indicating that a new iPhone is coming soon. While the Apple stores have been having a shortage of iPhones for a couple weeks now, the Apple website now is also saying there is no ship date available.

Also AT&T employees have already suggested a release date of June 15th.

Add all these clues up and it's a pretty safe bet to say that the new 3G iPhone is coming out either late May or early June.

How much will this new iPhone cost? The 3G iPhone has been rumored to have a starting price even higher than the original iPhone at $599 for the 8GB and $699 for the 16GB. No word on whether the data plans will remain the same with the new 3G data speeds.

methodshop

Percussion Guitar [video]

2008-05-11T18:17:00.004-04:00

Here's an amazing clip of musician Erik Mongrain playing "percussion guitar" using a technique known as lap tapping.

methodshop

Neil Young New Poster Boy for Blu-ray

2008-05-08T12:02:00.006-04:00

Neil Young is now the poster boy for Sun Microsystem's Java On2 interactive Blu-ray DVD technology. Young made the announcement on stage with Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz yesterday at the Sun Microsystems Java One Conference in San Francisco.

Young plans to release his entire music catalog on Blu-ray, beginning with a 10-disc set containing his recordings from '63 to '72. Fans with a broadband connection and the latest Java-capable Blu-ray players will be able to download lyrics, photos, tour info and additional songs.

Some hardcore Neil Young fans may find it difficult to see him on stage making deals and announcements with corporate CEOs. Most of the songs on Young's 1988 album "This Note's for You" centered around the commercialism of rock and roll, and tours in particular (the title track is a social commentary on concert sponsorship). Will we see Sun and Blu-ray sponsoring Young's next tour?

The Blu-ray camp made a huge score by wooing Young. Artists such as AC/DC, The Band and Bruce Springsteen have all released HD concert videos on Blu-ray discs, but Young's support of Sun's On2 technology gives Blu-ray new revenue opportunities and solidifies Blu-ray as a music medium.

No word yet if Young plans on remaking one of his classic songs "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World" to "Keep on Rockin' in the Blu-ray DVD World."

methodshop

World’s Tallest LEGO Tower [pic]

2008-05-07T10:55:00.004-04:00

This monstrous LEGO tower was built in the U.K.'s Legoland Windsor theme park to commemorate LEGO's 50th anniversary. The tower was made using 500,000 LEGO bricks, and stands just shy of 100 feet high.

Maybe this LEGO tower should get added to the list of Strange Monuments From Around the World.

methodshop

Naughty Transformer [video]

2008-05-07T07:43:00.007-04:00

What if your car was a robot like in the movie Transformers? Sounds cool right? ...or is it?

In Michael Bay's movie version of Transformers, Shia LaBeouf has to deal with giant robots walking all over his mom's garden and backyard. When you are busy saving the world, who cares about a garden. But how well do Transformers fit into everyday life?

What if you had a transforming car that you drove to work everyday? Would it act like this in front of your coworkers? Car manufacturer, Chevy, answers those questions with this clever commercial. [watch clip]

methodshop

Wixi iPhone Media Storage

2008-05-06T10:00:00.001-04:00

One of the shortfalls of the current iPhone is that it doesn't allow video to be stored. Check out the ad supported online app called Wixi, which stores photos, music and videos on a server then formats them for viewing on the iPhone.

Premium subscribers who pay $6/month or $50/year are offered unlimited, ad-free storage. You can get more info at Wixi.com.

methodshop

Flood vs. Boredom [pic]

2008-05-05T07:32:00.002-04:00

Flood vs. Boredom [pic]
Originally uploaded by methodshop flickr

Is it a moat? Did someone accidentally leave the sprinkler on overnight? Neither. An unforgiving rainstorm was too much for the Illinois River to hold and a massive flood has left many homes underwater. But there are a few exceptions.

Say hello to Kenny Leitner. Maybe it's lack of electricity and part boredom but not even a flood can stop him from mowing his front lawn.

It's probably fair to say that Kenny is having a "bad day."

More "Bad Days" Photos:
http://methodshop.com/picts/baddays/index.shtml

methodshop

Pac-Man Sculpture Made Out of Tin Cans [pic]

2008-05-01T04:20:00.004-04:00

You might notice the uncanny resemblance in the image below to one of the most recognizable video game mascots of all time... Pac-Man.

