inspiretech Blog

In what seems like a desperate move to one-up Apple, Nokia unveiled plans to bring a touch-less gesture device to the mobile phone market. Nokia, along with just about every other mobile phone company has felt their sales weaken as Apple’s iPhone has the market in a triangle choke. The new Nokia device under research will recognize gestures. In a move to match and improve, we predict Apple will start development of the next iPhone capable of recognizing thought patterns. No word yet on when (or even if) this Nokia device will hit the market. My personal predictions says this will not be able to beat out Apple.
-Derek
[Source:Engadget]

American traditions:

-Apple Pie
-Baseball
-Policing the World
-Frivolous Lawsuits

Whether its suing McDonald’s for spilling your own coffee onto yourself while driving, or sueing them because you’re too fat, Americans love the court system. Partly because in the world of multi-billion dollar corporations, it is often easier to settle than to pay high power attorneys to defend against these lawsuits. There has been an alarming number of lawsuits filed over the last year against companies such as AT&T by workers who claim that they are not properly compensated for the time they spend waiting for their computers to boot up. Their work clock does not technically start until the computer is booted. The workers claim that during this time they are organizing and doing essential paperwork. I suggest an alternative, hire better IT guys! Computer boot ups should take no more than three minutes (workers claim boot up can take anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes).

-Derek

[Source:Engadget]

In celebration of the release of Wrath of the lich King. The Onion recently did a story about the up coming game World of World of Warcraft. I pre-ordered my copy today online. In an Inspiretech exclusive, Blizzard executives informed us that World of World of Warcraft players will also be responsible for taking in game multi-vitamin supplements in order to stay alive. The in-game diet of pizza and Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburgers in World of World of Warcraft will make it so that your avatar’s health will decline. Insulin shots must also be taken once a month.

-Derek

[Source:The Onion]

There is no doubt that the office of the presidency for the United States of America is one of the hardest jobs in the world (next to blogger). The eight years our last two commander in chiefs have spent have added what looks like some twenty years to their faces. Their hair is completely white and their wrinkles tell of long nights contemplating difficult decisions. This got us here at Inspiretech Blog a little curious as to the current president elect. So we placed his face into our brand new complexion simulator. We cranked up the stress and if he gets elected for a second term, we were given the results with a scientifically proven 98.72% accuracy! Well within the acceptable limits for percentage error…

-Derek

Kingston, a world leader in memory products has just begun to shipping its new Datatraveler 150 USB thumb drives. The new thumb drives have a staggering 64 GB capacity. That’s 63 GB more than my current thumb drive! Kingston is expected to provide 24/7 tech support as well as a 5 year warranty for the new thumb drive. Now you can carry the entire season of Heroes with you to the office so you have something to pass the time! While high capacity thumb drives like this have been around for a while, they have generally come from unreliable manufacturers with poor reputations. The Kingston Datatraveler represents one of the first reliable ones. If you need a portable hard drive you can fit onto your key chain, the Kingston Datatraveler 150 thumb drive one for you!

-Derek

A new study released by the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Console) has shown that next-gen consoles can waste over $150 dollars per year in electrical bills. The study has shown that the PS3 is the most power hungry of the three consoles. Users who do not shut off their PS3 can expect an annual electrical bill increase of about 160 dollars. The Xbox 360 is only a few dollars short of that at $143. The Wii however is far below the other 2 and is almost negligible. Users are advised to turn off their consoles when not using them (which should be a given especially for Xbox 360 users wary of the Red Ring of Death issue). You should also try and limit the number of movies you watch with your consoles. A PS3 will use five times more power to watch a blu-ray movie versus a standard blu-ray player. To put these power consumption figures into perspective, the total energy consumed by video game consoles in the United States per year is enough to power the city of San Diego for the year!

-Derek

[Source:yahoo]

A man on Ebay bought an “as is” Macbook Air that upon closer inspection, is believed to be one of the early prototypes of the ultra thin notebook. This progenitor Macbook Air features some noticeable differences from the consumer ready Macbook Airs. The bottom is a dark aluminum and the microphone position near the web cam is off. It is still unknown how this Macbook Air managed to escape from the top secret underground Cupertino lab but rest assured Apple’s fleet of cybernetic “Terminators” is fresh on the trail. Maybe it would be in the owner’s best interest to get rid of the Macbook Air before being slapped with an injunction.

-Derek

In a somewhat high profile move, National Geographic has announced intentions to enter the mainstream video game market. National Geographic intends to publish games across all platforms from consoles to mobile. Analysts are saying that National Geographic’s entry into the video game market is a testament to the mainstream appeal of games. National Geographic’s games will be very family friendly and they have already teamed up with other gaming companies such as Sony. The creative talent behind the team will include a former executive for Bethesda (the makers of the Elder Scroll:Morrowind and Oblivion as well as Fallout 3) who will ensure that this is no half-ass attempt. National Geographic is very serious about this move.
-Derek

Projectors are getting increasingly popular now with the rise of HD. Their screen size and portability compared to TV’s make them ideal for people on the move. Konica Minolta is now currently developing an ultra mini-projector that will be about the size of a thumb drive. We reported before on an existing mini-projector named the MPro110 pocket sized projector but if the reports are to be believed the new mini-projector by Konica Minolta will be at least 5 times smaller than that. The mini-projector will be able to project a 20 inch screen in XGA resolutions from a distance of about 2 ft. Don’t hold your breath just yet though as this mini-projector will not be available for consumers for at least another 2-3 years.

-Derek

[Source:gizmodo]

Lets face it, video games are not really about the story. But with each generation of consoles more powerful than the one before, it was only a matter of time before developers noticed the powerful storytelling tools at their disposal. The production on major games today rival that of blockbuster movies. Trying to appeal to as many people as possible, the game industry has increasingly reached out to those they couldn’t reach with pure game play mechanic alone. Below is a list of my personal favorite storylines for the Xbox 360 console. What is your’s? Feel free to drop a line.

5. Halo 3

The conclusion to an epic story arc that has spawned an entire franchise. Halo 3 is classic video game storytelling at its finest. The Masterchief is the eternal representation of a peerless warrior who goes on a quest to save humanity from the nightmarish covenant and flood. A cast of professional actors doing the sound definitely adds to the believability of the cut scenes. The ultimate message is one of hope for the future of mankind despite all our flaws. (more…)