How’s this for an improvement over the DIY USB wall outlet that we briefed you on a few days ago? Instead of replacing the standing outlet plugs with 2 USB plugs, this method will allow you to keep both your power plugs, and still fit in the 2 USB plugs. This method will also cost you about $10, is currently under pre-order, and is expected to ship early next year.
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I know exactly how she feels. Because part of the fallout of all the Scamville posts I wrote last month is a lingering addiction to one of Zynga’s games, Fishville (yes, the game that Facebook shut down for three days for violations of their advertising rules).
A lot of the information in those Scamville posts came from good old fashioned research. I played the games to see what would happen. At first I thought they were ridiculous. I was growing acai trees and milking cows on Farmville, slaying the undead on Vampire Wars, and hitting mafia bosses with crowbars on Mob Wars. And of course I clicked on the offers and even paid cash a few times for currency.
It was all business of course. Until I noticed that I was going back to FishVille, even after the series was completed. I had 8 tanks going and hundreds of fish being grown from eggs to adults. Those were sold off and I bought more eggs and the cycle continued. Before long I was at level 34 – so high that there I had access to every kind of fish that you could buy. I’d racked up 808,647 experience points. I was proud of my tank’s pristine condition and cornucopia of decorations. Notice the bevy of happy, well-fed fish:
A big part of these games is the urge to go back to them multiple times per day. To feed the fish. Or harvest the corn. Wait too long and the fish dies, the corn wilts, and you lose currency and experience points. I was making sure to check back in regularly on my fish so they didn’t die. I actually thought to myself at one point “wow, when I go on vacation I’ll need to plan ahead so the fish don’t starve.”
At some point I was talking about FishVille in the office and a couple of people asked why in the hell I was still playing the game with the posts completed. I realized then, in a flash, that I had a problem. I was addicted to FishVille. Total. Loser.
I quit that day. Cold turkey. I checked back in a couple of days later to see what kind of situation I had on my hands. It was ugly. Most of the fish were dead, the few left alive were starving and the aquarium was dirty and mucked up. I took a screenshot and got out quickly.
And this morning I checked one last time on my FishVille situation. All of the fish are now extremely dead. The tank is a mess.
Before you laugh too hard at me (or after you’re done), realize this: seventy million people a month play FarmVille on Facebook alone (it was 60 million last month). There are Facebook groups on FarmVille addiction. Here are some tips from an ex addict on how to avoid becoming addicted. And YouTube is littered with people admitting their addicted to these games.
Social gaming addiction is a real problem. It may be a somewhat funny problem, but it’s still a problem. And it’s no wonder that kids without access to credit cards are taking all these sketchy offers to get game currency. They’re hooked.
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Nerdy physics/astronomy humor FTW. If you don't get it (and it's OK if you don't, really), you might refer to Wikipedia's article on blue shift. You can buy variations of this bumper sticker all over the web, but I've no word, alas, on how to score one of these official APS versions. [via Neatorama]
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The CrunchPad was a very exciting idea, and at a price point of ~ $400, it was very promising. And it was supposed to be released in November / December time frame. Sad indeed.
Our plan was to debut the CrunchPad on stage at the Real-Time Crunchup event on November 20, a little over a week ago. We even hoped to have devices hacked together with Google Chrome OS and Windows 7 to show people that you could hack this thing to run just about anything you want. We’d put 1,000 of the devices on pre-sale and take orders immediately. Larger scale production would begin early in 2010.
And then the entire project self destructed over nothing more than greed, jealousy and miscommunication.
On November 17, our deadline date for greenlighting the debut three days later, the CEO of our partner on the project, Chandra Rathakrishnan, sent me an email with the subject “no good news.” Yuck, I thought. Another delay, probably with the screen that had been giving us so much trouble – capacitive touch at 12 inches isn’t trivial. And sure enough, the email started off with “no good news to update. updated hardware is still on its way , so that’s a timing issue. friday will be a challenge now.”
But the email went on. Bizarrely, we were being notified that we were no longer involved with the project. Our project. Chandra said that based on pressure from his shareholders he had decided to move forward and sell the device directly through Fusion Garage, without our involvement.
Err, what? This is the equivalent of Foxconn, who build the iPhone, notifiying Apple a couple of days before launch that they’d be moving ahead and selling the iPhone directly without any involvement from Apple.