This giant Pac-Man sculpture was just one of the displays created for a charitable art show called Canstruction Vancouver. If you look closely, you might notice that the sculpture is made almost entirely out out of tin cans. Actually thousands of cans. After the show, the cans of food used in these displays were donated to the Vancouver food bank. Donations were also collected at the exhibit entrance.

Flickr user eyesplash Mikul attended the show and posted this image of Pac-Man and the blue ghost online. I forget which ghost was the blue ghost but their names were Blinky, Pinky, Inkey, and Clyde.

In case all this Pac-Man talk makes you feel like gobbling up some ghosts, here's a web browser based version of Pac-Mac.

methodshop

Young Teachers Gone Wild on Facebook

2008-04-29T07:25:00.006-04:00

Yesterday the Washington Post published a great article about young teachers and their wild Facebook profiles. What did The Washington Post find? Sexual innuendos, a talking sperm cartoon, helpful tips like 'Don't smoke crack while pregnant' and a lot of sexual objectification and drunk party photos.

How do you find these "wild teacher" profiles on Facebook? It's easy.

Log on to Facebook. You need an account.
Join your local neighborhood/city network.
Search Facebook for the name of your local school system.
Then sit back and "watch the public profiles of 20-something teachers unfurl like gift wrap on the screen, revealing a sense of humor that can be overtly sarcastic or unintentionally unprofessional -- or both."

So who is in the wrong here? Are the young teachers naive to the fact that their students, parents and school administrators can see their Facebook profiles? Or are we wrong for holding teachers to a higher standard than the average Facebook user?

Some American states including Florida, Colorado, Tennessee and Massachusetts have banned teachers from having public profiles on MySpace and Facebook. And teachers unions have started warning their members of the dangers of having a racy social network presence. The teacher's unions might want to add Flickr to that caution list. A quick Flickr search for "sexy teacher" introduced us to Jennifer. She's a teacher in Taipei who wants to be a model.

Here's an easy solution for everyone. If you are a teacher, then edit your privacy prefs. Don't allow everyone in a Facebook network to see your full profile. Anyone can join your local city/town network and see your profile. Or take advantage of Facebook's "Limited Profile" feature. It only takes a few seconds to edit your privacy preferences and it could save your job.

methodshop

Madonna Uses MySpace to Promote 'Hard Candy' Album

2008-04-28T08:13:00.003-04:00

Following in the footsteps of Nine Inch Nails [story], Radiohead [story], and R.E.M., The Material Girl began streaming her latest album Hard Candy via her MySpace page over the weekend, 4 days before its official U.S. release on Tuesday.

Madonna has been building interest in the album with a Hard Candy video widget embeddable on MySpace, Facebook, Hi5 and other services.

She's also performing live at the Roseland Ballroom in New York on Wednesday, April 30 in a show that will be streamed live on music.msn.com.

methodshop

Embarrassing David Hasselhoff Photos [pics]

2008-04-27T20:40:00.006-04:00

Back in the 1980's, David Hasselhoff was cool incarnate. His acting role in the hugely successful NBC TV series Knight Rider made him an international mega star. After Knight Rider was cancelled, Hasselhoff cashed in his International appeal for a Top 40 music career in Europe. But Hoff wouldn't deprive his American fans for long. In the early 1990's Hasselhoff came back to primetime with another TV show for NBC called Baywatch.

Recently Hasselhoff has lent his talents to Broadway for Jekyll & Hyde, sat in as a judge on the reality show America's Got Talent and even had a cameo role on the 2008 TV version of Knight Rider.

After such a high profile career spanning over 3 decades, Hasselhoff has partaken in many a cheesy photo shoot. In Hoff's defense, most of the embarrassing photos were taken during the 1980's or in Europe. But many of these photos are very questionable and a few are actually quite disturbing.

See More: Embarrassing David Hasselhoff Photos

methodshop

Terminator Karma Sutra [pics]

2008-04-25T07:59:00.009-04:00

Fans of the the American TV series Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, might have noticed that TV version of John Connor has a very different kind of relationship with Cameron, his cyborg protector, than the Arnoldbot from the movies. Cameron even puts on nail polish in John's bedroom while they share secrets (season 1, episode 8).

Is there some human/robot love in John Connor's future? If he needs help sparking a robot romance, maybe he should try some Cszar's Terminator pornography. Cszar posed and photographed his T-800 robots having sex in various positions before sharing them on flickr.com.

