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Have you tried Google’s new voice-enabled search application for the iPhone yet? No, and neither have we. Amidst the big launch on Friday, and the corresponding ballyhoo in the New York Times, one thing was forgotten: the application itself. Apple didn’t get around to actually putting it in the App Store.

As of now (Monday morning in Europe), only the old, non-voice version is available at the store. According to Michael Arrington at Tech Crunch, Google is subject to the same arbitrary application approval scheme as everyone else. The search company fully expected Google Mobile App to go live on Friday, but nothing showed up. The only indication of the app’s status was the message displayed in the iPhone Developer Tools which read “In Review”.

Arrington paints Google as the wounded party in his piece. Here’s what he says about Google launching first on the iPhone, and not on its own Android platform:

The fact that they decided to launch first on the iPhone shows a willingness to embrace what’s right for the user

We doubt it. The fact is that next to nobody has the T-Mobile G1, and more than ten million people have an iPhone. Still, Apple needs to sort out the App Store, and quick. It’s clearly a broken model, and the only person hurt is the iPhone user.

Update On Google iPhone Voice Recognition App: Look For It On Monday [Tech Crunch]

Looks like someone has one-upped both me and Charlie Sorrel in our Hackintosh netbook modding contest. A Flickr set suggests that a hardcore modder fitted some MSI Wind netbooks with a shiny case sporting an Apple logo (presumably a vinyl sticker) and the fictional name "MacBook Nano" — attractive enough to convince the average customer that the netbook was designed by the Cupertino-based company itself. And of course, it’s running a hacked version of Mac OS X Leopard.

The Flickr set lists the purported specifications:

MSI U100 MacBook Nano

• OS: Windows XP Pro and Mac OS X 10.5.5
• Processor: 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
• Memory: 2GB DDR2
• Display: 10-inch WSVGA LED (1024×600)
• Storage: 320GB SATA hard drive
• Weight: 2.2 pounds 
• Multimedia: MMC/SD/MS card reader

It appears that in addition to modding the case, the modder swapped out
the MSI Wind’s hard-disk drive, which normally comes in 80GB or 160GB
configurations, with a 320GB one. Quite awesome, and it inspires me
to pull off an even better hardware mod with my Wind to put Charlie and his Crapintosh to shame.

See also:

• Gadget Lab Hackintosh Contest: Installing OS X 10.5.5
• Gadget Lab Hackintosh: Now With Added Sound Output
• Battle of the Winds: Gadget Lab’s Netbook Hacking Contest, Round One
• Gadget Lab Catches a Second MSI Wind
• Cheap, Easy-to-Mod NetBooks Are a Hacker’s Paradise
• Run Mac OS X on an Eee PC
• OS X Running on Lenovo Netbook
• Tiny Notes Net Big Gains: The Netbook Revolution
• It Lives! Gadget Lab’s Netbook Running OS X Leopard

Via Gizmodo

Photo: MickPro/Flickr

Anybody who plays Rock Band is aware the bass-drum pedal is a
plastic piece of crap, destined to one day snap in half and ruin a
party. My Rock Band pedal met its ill fate over the weekend, and
instead of ordering a new one for $40, I put on my "What Would MacGyver Do?"
thinking cap and fashioned a fix that cost a mere $5. It only took a
few simple steps, and now my pedal is stronger than it ever was before,
which isn’t saying much, but I thought I’d share the process here:

You’ll need: 1.) an electric drill (Don’t have one? Borrow one from a neighbor!); 2.) two metal mending brackets (3 1/2-inch by 1 3/8-inch, includes screws and comes in packs of four for $5 at your local hardware store); 3.) super glue.

Step one
Apply super glue in between the two broken pieces to rejoin them (not entirely necessary, but provides additional support).

Step two
Position the two metal brackets side by side with the crack directly in their center.

Step three
Drill eight shallow holes in the pedal aligning with the corner holes in the
metal brackets (be careful not to go too deep, or else you’ll crack the
pedal or completely penetrate it, as I did with the left bracket, hence one missing screw).

