Here’s another episode of my little side project, the HourTime Podcast. This time we talk about a $500K sports watch and the history of timekeeping and some of your favorite brands. Hope you’re enjoying this and we’d love some feedback.

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Well, it’s true. The XPS is available now for a mere $1,799 with a 128GB solid state drive, 13-inch WLED screen, 4GB memory, and an Intel Core SU9400 1.4GHZ processor. It will run Windows 7.

You can pick the old girl up right here

We’ve been pretty excited about Adamo generally and this is an interesting move towards the right size and shape for the line.

As you’ll recall, the C64 emulator for the iPhone was shut down by the App store for being too awesome. Apple has approved the app but took off the BASIC support. Not great but not bad, either.

You can download the app here and this time there is no secret back door for enabling the BASIC emulator right in the app, which caused the emulator to run afoul of Apple’s draconian “no fun” policy.

Here is a cheerful Australian man running you through the app. It allows you to play classic games including that Kung Fu game that you remember but don’t quite know the name of but had a picture of the Sydney opera house in the background (it was called International Karate). It comes with eight games.

Halloween is coming up and if there’s one thing I know it’s that geeks love Halloween. The opportunity to hide behind a mask, to subvert the status quo, and to dress up like sexy nurse/sexy witch/sexy balloon boy is a cause for celebration. That said, we’re offering one Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition Console to the winner of our First Annual CrunchGear Halloween Costume Contest.

Here’s how to enter.

It costs $69 and is available at the end of October.

RIP Mighty Mouse name. It’s now called the Apple Mouse.

Product Page

More Apple goodness here.

Apple Introduces Magic Mouse — The World’s First Multi-Touch Mouse

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today introduced the new wireless Magic Mouse, the first mouse to use Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ technology. Pioneered on iPhone®, iPod touch® and Mac® notebook trackpads, Multi-Touch allows customers to navigate using intuitive finger gestures. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac® and will be available as a Mac accessory at just $69.

“Apple is the Multi-Touch leader, pioneering the use of this innovative technology in iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpads,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Apple’s Multi-Touch technology allows us to offer an easy to use mouse in a simple and elegant design.”

Magic Mouse features a seamless touch-sensitive enclosure that allows it to be a single or multi-button mouse with advanced gesture support. Using intuitive gestures, users can easily scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. Magic Mouse works for left or right handed users and multi-button or gesture commands can be easily configured from within System Preferences.

The Magic Mouse laser tracking engine provides a smooth, consistent experience across more surfaces than a traditional optical tracking system. Magic Mouse uses Bluetooth wireless capabilities to create a clean, cable-free desk top and its secure wireless connection works from up to 10 meters away. To extend battery performance, Magic Mouse includes an advanced power management system that works with Mac OS® X to automatically switch to low power modes during periods of inactivity. The wireless Magic Mouse is powered by two AA batteries which are included.

Pricing & Availability
Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac and is available at the end of October through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), at Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $69 (US). Magic Mouse requires Mac OS X Leopard® version 10.5.8 or later.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

© 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Multi-Touch, iPhone, iPod touch, iMac, Apple Store and Leopard are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

So, what is blackra1n? blackra1n is a 30 second ALL device 3.1.2 jailbreak. Even the ipt3, but the ipt3 is tethered. In order to boot it, just rerun blackra1n. As far as donations go, they are much appreciated, but not until after blackra1n works for you. I never ask for donations before the tool is released.

Warning 3g and 3gs unlockers, do not upgrade to 3.1.2 using iTunes if you want to keep your unlock. Baseband cannot be downgraded. Check out the dev team’s offerings. Also blackra1n doesn’t hacktivate.

Also, the secret word for today is FORDS. Just thought you might like to know.

Who wants a new HP Envy 13? Anyone? I mean, after all, it is one of the hottest notebooks ever and comes preloaded with Windows 7. But no one probably wants this brand spanking new, never-been-opened, $1700 notebook for free. But if you do….click through for the simple giveaway entry instructions.

Contest rules:

1. Every day, from now until October 14, we will hide a secret code in one of that day’s CrunchGear posts. It will be a CAPITALIZED WORD at the end of the story.
2. Collect these words from now until October 14. There will be exactly 7 and we will post them over the weekend as well as during the week.
3. Put them all into one email (use a real email address!) before midnight on October 14 and send it to contest at crunchgear dot com with the subject line “SEVEN WORDS TO ENVY”
4. One winner will be chosen randomly from all the entrants who have all seven words. Winner will be notified 10/15/2009
5. The giveaway is open to US residents only, 18 or older!

That said, here is your first word:

PACKARD

Good luck and happy hunting.

Amazon’s current wireless hardware provider, Qualcomm, seems to be the one that will handle the magical spells wireless solution that gives Kindle owners access to an entire library in their pocket.

The Kindle is coming in as a bit of a late contender, with Sony’s and Border’s ebook readers already available in England since June. But that’s all about to change. TimesOnline called the Kindle “the best eBook reader in the world.” Well, at least now it’ll be the best in the US and Britain.