Chandra also forwarded an internal email from one of his shareholders. My favorite part of the email: “We still acknowledge that Arrington and TechCrunch bring some value to your business endeavor…If he agrees to our terms, we would have Arrington assume the role of visionary/evangelist/marketing head and Fusion Garage would acquire the rights to use the Crunchpad brand and name. Personally, I don’t think the name is all that important but you seem to be somewhat attached to the name.”
And with that, the entire project self destructed.
Neither we nor Fusion Garage own the intellectual property of the CrunchPad outright. Fusion Garage has a team of 13 or so employees, currently working here in Silicon Valley out of a home they rented and in our office. Their team has mixed with our CrunchPad team, which is led by Brian Kindle, the former Vice President Hardware Engineering and Manufacturing at Vudu and an early hardware engineer at TiVo. Development expenses have been shared, and our team has spent time in Singapore and Taiwan, and their team has spent time here. We chose to work with Fusion Garage on Prototype C and the launch prototype after we finished Prototype B internally.
We jointly own the CrunchPad product intellectual property, and we solely own the CrunchPad trademark.
So it’s legally impossible for them to simply build and sell the device without our agreement.
We’re still completely perplexed as to what happened. We think they were attempting to renegotiate the equity split on the company behind CrunchPad, which was to acquire Fusion Garage. Renegotiations are always fine. But holding a gun to our head two days before launching and insulting us isn’t the way to do that. We’ve spent the last week and a half trying unsuccessfully to communicate with them. Our calls and emails go unanswered, so we can’t even figure out exactly what’s happened.
Yesterday Chandra sent an email saying “Following our phone discussion, I had another round of discussions with my shareholders. The shareholders are not willing to move from their position as they believe their stand is justified. On the other hand, there isn’t an alternative offer on the table from Crunchpad.”
My response: “We have not come back to you with any counter offer to the email you forwarded because you and your shareholders have communicated to us that moving forward without us is something that you consider to be a legitimate and legal option. In other words, your “counter” offer is theft of intellectual property.”
Ultimately there are two sides to every story, and they’ll certainly have their side. We will almost certainly be filing multiple lawsuits against Fusion Garage, and possibly Chandra and his shareholders as individuals, shortly. The legal system will work it all out over time.
And what’s really sad about all this is the incredible support we were getting from companies and people around the world to launch this device. A major multi-billion dollar retail partner has been patiently working with us for months, giving advice on manufacturing partners and offering to sell the CrunchPad at a zero margin to help us succeed in the early days. They were also willing to pay for the devices on order instead of 30 days after delivery, a crucial cash flow benefit that would allow us to ramp up volume without putting ourselves our of business. They were even willing to fly the devices from China on their own planes to eliminate our shipping costs. Intel, which would supply the Atom CPUs to power the device, has assisted us repeatedly with engineering and partner advice, and gave us pricing that was ridiculously generous given our projected first year sales volumes. Other partners were eager to promote and sell the device for little or no benefit on their end other than “supporting the project.” We even had sponsors lined up to help us sell the device near our $300ish cost.
And money wasn’t a problem, either. We had blue chip angel and venture capitalist investors in Silicon Valley waiting to invest in the company since late Spring. We were simply holding them off until we launched, to eliminate some of the risk.
It’s a sad day at TechCrunch HQ. Hitting the publish button on this post, which makes all of this so…final…is a very hard thing to do. I’m enraged, embarrassed, and just…sad. The CrunchPad is now in the DeadPool.
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Well, yesterday was Friday the 13th, but as usual it was a reasonably good day for me (paraskevidekatriaphobia usually isn’t a problem for me, since my parents were married on Friday the 13th). The Pampered Chef party last night was fun, and I got to see some friends I hadn’t seen in a long time.
But what you’re here about is most likely my new toys, so let me tell you about what’s been going on toy-wise.
First toy is the ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo Hi-Speed USB Tuner. To be honest, I’m not too impressed so far. I got it because it has two tuners, one for NTSC broadcast, and one for cable, ATSC and Clear-QAM broadcast, which is unscrambled digital HD broadcast on cable, like Comcast does with the local channels. Either the box needs a very high gain on the Clear-QAM signal, I’ve got a lot of loss in my digital cable signal, or I’m doing something wrong, because I couldn’t get the Clear-QAM broadcast to pick up. I got signals, but none of them were strong enough to show an image. So, I need to spend more time with it.
I have that box connected to an HP Windows-XP Media Center box. I’ll have to try putting the Windows 7 x64 version on it (the RC, not the purchased copy). Maybe that will help matters. That and putting it on an amplifier or a shorter cable run. We’ll see what happens. No recommendation on that yet; I need to do more playing first.