Cszar's flickr album is titled "Make Love Not War." It's basically the Terminator Karma Sutra. His family must be proud.

methodshop

Kid Trapped Inside Claw Machine [video]

2008-04-24T06:54:00.006-04:00

Ever play one of those Lucky Dip or "claw" games before? It's a game of chance commonly found in arcades or family restaurants. You use a joystick to maneuver a claw into position and then drop it and hope the claw grabs a prize. As a child, you probably wished you could reach your hand inside the machine and grab the toy you wanted right? Well this Australian kid managed to not only slip his hand inside... but his entire body.

When the kid dug his way to the surface of all the stuffed animals he must have been excited. But that joy obviously turned to horror we he realized he was trapped. As you can see from the video, the kid is obviously terrified. Here's a video of the claw incident from Australia's Channel 9 news.

In the video, the reporter says security staff had to "dismantle" the Lucky Dip to get the boy out. Actually that statement was a little over-hyped. To "dismantle" the machine, all the security staff did was use a key and open the glass window. After all, how do you think they put more prizes inside the Lucky Dip? Have a little boy crawl in with a sack of stuffed animals?.

methodshop

Japanese Elephant Urinal Cleaner [video]

2008-04-22T06:16:00.002-04:00

Say hello to Dasubee - The Japanese Elephant Urinal Cleaner. To use Dasubee, just turn him on and back him into a dirty urinal (or maybe it's dirty urinals that turn him on). Dasubee will start scrubbing away and clean up all those urine soaked cigarette butts and that porcelain rim of random pubic hair.

Here's a video of Dasubee in action.

I can't decide if I should add this to my album of useless Japanese inventions or not.

So the next time you are near a urinal in Japan, throw a few peanuts inside and give Dasubee the urinal elephant a treat. Because animal faces and bright colors make cleaning piss fun! ;)

methodshop

Raw Meat iPod Cover

2008-04-21T14:18:00.005-04:00

A Japanese company called Solid Alliance is selling an Apple iPod cover that's designed to look like RAW MEAT. It comes in a cellophane-and-Styrofoam package just like meat does. We've reviewed plenty of iPod/iPhone cases before, but this one gets bonus points for originality. I wonder what my dog will think.

iPod... It's what's for dinner?

More info at rakuten.co.jp and therawfeed.com

methodshop

Cluttered Desktop Art [PICS]

2008-04-17T07:37:00.004-04:00

What does your computer desktop look like? Nice and organized or a complete mess full of files, folders and shortcuts? Storing tons of files on your desktop is never a good idea because it slows down your computer... especially the video refresh rate.

In an effort to encourage people to clean up their desktops, Teknograd Mac Support (Norway) has come up with an ad campaign that visualizes the feeling of helplessness that a cluttered desktop can cause.

The campaign features a variety of monstrous cluttered desktops attacking your hard drive. For example, the image below is of a Tyrannosauruses Rex about to devour a helpless hard drive. Other images from the campaign feature a shark, skull and even some space invaders.

More pictures at Macenstein.com.

methodshop

Google Website Optimizer

2008-04-17T07:35:00.000-04:00

Google has officially launched Website Optimizer, a tool that Webmasters can use to test variations of a site's content and design to increase conversions. The free tool is available at google.com/websiteoptimizer, and the search giant has also launched an accompanying blog, tutorial and discussion board.

Website Optimizer was first rolled out as a beta in late 2006 for users of Google's AdWords platform, but the expansion means that any site owner can access the tool (provided they have a Google account, like Gmail) and start running multivariate tests.

methodshop

Pole Dancing Cat Fight [video]

2008-04-17T07:25:00.003-04:00

What happens when a friendly pole dancing lesson between two Belgium strippers goes wrong... well, probably something like this [video].

methodshop

Anya Marina Interview

2008-04-16T08:02:00.001-04:00

Sweet. Quirky. Fun. Talented. Cute. Folky. These are just some of the words you might use to describe Anya Marina... but don’t tell Anya that. She’s more comfortable labeling herself Miss Almost or Miss Maybe as she does in her hit song "Miss Halfway." But perhaps "Miss Out-Of-My-Way" would be more appropriate.

Anya's debut album "Exercises in Racketeering" won the San Diego Music Award for best local artist and her music has been used on several TV shows including MTV’s The Real World, Numbers and the hit ABC-TV drama Grey’s Anatomy. Anya's song "Miss Halfway" also appears on the Grey’s Anatomy, Vol. 2 soundtrack.