Step four

Screw in the screws included with the mending brackets.

Et voila. Good as new. I can’t guarantee it’s indestructible, but it
feels sturdier than ever before. Hell, it looks
kind of cool, too, doesn’t it? Frankenstein monster, anyone?

Photos: raphaelmull/Flickr, Brian X. Chen/Wired.com

In the West, we make a big deal about recycling, but what we really mean by “recycling” is melting down old crap to build yet more new crap. This is not the same everywhere. In some places, to recycle means to reuse, foregoing the energy-wasting reprocessing for a simple re-purposing of an old object. And if you thought I used the prefix “re-” too many times in that last sentence, then you’re just being extravagant. I was recycling it.

Above you see an old, keyless computer keyboard, the kind of bland beige box to be found mouldering on any sidewalk. In Africa, though, it becomes a lap-desk for a shoeshiner, the rough surface of the stripped keyboard offering a platform which grips both shoes and polish while protecting the shoeshiner’s clothes.

It’s a question of cultural attitude, and it’s not confined to Africa. In Barcelona, Spain, where I live, each barrio has a set day for the collection of big trash — furniture, clothing and the like. The collection happens late at night, so there is plenty of time for trawling the trash for treasure. It’s not unusual to see a well dressed businessman, complete with laptop bag, rifling the refuse alongside the students, the homeless, the poor or the tech blogger. And that’s great. Dumpster divers should be proud: We’re saving the planet and saving cash.

Your Old Keyboard and a Shoeshine Stand [AfriGadget]

Photo: whiteafrican/Flickr

Filed under: Cellphones, Robots

Robots are awesome, we can all probably agree on that. Robots made from iPhones are basically an extension of that awesomeness, crossed with an element of unimaginable, ludicrous fun, which is why we’re pleasantly surprised to see that such a device finally exists. Using a jailbroken iPhone 3G running some Ruby code, an Arduino CPU, a TA7291P motor, and 4 AA batteries, the creator is able to pilot the bot via WiFi from a nearby computer, all the while recording its view for later playback. The results look pretty cool, and trust us, you’re definitely going to want to check out the video after the break. As far as we can tell, by the way, the lyrics to the song in the video are “iPhone with keyboard,” which seemingly refers to this, um… iPhone with keyboard we saw earlier today — apparently from the hands of the same craftsman, who seems like a very busy guy. Especially if he wrote the song!

[Via iPhone World]

Continue reading iPhone robot is ambulatory, still wants physical keyboard

iPhone robot is ambulatory, still wants physical keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Wireless

It’s starting to look pretty tough for UWB — WiQuest totally shut down yesterday, and now Intel’s decided to abandon its UWB dev efforts. The company says that it’ll be easier and cheaper to buy off-the-shelf UWB chips instead of continuing its own five-year-old engineering efforts, but those shelves aren’t exactly overflowing, and the lack of enthusiasm for this tech in the marketplace suggests this trickle of bad news could turn into a flood — we’ll see how things shake out.

[Via Phonescoop]

Intel pounds another nail in UWB’s coffin originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Robots

The chair is a tool of extreme simplicity and antiquity, and many would argue that it’s foolish to mess with something that obviously attained perfection with the advent of air conditioned seat cushions. Of course, those people have never seen Leopard, the high-tech “concept chair” that takes technology originally developed for Oki’s Robot Leg (an entire robot with design principles based on the human leg) and places it under your posterior for “seating comfort akin to being held in someone’s arms.” This is a chair that adjusts itself to your back, cradles your bum, and gives you a helpful little boost when it’s time to stand up. Sound wasteful? Extravagant? How about totally awesome? Hit the read link for more details, and feel free to check out the fun little picture of the Robot Leg after the break.