So, This week I bought an Acer Aspire One from my friend Shawn at work. It came with Windows-XP installed, an outdated version of McAfee anti-virus that wouldn’t scan the computer, and a few apps. The first thing I did, after the procedure I have to connect a computer to my network, is install the Comcast McAfee AV software and scan the computer. Not surprisingly, it found 9 infected files, which I deleted. Shawn says there’s more (he’s a penetration expert (read as “white hat hacker”) but McAfee hasn’t figured them out yet.
Next thing I did was connect it to my home workgroup, then to the Windows Home Server. Windows Home Server has the ability to backup computers on the network, and provides the ability to boot off a CD (or thumb drive that “looks” like a CD) to restore the entire system from the last good backup. I thought this would be a good idea, since I was going to wipe the entire hard drive and put Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) on it.
I’m very impressed with UNR on the Aspire One. XP was S-L-O-W on the netbook. I’d move the curser on the touchpad and I wouldn’t know when it was going to catch up with my finger. But with UNR, no problem. Also, UNR found all my devices (so far), including sound, Wi-Fi, wired networking, etc. My next test is to put a USB to Bluetooth dongle on it and see how that works out. Hopefully I’ll let you know next week. Highly recommend UNR if you have a netbook; if you just use Internet and email, it’s spot on and easy to configure (and fast!). If you do more, there’s a few issues with screen size and things, but it’s workable (like, say, FarmVille on Facebook. The screen’s a bit small to do any real harvesting!).
I also highly recommend the Acer line of netbooks. The keys are a bit small for real work, but in a pinch you could edit a document or do spreadsheets and graphics. But for travel, nothing beats is for me so far. It could use longer battery life. Maybe a bigger battery?
I’ve also been playing with Google Voice. If you’re interested, I have 5 invitations I could send out. Let me know and I’ll pass it on to you. Shawn has played with it more than I have. One of the cool features I like is that I can SMS people (that’s “texting” for the non-techies our there) from my computer. So I can text with my youngest daughter in Louisiana, her on her iPhone and me on my computer! I need to play more with this, too.
Another item in the “more to follow” category is Google Wave. I’ve been invited to sign up (got the invite yesterday) but with work blocking the install of the Chrome add-in for IE and no other browser available, doing PT after work, and the Pampered Chef party, I didn’t get the chance to do anything yet. More to follow.As a personal note, my back is starting to do better; either that or my meds are completely masking the pain. I do still have sciatica in my left leg at times. The worst it’s been is like having a wrong-side-out cactus on my leg and foot. Some days I have issues getting in and out of the car, most of them self-induced because I do something like twisting my torso without moving my hips at the same time. Not a good thing to do. I have 10 more PT visits (that’s about 5 more weeks, so almost to the end of the year). I don’t notice any improvement, but my upper body strength has been improving. I also got a Back2Life to try (don’t start on the snake oil comments) and also I have an inversion table that I’ll start using on a regular basis. The neurosurgeon said he didn’t want to see me again, so no surgery which is a good thing. I’m also getting trigger point injections at pain management. I’m beginning to doubt I will get back to 100% of who I was 2 years ago, but I’ll do anything I can do to get closer.
Oh, yeah, I’m using Windows Live Writer to compose these blog posts now. New toy. So far, I’m on the edge with it. I don’t like the way it does paragraphs, but maybe that’s just because I didn’t read the distructions like always. Maybe if I read, I can learn something!IS the guy in the Zoot suit Obama?
Found by Dodd Vickers.
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Well, it has been a while since I told you what’s really going on in my life, so here’s an update.
First, FragMom’s Frag box is operational. I installed the 32bit version of Windows 7 RC, and it’s off and flying. I’m jealous, sort of. If we both boot at the same time, she’s up, logged in, and logged into WoW before I’m completely logged in. Yes, the stories are true, Windows 7 IS really faster.
Now that it’s running well, I put the case back together, and it looks like a normal computer again, not something that should be on an operating room table or a slab in the morgue.
On a personal note, I’ve not really been feeling good for quite some time now. Initially it was adjusting to the new medication, Gabapentin. “Gabapentin was initially synthesized to mimic the chemical structure of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), but is not believed to act on the same brain receptors.” I really don’t understand all of what it does, but part of that is because of the medication itself!
