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We don't know how seriously you take yourself as a photographer. But painting a face on your lens cap and dangling a hand-made, ¥2,914 (about $32) Osu! Kameraman puppet from your camera's tripod mount isn't going to earn you much respect. Especially when your telephoto lens is dialed up to maximum, perv. Perfect though, if you're only hoping to capture faces twisted into a scowl. Entire collection on display after the break.

Continue reading Pentax Kameraman puppets are perfect for shooting WTF faces

Pentax Kameraman puppets are perfect for shooting WTF faces originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When chipmaker Marvell told us its technology would power $99 smartphones, we took the company at its word. We weren't expecting a sub-$100, 10-inch tablet PC, however -- and we definitely weren't expecting Marvell itself to build it. Marketed at students looking to lighten their textbook load, the Marvell Moby will be an "always-on, high performance multimedia tablet" capable of full Flash support and 1080p HD playback -- thanks to those nifty Armada 600 series processors -- and supporting WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radio, GPS and both Android and Windows Mobile platforms for maximum flexibility. No release date has yet been announced; like the OLPC, Marvell will introduce the Moby in pilot programs at participating at-risk schools. While it's far too early to say if the Moby will be the universal educational e-reader Marvell hopes (that depends on software), it's certainly an intriguing device for the price, and we'll admit we're a touch jealous of those kids who'll first get to try one.

Marvell pitches $99 Moby Tablet as textbook alternative originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple patent applications are usually pretty dry, but it looks like a new one turned up by Patently Apple has a bit more user-focused meat to it -- it describes a location-based social networking app called "iGroups," which lets groups of people share data amongst themselves using a service like MobileMe. Once group members are identified and linked up, they can securely share information and users carrying devices without GPS-abilities will be able to triangulate their position using the positions of other GPS-enabled devices in the group. Of course, the actual patent itself is focused on the cryptographic key system that protects all the data, and we're pretty sure the "iGroups" name is just a placeholder for now -- we'd guess the developer of the iGroups app currently in the App Store hopes so too -- so how this winds up in a shipping product is totally up in the air, but our interest in what iPhone OS 4.0 may hold has certainly been piqued once again.

Apple patent reveals iGroups location-based social networking for iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just when you were hoping things would get better for the bickering search giant and nation-state, along comes apparent word from Shanghai-based Chinese Business News (via Bloomberg), citing an anonymous Google China employee, that the company is looking into closing up shop on April 10th. That's a far cry from what we heard late last week, that it would stay in the country, albeit in a potentially modified form. Frankly, this is quite sketchy and no one anywhere is corroborating, but according to the report, an announcement is expected on Monday, March 22nd. Better get used to the idea of Bing-powered Android devices.

Google China could be ceasing operations in April, says report originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Steven, who needs to hit a Spring Cleaning streak in the worst possible way. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I am overwhelmed by power cords and travel chargers and am looking for a good way to organize them until I need them. The top drawer of my desk is no longer cutting it. I've got too many power cables and AC adapters to count. I can't be the only one with this problem. Is there a solution? Thanks in advance!"

Anyone got a great mechanism for keeping these adapters and cables in some sort of order? We're certain the neat-freaks in attendance would love to hear your input in comments below.

Ask Engadget: Best accessories management solution for cluttered desks? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s an interesting modification for a Guitar Hero controller. An anonymous modder posted a project to Instructables showing how to convert a full size controller to a small size. The modder converted his to a smaller size for his two year old daughter, but whatever your reason is, it looks like a fairly easy thing to do.

Seems like a fairly rudimentary project, all you need is a Torx screwdriver, a small Phillips head screwdriver, a hacksaw, some glue, and some mending plates. You then take apart the donor guitar and perform the necessary surgery to make the neck smaller based on your particular needs. Of course it’s a bit more complicated then that, but feel free to read over the full instructions posted by the author.

Oops! Looks like someone accident let some information out early. AMDs “Thuban” processors will be out next month, and there wasn’t a whole lot of information out there until recently. Turns out that somebody talked. Well, at least someone’s BIOS talked.

Gigabyte released a couple of BIOS updates recently, and Tech Connect spotted the news: The X6 1035T will have 6 cores, and be running at 2.6 GHz, and the X6 1055T is going to run at 2.8GHz. There was some news about the new Phenom II X6 as well; the 1075T will be clocked at 3.0 GHz, which is about 333 MHz slower then Intel’s new i7 980x. Bummer for AMD, but we’ll see who the real winner is when the pricing comes out; Intel’s new chip sells for $999 right now.

Sure, you might've seen the purported Xbox 360 Valhalla motherboard leaked yesterday... but have you ever really seen it? There's a subtle difference, one that requires you gaze through the ocular receptors of our dearest old friend (he hates when we call him that) Ben Heck. Joystiq sat down with him to deconstruct the pictures and get his take on all the hardware nuances. First and foremost, there appears to be no connectors that "look remotely like a Xbox 360 memory card reader," which lends credence to the thought process they might be going the way of the dinosaur. WiFi is still missing in action, and as for Project Natal integration, Heck's highly doubtful that's in the cards, though he shares our mindset that a bundle would make sense. The big question is size reduction, and to that our game console laptop guru suggests that, given the constraints due to a DVD drive, the best we can expect is a one-inch drop in height (standing console), 0.5 inches in depth, and just "slightly thinner." Sorry folks, looks like even in your wildest dreams, it'll still tower over the Nintendo Wii. A great read, don your thinking cap, give yourself 15 minutes, and hit up the source.

Leaked Xbox 360 'Valhalla' motherboard analyzed by Ben Heck originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There is a steady stream of tablet PCs flowing out of China recently. Most of them are just the same ol’ thing, but this SayCool tablet stood out from the rest with a 7-inch capacitive screen that’s apparently multitouch capable. Now, the tablet runs Windows XP, which isn’t nearly as touch friendly as Win7, but it certainly can be done with the right cocktail of software and hardware.

It remains to be seen, however, if the multitouch capabilities can be used within Windows itself or chained down to custom-built software. It’s entirely possible that pinch-to-zoom and the other gestured advertised will only work in a SayCool program and not in standard programs like Chrome, Firefox, or MS Word.

The rest of the tablet is pretty much standard: GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and 3G. Chances are an Atom is at the core as well. But there might not even be any reason to bother yourself with the multitouch question as it may never hit US retailers.

Microsoft's a pretty big company, and while we've been focused on its Windows Phone 7 Series and Pink mobile projects over here in the Land of the Free, its Live Messenger arm has apparently teamed up with French mobile carrier SFR for a branded phone. The Messenger Edition 251 handset looks to be based on Windows Mobile 6.5 (or something older), with no word on who the hardware partner is, and is taking on the youth market just like Pink will presumably be doing Stateside sometime this year. Of course, Messenger is much more popular in Europe than it is in the States, so it makes sense to brand a phone around it, but underneath that candy QWERTY shell we're sure those hapless Europeans can find plenty of legacy Windows Mobile to be desperately disappointed in.

[Thanks, Bibo]

Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger phone for France is hardly Pink originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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