Continue reading Oki’s robot chair heralds a new age of robot-aided seating

Oki’s robot chair heralds a new age of robot-aided seating originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The kids won’t understand why Evil Mad Scientist’s jack ‘o lantern is terrifying until they grow older. The mini pumpkin contains a scrolling LED stock ticker to remind adults that while they sip booze and hit bongs this joyous holiday, Wall Street is continuing in its downward spiral toward financial ruin.

Happy Halloween!

Want something more uplifting? Check out Wired.com’s gallery of creative pumpkin mods.

Scariest Jack-o’-Lantern of 2008 [Evil Mad Scientist]

Photo: Evil Mad Scientist

pimg src=”http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/10/canontop.jpg” width=”494″ height=”144″ style=”display:block;float:none;” /Digital cameras are generally closed platforms, built and programmed under the assumption that they would never be modified. To get more features, you pay more for different firmware, even though the guts are mostly the same. Canon didn’t batten down their hatches quite enough. The result is a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK”CHDK/a, a full-featured OS substitute that runs from your memory card and unlocks the tremendous unrecognized potential of most Canon A-series and SD Elphs plus several othersmdash;for free./p pCHDK isn’t hacked firmware, and it doesn’t require any risky flashing or OS replacement. It’s non-destructive software that runs directly from a memory card, so it won’t affect your warranty. But you’ll still get an experience akin to an entirely new operating system. What new features will your tired old Canon gain with CHDK?/p blockquote ul liSave images in RAW format/li liAbility to run “Scripts” to automate the camera/li liLive histogram/li liZebra mode (blinking highlights and shadows to show over/under exposed areas)/li liAn “always on” full range Battery indicator/li liAbility to turn off automatic dark-frame subtraction/li liA higher compression movie mode, and double the maximum video file size/li liMotion Detection/li liExposure times as long as 65 seconds/li liExposure times as little as 1/10,000 of a second/li liAbility to use the USB port for a remote trigger input/li liA depth-of-field calculator/li liFile browser/li liText reader/li liCalendar/li liGames/li liand a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Q._What_does_the_CHDK_program_do.3F”others/a/li /ul /blockquote pscript type=”text/javascript” charset=”utf-8″ galleryPost(’dealzmodocanon’, 3, ”); /script/p pThe installation process is fairly straightforward, and about as risk-free as these kinds of things can get. You’ll need:/p ul liA Canon digital camera from a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Q._What_camera_models_are_supported_by_the_CHDK_program.3F”this list/a, with compatible firmware/li liA card reader for whatever format you use (probably SD)/li liA build of CHDK for your camera from a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Downloads”this page/a/li /ul pOnce you’ve got all your stuff together, you’re ready to load CHDK up:/p blockquote p1. Copy the PS.fir and Diskboot.bin from your downloaded ZIP file to the root of your SD card (not in a folder)/p p2. Turn on your camera in “Play” Mode/p p3. Press “Menu”, and select the menu item “Firm Update” and confirm/p /blockquote pFor instructions for automatically booting into CHDK, check a href=”http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ#Q._How_can_I_make_the_CHDK_program_load_automatically_at_startup.3F”here/a./p pAgain, since this is not an actual firmware upgrade, you can just pop out the SD card and batteries should anything go awry. When you put the batteries back in and restart your camera, you’ll revert to where you started./p pInstalling CHDK isn’t quite like getting a new camera, but it’s a sure value-add to your trusty old one. For more information, hit up CHDK. [a href="http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_in_Brief"CHDK Wiki Home Page/a]/p pemDealzmodo Hacks are intended to help you sustain your a href=”http://gizmodo.com/5059598/zero+cost-gadget-upgrades-for-the-next-great-depression”crippling gadget addiction through tighter times/a. If you come across any on your own that are particularly useful, send it to our tips line (Subject: Dealzmodo Hack). a href=”http://gizmodo.com/tag/dealzmodo-hacks”Check back/a every Monday and Thursday for free, DIY tricks to breathe new life into hardware that you already own./em/p br style=”clear: both;”/
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