The therapeutic dose of Gabapentin is 1800mg a day, but it’s not something you can just jump right into. The doctor started me on 300mg at bedtime for a week. Then we added in another 300mg at 2:00PM for a week, then 300mg at 6:00AM for a week. During the first week, I didn’t notice any effects at all (since I was sleeping!). However, when I started the 2:00PM dose, I was loopy and felt like I was drunk for several hours after the dose. These effects lasted for the first few days or so, and I adjusted to them by day three or four. When I added the 6:00AM dose, I had the same issues; 2 days of lost productivity due to feeling drunk / stoned for about 6 hours.
The “ramp up” for the next set of doses went about the same; replaced the 300mg at bedtime with 600mg, then the 2:00PM dose to 600mg and the morning dose to 600mg. Same side-effects; dizzy, loopy, feeling drunk or stoned. Basically, I was brainless for 2 days after each dose increase. The entire process took about 6 weeks.
A few weeks after the dose increase, I went in for a follow up with my pain management doctor. He was pleased with the progress using the Gabapentin, and did trigger point injections or TPI to relax the muscles in my back.That was on a Wednesday. Thursday I went in to work and felt the best I had in months.
Here’s the fun part, though. It’s been almost two weeks since the TPI. My back is feeling good, my left leg doesn’t hurt, but feels “tingly” quite a lot, and I don’t really trust it. But, (and here’s the point) soon after that I developed a dry cough, congestion, and I guess achy joints and muscles. It seems that I have a fever of about +2 degrees. Let me explain that comment; my normal body temp is 96.8 (I’ve always been a cold fish!), so when I have a temp of 98.7, that’s a fever for me, and equivalent to 100.5 for most people. So, on top of the meds and everything, I think I have a flu. It may be THE flu, but I don’t know for sure, and I don’t think I want to find out.
Right now, I just feel all rung out. I feel like I can’t get out of my own way. It’s really aggravating because I have two big projects planned for my geekieness.
First, I’ve put an older XP Media Center PC in the bedroom with a wireless card and hooked it to the TV in the bedroom. I need to find an older Toshiba USB Media Center Hub that we got a few years ago and hook that up so I can use a remote for it rather than a keyboard (that requires finding the Hub somewhere in the closet).
The second project is a little more software oriented. The old Dell that was the FragBox for FragMom may be a viable Linux server. If I can get a stable version of Linux running on it, I’ll start building virtual servers on it and see how much it can handle. If it’s good enough, I’ll move the Windows Home Server to a virtual server on the Dell, then move the drives over to it. That way I can have a variable size drive for the media content, and use the open space for other things.
With Windows 7 on the market now, I’m thinking of upgrading all my Vista systems to Windows 7, but there is no real cost effective way of doing that. Sure, you can get the Win7 Home Premium for 3 computers for $149.99 at the Microsoft Store, but I’d need 2 of those. Not the best solution. What I may do is finally get my business incorporated and get the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS). I still need to decide if that’s the right way to go, but I’m leaning that way. More to follow on those three things, so stay tuned!
MAKE subscriber Tyler writes in to share this über-complicated hidden drawer, by carpenter Brian Grabski. To get the hidden compartment to open, one first has to open each of the other drawers, which then release a pin that is pressed to open the hidden drawer. Nice work! I think it would be the perfect place to stash some trick puzzles.
When we think of multi-touch right now, most of us think of the iPhone. But really, with such a small screen, there are only so many gestures you can do. Multi-touch BumpTop greatly expands that roster, and includes several gestures that it claims to have patents for. Basically, they have gestures that use all of you fingers, and both hands, and even the side of hands. You can “lasso” things, “shove” them, “scrunch” them, and “crop” them.
This graphic below shows a list of the gestures BumpTop offers that competitors don’t, including the ones that they apparently have patents on (labeled as “BT”).
Naturally, for these multi-touch capacities to work, you’ll need a computer with a touch screen surface that supports multi-touch. Right now, those aren’t widely available. But all indications are that soon enough, there could be a range of devices on the market with such capabilities (sadly, this is Windows 7-only — so no, it won’t work on an Apple Tablet). If you don’t have one of those however, BumpTop will continue to work on a majority of Windows-based PCs just fine with more traditional input devices.
The most obvious use of Mutli-touch BumpTop is with media, as you can easily manipulate images (watch the video below). But the service also works with documents (dragging them around, bunching them together, Google Gadgets, and even webpages as widgets. Also, there is social networking support, so if you edit an image in BumpTop, you can easily upload it immediately to Facebook or send it to Twitter.
I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that as soon as I have a computer that can run this, I want this. If not, you’re crazy, just watch it in action below. And below that find more examples of its multi-touch gesture support.
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