When Anya isn't serenading millions of TV viewers, she still finds time to do stuff like act in the Lions Gate romantic teen comedy 100 Girls and fill the morning drive DJ slot on San Diego’s 94/9 FM. Not too shabby for "Miss Halfway."

In between DJ shifts and recording sessions Anya found a little time to sit down and answer some of our questions.

Interview: Anya Marina - DJ by Day. Pop-Star by Night.

methodshop

Reporter Owned By Sled [video]

2008-04-14T10:19:00.006-04:00

This Canadian Global news reporter thought the bottom of a sledding hill was a great place to do his broadcast. He was wrong.

Watch the clip. After doing a full frontside flip and coming within inches of smashing his face, the guy finishes his report and professionally signs off.

Totally reminds me of the infamous Grapefall video when a Fox reporter falls off a platform while trying to smash grapes with her feet on live TV.

methodshop

Analog TV Fines

2008-04-14T08:27:00.001-04:00

Did you buy a cheap TV recently? Think you got a good deal? Think again.

The FCC is handing out over $3.9 million in proposed fines to retailers including Wal-Mart, Target and Sears for failing to inform consumers the analog TVs they sold in 2007 won't be able to receive digital signals without a separate tuner after Feb. 17, 2009. Manufactures such as LG and Vizio are also being fined for labeling violations. Looks like everyone was trying to offload their useless TV inventory at our expense. Rat bastards!

So at the end of the day, that good deal you got on that cheap TV might not have been such a good deal after all.

If you decide to return the TV, just pack it better than this person did [pics].

Tutorial: How NOT to Ship a HDTV

methodshop

007's Spy Gadgets

2008-04-14T07:54:00.000-04:00

Although the James Bond movie series began with a surprising lack of gadgetry and big-budget fireworks, who would the Bond we've come to know today be without all his gadgets?

Here's a list of some of our favorite James Bond gadgets and how realistic/functional they'd be in the real world.

Robot Dog (A View To A Kill, 1985)
Remember in the 1980's when robots were cool? Every movie or TV show from Short Circuit to Small Wonder had a robot in it and Bond was no different. In A View to a Kill, Q has a small dog sized surveillance robot that he operates by remote control. You might remember how Q used the robot to spy on Bond girl, Stacy Sutton, when she was coming out of the shower. Could it work? Yes. After 9/11, hundreds of robots were used to scourer the wreckage of the World Trade Center's collapsed twin towers and help diffuse road side bombs in Iraq.
X-Ray Glasses (The World Is Not Enough, 1999)
These blue sunglasses from Q's lab are both stylish and functional with X-ray ability that allow Bond to wander though a casino viewing concealed weapons and inspecting ladies' lingerie. But could it work? No. These glasses stretch the barriers of X-ray technology a little too far. X-rays are most widely used in medicine to visualize bones and organs and requires the subject to stand stationary for a few seconds in order to work properly.

Jetpack (Thunderball, 1965)
One of the most spectacular gizmos, the jetpack, only appears for a moment. Bond straps it on and escapes over a high wall to his waiting Aston Martin DB5. The jetpack is real and was originally developed for the US Army by Bell Textron Laboratories. High pressure nitrogen gas is released through the nozzles to give a powerful burst of rocket propulsion. The military jetpack prototype could carry a person over a 30-foot-high wall at a speed of 7-10mph. Having just 30 seconds flight time, however, the jetpack was scrapped by the army. These days, it's reserved for novelty value and was used in the 1984 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Los Angeles.

There are plenty more Bond gadgets. These were just some of my favorites. Thanks to a remastered DVD collection of the James Bond movie series fans can relive all their favorite gadget scenes over and over again.

methodshop

My iPod Broke While I Was on Vacation

2008-04-09T07:27:00.008-04:00

It always breaks my heart when we get a "my iPod broke while I was on vacation" email like the one below. When you are on vacation you probably don't have a computer to help fix the iPod. And worse yet, a broken iPod means no music or movies to enjoy on the plane ride home.

"hey there, methodshop!

okay, so I'm flying into La Paz, and my iPod starts acting funny. I'd heard they don't do well at high elevations, so I go to put it to sleep and I get the - gasp - sad iPod icon, along with a url for apple. this does not look good.