Comic from the inimitable XKCD

Designed by CG reader Sean, the i-Toc is a mere $99 and comes in six colors including silver, blue, purple, red, and orange. It has a 41mm case and has a silicone strap with butterfly clasp. Heck, they even have a screen saver so you can add a pink i-Toc to your PC or Mac.

The watch mechanism is housed asymmetrically within a solid piece of sleek and anodised aluminium and is available in six colours.
The i-toc watch adds two further elements beyond that of the unique clockface namely asymmetry and colour. The clockface is located off-centre in a rectangular case. The watch is available in six vibrant colours. This is a watch for people that want to express their individual style, for people who don’t want to be part of the norm.
Available in anodized aluminium in Red, Orange, Blue, Purple, Black and Silver with matching colour clockface, the i-toc is a fashion statement that matches the wearers mood or dress.
The i-toc is a reflection and a statement of the people who wear it, it lets the world know that they are cool, stylish, unusual and funky.
Although the i-toc is a radical departure from the ‘normal’ analogue watch it is still a functional and simple timepiece. It still utilizes the ‘big hand, little hand’ concept invented by Patek Phillipe which has been with us for over a hundred years.

3.1 will also include ready-made iTunes ringtones from 4 labels. Each cost $1.99 each. The new iTunes supports app management within iTunes, ensuring you get a better and more logical look at all your apps. The app management works just like you think it does – the app pages appear and you drag them around the page.


3.1 is available now for download. Update away. Touch users note: this is a free update for all.

First, just a reminder that we’ll be covering the event live tomorrow starting at 10am Pacific/1pm Eastern. We’ll be using our liveblogging platform so you won’t have to go nuts refreshing the page.


Now, for the meat. Here is what we know:

1. There will be iPods with cameras. The Nano and the Touch should get cameras, we’re not certain on the iPod Classic. The camera is believed to be the 3.2-megapixel model inside the iPhone 3G.
2. There won’t be a tablet. The iPad isn’t ready and this isn’t the event for the iPad launch. This should happen before the holidays.
3. Steve will probably be there. He’s doing OK and this is a good way to rally the troops. He could be a “One more thing” surprise, thereby building the tension and causing an orgasm of fanboi adulation.

Here’s what we can conjecture:

1. A new version of iTunes should appear with some sort of social networking built in along with cloud-based playlists you can share with your friends.
2. The iPods won’t be available immediately due to their complexity. We suspect they’ll be available a few weeks into the future. They’ve done this before, notably with the Touch.
3. There won’t be updates on any other hardware. This isn’t a line show but an iPod show.
4. The iPod Classic could be dead or may not receive an upgrade and still stagger on through the line. The classic is fast becoming a storage device rather than the go-to MP3 player for many.
5. There might be some Beatles stuff.

Here’s what won’t happen:
1. They won’t release iPhone OS 3.1. There’s no reason right now.
2. To reiterate, there will be no iPad.
3. Steve Jobs will not land in the Yerba Buena Center in a large silver spacecraft and take three chosen humans on board, all women, where the group will float serenely in space, repopulating the universe with Jobsian clones grown in utero during balletic space orgies and then sent hurtling through space in tiny pods shaped like the Mighty Mouse.

So it looks like the rumors of an Apple event on September 9 are true. This event, themed after a Rolling Stones song seems to involve some classic tunes. It also a music-focused event so that means new iPods. But what else can we expect?

First, expect iPods with cameras as well as a move of focus to the iPod Touch as the main iPod product. They stopped adding iPod Classics to their “reminders” a few years ago. Could this be the year the Classic goes the way of the dodo?

THIS IS THE IMAGE THEY USED WHEN THEY STILL LIKED THE iPOD CLASSIC

Otherwise, we know as much as you do. Watch this space, though. We’ll be there live and with bells on.

Munster of Piper Jaffray “predicts” that AT&T will lose its iPhone exclusivity by the end of 2010, thereby rendering the company impotent and insolvent. Some contenders for the iPhone throne include Verizon. This ignores the fact that AT&T is fighting like a champ to keep the iPhone until 2011 but it seems the popular perception of AT&T as a pile of fail may put a damper on Apple’s wish to stay put.

Is Munster right? Well there has been a little discussion of a non-GSM iPhone on the Internets. Look at the logistics: Sprint isn’t going to take the phone – they’re wrapped up in Palm right now – and T-Mobile is busy with Android. That leaves behemoth Verizon. Quoth Munster:

“We believe Apple is unhappy with the current status of video on the iTunes Store and is working to change it,” Munster said. “These changes, however, will take time, in the form of lengthy negotiations, in order to bring the rights for TV and movies up to speed in a digital world.”

I think a CDMA iPhone is in the cards, certainly, and I suspect they’ll try something like Blackberry and add a SIM card slot for international roaming. iPhone users are a nomadic lot and I can only imagine the outrage when a bunch of study abroad students turn on their Verizon iPhones and find they don’t work in Florence. As for the CDMA model coming “within the year?” Eh. Don’t hold your breath. The iPhone is selling pretty briskly right now and ramping up production of a CDMA model would be difficult at best.

