Zune Pass Comming To Eager Poms

While Netflix makes the move to Canada, another all you can eat service is busting out of its red, white and blue prison. This time it is the highly desirable Zune Pass service.
Zune pass gives you unlimited music, but with the bonus of getting to keep a hand full of songs every month. With Windows Mobile 7  arriving soon and it having a familiar Zune like interface it makes sense to have the same services.
Its first stop will be the UK. I wouldn’t be surprised if the scope was to widen considerably, especially with that September release date rushing up fast.

Via [Engadget]

Netflix Finally Leaves US Soil

The concept of all you can eat movies sounds delicious for media whores like me. Netflix has offered that for a while, but of course I’m not from the US and therefore not cool enough for the service. Change is in the air and it couldn’t come soon enough.
Netflix is taking pre-registers for the better looking and smelling American’s, the Canadians. While it isn’t as big a leap as, lets say, Australia, it is definitely a move in the right direction. Lets cross our fingers and toes and hope us pie loving, singlet and thong wearing convicts can get some all you can eat movie buffet goodness.

Via [Engadget]

Motorola Obviously Doesn’t Understand Open Source

Motorola has recently released the Droid X. The 4.3-inch behemoth has made a lot of reviewers wet and excited. The problem is, Motorola has a dirty little secret and it isn’t a good one.
Motorola have added a self destruct function that is activated when anyone attempts to tamper with the OS. When tampering is detected the phone instantly bricks itself, becoming unusable and a relatively expensive paper weight.
Motorola is basically taking a device, which hacker emthusiasts would have loved to ‘tamper’ with, and made it the least hacker friendly device released this year. What does Motorola gain by locking the phone down? Maybe stopping hackers from porting Motorola’s dead ugly MOTOBLUR UI additions to other hardware?
Did they forget that the OS they are using is Open Source? The same hackers that you are locking out, are also the same ones making Android better! It is a damn shame, as the Droid X is one impressive piece of hardware.

Via [MobileCrunch]

RIAA Spent $58Mil On Advertising Piracy

Possibly the greatest advertising campaign ever has cost the RIAA $58Mil. Thanks to the RIAA music piracy numbers are the highest they have ever been.
The RIAA have received only 2% of the $58million cost back on their stupid fight against piracy. Hopefully this news will wake up some people and decide that the RIAA has been a humongous waste of time. Unfortunately, they have already shown their idiot arrogance on the subject, so I will see you here again when RIAA reach that magic 100mil mark.

Via [Gizmodo]

Chicken And Egg Argument Ended (For Now)

What came first the chicken or the egg? Perhaps the most important question of our time (insert sarcasm) has finally been put to bed.
Scientists from both Sheffield University and Warwick University used a very expensive super computer called HECToR (so expensive it has its own website) to examine the shell of an egg. They discovered that the shell contains a protein called ovocledidin-17 (OC-17). OC-17 acts like a catalyst that helps the shell develop at a faster rate. They also found that OC-17 is found in chickens ovaries, making it local sense that the chicken was required to make the egg. That is until they find shells that don’t contain OC-17, which will put them back exactly where they were.
So the chicken came before the modern egg. Not as satisfying as I thought it would be.

Via [Metro]

DeathSpank Is Out And So Are Reviews

As you probably know, I am extremely excited about DeathSpank. It offers mad loot for people with the Diablo mindset, plus some comedy that made Monkey Island so great. Released yesterday to most the world, DeathSpank has received some great reviews.
Check out MetaReview for a large listing of very positive reviews. Congratulations Hothead games on an awesome game.

SmartQ Refreshes Tablets With A T

SmartQ have been in the tablet game for a while now, with their 5 and 7 series of tablets. Today, SmartQ will continue that tradition with a refresh to the 7 series of tablets, the T7.
Replacing the colour E-reader want to be; the R7, the new 7-inch T7 features Android and a speedier processor (720mhz). It also gets a battery increase to 4,700mah, hopefully bringing it closer the to magical 10hr life.
The SmartQ T7 will be a released sometime in the future, and will start at $219USD and range all the way up to $292USD (EVDO/WCDMA). The SmartQ’s use to get decent reviews when they were the only players. I will be interested to see how they perform with such a massive range of similar tablets already available.

Via [Engadget]

Bill Gates Invests In Combustion

The general belief is that pure combustion engines are on the way out and hybrid engines are on the way in. EcoMotors doesn’t believe that is true with their research and development in opposed piston-opposed cylinder engine technology, or Opoc.
EcoMotors are working on getting 50% better efficiency out of good ol gasoline, while using 50% less parts then current combustion engines. Basically, they will cost less to build, be easier to repair and maintain while using a lot less fuel. When you consider the complexity and price of current hybrid and pure electronic tech this makes a lot of sense. Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates agrees and is investing in EcoMotors.
This tech can ultimately shrink the carbon footprint of poor countries that rely on cheap gasoline for getting around and generating electricity. Once again Bill Gates shows his true genius in making the world a better place.

Via [LeftLane News]

Toshiba’s New R705 Ultralight Gets Reviewed

The Toshiba Portege R705 has been given the deep review treatment by Engadget, and they liked it. The Portege R705 is currently the lightest laptop on the market that uses full notebook processors instead of the low power versions. To make things better, the R705 can be found for under $1000USD at your local BestBuy.
While Engadget did like the weight and construction, they did notice that the laptop did get warm. If you are after a powerful yet light laptop, the new Toshiba might be right up your alley.

Via [Engadget]

Budget Portable Gaming Gets Update

I am a big fan of open source and of gaming. Imagine my delight to hear that my second favourite portable open source gaming device (Pandora is king) the GP2X has recieved a giant refresh. Titled the Caanoo, it shares a lot of (internal) similarities with its older sibling, the Wiz. What has changed is double the memory (128mb), added joystick, much larger 3.5-inch screen and an option for added Wi-Fi. All the addition’s while maintaining the low price of $150USD (or $120 without wireless). Devices like this make the PSPgo and DSi look even less appealing.

Via [MaxConsole]