I arrive in Cochabamba, 3 thousand feet closer to sea level, and look at my iPod. the menu is there, all well and good, but when I go to play a song I find that the Thing-is-empty.

no songs on it. nothing. nada. zilch.

what the heck happened?!?!?! and how can I restore some tuneage before my 13-hour journey home on Sunday?

help me, methodshop. you're my only hope... Tracy"

Hi Tracy. Nice Facebook profile picture by the way. You are in a sticky situation right now. I won't try to sugar coat it - that would probably just make it more sticky. Anyway, there are a few things you can do to try to fix your iPod.

The sad iPod icon is not something you want to ever see. The first thing you should do is reset your iPod. Cross your fingers and restart the thing. If you are lucky, it will be good as new. It will just start working again and all your music will be there like nothing ever happened. The directions on how to restart your iPod vary from model to model so check out this link for more info: How to Restart a Frozen iPod.
If the restart trick didn't work, you should try putting your iPod into Dianogtisc Mode. This will run a series of hardware tests on your iPod. If the hard drive test fails, then you are probably screwed. But keep reading, there are more tips below.
Next you should try connecting the iPod to a computer and running a hard drive check. Mac's have a program called Disk Utility (Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities). If you are on a PC, then open My Computer from the desktop and right-click on the iPod. Then select Properties > Tools tab > Defragment Now). But Windows computers won't recognize Mac formatted iPods. So you'll have to try to find a Mac.
If the iPod is being stubborn and won't connect to the computer, then try forcing the iPod into Disk Mode. Running a hard drive check might be hard to do, especially while on vacation when you typically don't have a computer handy. If you are lucky, there might be a pale nerdy kid with a laptop in the shade by the pool. Go flirt with him. Show him your nerdy Facebook profile picture. He might be able to fix it for you.
Here's you last resort. You're going to have to erase the iPod. Sometimes the hard drive on the iPod just gets too fragmented and messy after adding and deleting thousands of songs over months or years of use. The best way to clean up all those scatted blocks of data is to start fresh. The problem is, you probably didn't bring your computer on vacation with you. And worse yet, without your computer, you don't have access to your iTunes music collection. So if you choose to erase your iPod, you should try to use a local computer (hotel, friend, Apple Store, etc.) with iTunes installed to either load some CDs you buy while on vacation or make friends with someone who will let you borrow some MP3s for the plane ride home.
When all else fails, buy a book at the airport. Sorry. When you get home there are some more iPod Support articles that you might find helpful. And if your iPod has a bad hard drive, then try our iPod Repair Service to get it replaced. Good luck Tracy and we hope you didn't have to read anything past step 1.

If you plan on taking your iPod on vacation near water (beach, lake, boat, etc.), then make sure you get a waterproof case for your iPod.

methodshop

Facebook Chat

2008-04-07T18:47:00.003-04:00

According to the Facebook blog, the social network is launching a live chat feature this week allowing users to communicate in real time from their Facebook profile pages. It's still in beta I think. Not everyone has been able to install the new chat application yet. I've gotten a few install errors so far and I don't see the chat app in my profile yet.

A chat application is great news for Facebook users. The "Wall" application was great for some things. But sometimes you just want to have a conversation with someone that isn't publicly posted in their profile or doesn't have the delay of going to their "Inbox" first. In case you were wondering, all Facebook Chat conversations are one-to-one, completely private, and only between Facebook friends.

Bonus: You don't have to get IM account info from all your Facebook friends. Just install the app and your Facebook friends will automatically get added to your chat list.

To add the Facebook Chat application to your profile, just click here. But remember it's a little buggy still. Don't flip out if you get an error. Hopefully they will get things all straightened out by the end of the week.

I hope they add a "Pages" option to the chat app next. It would be nice to be able to chat with fans on the MethodShop.com Facebook Fan Page.

methodshop

MacBook Battery Check

2008-04-07T15:01:00.001-04:00

The rechargeable batteries in MacBooks, iBooks, PowerBooks and iPods are categorized as "lithium-ion." Lilon batteries, as they're often called, provide reliable power for everything from cell phones to laptops, supplying significantly more power than nickel-based cells. Basically, Lilons are not your father's Duracell.

The following tips will extend the life of any Lilon battery whether it's playing games, answering e-mails on your laptop or watching a movie on your iPod or iPhone.

Tutorial: Maximizing iPod and MacBook Battery Life

This tutorial even shows you how to use the Terminal in OS X to check your current battery capacity and help you figure out when you need a new battery for your laptop.

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