Take all this with a grain of salt, though. Analysts are notoriously, well, wrong. Rob at BBG said it best when commenting on the AppleTVTV:

Their clients gamble that analysts know more. And sometimes, they do. As often as not, however, analyst clients end up paying someone with few real contacts to tell them the same thing that bloggers with few real contacts have already told the whole world, for the lulz.

Yes, friends, we work for the lulz.

Image from this funny dude

You’re telling me Snow Leopard isn’t a major update? Well affix your chapeau to your pate, sir, and go forthwith on a long walk off of a short fjord! The most important feature in Snow Leopard has been revealed and it’s a doozy.

That’s right: something PCs have been doing since I was still spermatozoa is now standard in OS X. Will the magicians of Cupertino ever stop innovating?

• Join groups with people from all backgrounds. If you’re in CS, don’t stick in with the nerd groups like SCA or the Computer Club. Do they even HAVE computer clubs anymore? Try the school newspaper or the drama club. They always need guys who can make stuff and there are girls in these groups.
• You don’t have to study computer science. Once you get to a cool, great school, you can swap majors. If you don’t like writing linked lists and, eventually, OS kernels you may want to try Information Systems or Business. I know it sounds like a cop out but it’s not
• Don’t be one of those guys/girls who is against everything fun including drinking and/or smoking. Yeah, yeah, it’s all bad for you but the prissy, Victorian attitude you cultivated in high school will not serve you well here.
• Try on plenty of hats but don’t be insufferable. I thought I was a Taoist in college. My buddy, who now consults for HP, was a Marxist. All the creative writing majors I went to college with are now working in insurance. Try everything but don’t define yourself too early.
• Be the guy who helps pick up the keg for the party.
• Live off campus ASAP.
• Seriously, stop with the WoW already.

Dave’s advice (Dave never went to college):

• Don’t blow off college. HR people go to college, and hence like to hire people that have gone to college and when there are layoffs, you’ll be the first to go.

Doug’s advice:

• Just because Kool-aid is cheap and easy to make doesn’t mean you should mix it with Whiskey. Spring for some decent mixers.
• Buy the second cheapest beer you can find. It’ll result in slightly less heartburn.

Jeremy’s advice:

• The more boxers you own, the less laundry you won’t ever do.

That about covers it. Good luck.

John Biggs here. I’m going to disagree with young Nicholas who saw this as a “serious sci-fi movie” and not an extended allegory. The whole this is a fairly obvious jab at apartheid and racism but, more interestingly, it turns the standard story of aliens landing on Earth on its head. The aliens in this case are under-achievers who can’t quite wake up enough to fight back against the treatment they’ve received and, in fact, seem happy to be living in a shanty town eating cat food. I see it as more a comedy in the vein of Shaun of the Dead than a serious sci-fi drama.

The obvious issue is why didn’t the aliens fight back? They explained that they found the prawns inside their ship dying, covered in their own filth and depending on fires for warmth. Clearly these guys aren’t going to be attempting a coordinated effort to eradicate humans. They can’t even drive cars! That said, yes, I agree that it’s a lot to take and the tongue-in-cheek story is a bit transparent at times and the eviction idea is ridiculous. But, remember, this is 20 years after they landed. Everyone is now used to the prawn.

As for the style I was looking for something in the vein of Children of Men but got Cloverfield. That’s not to say this was as bad as Cloverfield – I wouldn’t give that movie the steam of my piss, as they say – but the herky jerky camerawork was a gimmick and it worked, mostly. Children of Men, on the other hand, had some great camerawork but it was never meant to be reportage in the same way.

Heck, they even played the kid alien well, giving him just enough cute and just enough preciousness to make him a sympathetic character.

So my opinion? Great movie. The sequel will suck but it will be rendered up there with the classics.

Your thoughts?

This, my friends, is the dawn of electronic music. That wonky guy with a guitar is Les Paul and the interviewer is Alistair Cooke and most of the interview is a joke but the real magic comes at the end when he shows Cooke how to create a multitrack recording live, in real time. You try doing a 24-track song with two take recorders while wearing a constricting suit. It’s tough!

via BB

The device records right onto SD and also notifies you when something steps into the frame. The device costs $169.95 sans memory card and transmits directly to a small, handheld 2.5-inch screen.

Visual alerts when visitors are approaching
Nightvision recording for dark situations
Home security recording for day/night your home
Covertly monitor friends, family, coworkers
Nanny camera for monitoring your kids with the babysitter

Are you the operator on your pocket calculator? Electro-Harmonix has a new Effectology video out showing how to recreate Kraftwerk’s Autobahn with some pedals and an electric guitar. There are lots of loops and lots of great guitar work.

District 9 sounds like it’s going to be great. We’ve gotten lots of sleepers in the past few years – think Taken and Children of Men – and this sounds like another amazing action/sci-fi film with lots of brains.

The reviews are great and the movie, based on the short film you see here, has a fascinating premise: aliens land in Africa and suffer under intergalactic apartheid. The aliens themselves are “worker drones” with little apparent free will – until they revolt.

I may leave my house tomorrow to see this. You?