Sharp is releasing an Aquos Android clamshell phone with a 16-megapixel camera running Gingerbread. This is the latest step in Android’s quiet and gradual takeover of the Japanese phone market. I believe that Japan will eventually become a strategic stronghold for Android and in turn this will serve to shore up Google’s historically weak performance against Yahoo in search and online services in Japan.

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2011. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: android, docomo, google, japan, kddi, keitai, mobile phone, sharp, softbank

A small Japanese start-up called Neurowear is marketing what it calls “Necomimi” — head-worn fashion gadgets that move in response to brainwaves. The company calls it “Augmented Human Body”. Or to put it in simpler terms: goddamn nekomimi cat ears that you can learn to control telepathically with your mind. This is serious science at work.

Videos and more information after the break.

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2011. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fashion, japan, nekomimi, neurowear, transhumanism

So, I got rid of my 20-dollar Logitech keyboard and bought my self a DK9008 mechanical keyboard from Taiwanese manufacturer Ducky Keyboard. Lame brand name aside, this is probably the best hardware investment I’ve ever made.

If it were possible to marry a keyboard, I…wouldn’t but the DK9008 is still a pretty darn good keyboard.

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cherry mx, dk9008, ducky, geek, keyboard, mechanical

Aaron Barr, an employee at security firm HBGary Federal, made a bold claim a week ago in the Financial Times that he had uncovered the identities of the top leaders of the Anonymous movement and was going to meet the FBI.

Not long afterwards, the company’s website was brought down by DDOS, its email server was compromised and 4.7 GB of corporate correspondence, including business deals and NDAs, were leaked onto Pirate Bay. The company’s president went on IRC to beg for mercy and disavowed Barr’s actions.

Ars Technica has an excellent write-up on this latest dorama. They always have the best Anonymous coverage.

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2011. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: anonymous, ars technica, ddos, hacked, hbgary, lulz

Lots of exciting things happened in the PS3 scene the past few days. The aftermath is that the entire PS3 encryption scheme has been irrevocably cracked and broken, with no possibility of a firmware fix, due to a rookie cryptography mistake made by Sony who is now crying in a corner.

Let’s take a look at the itinerary of events.

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2011. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: encryption, fail0verflow, geohot, jailbreak, piracy, playstation, ps3, sony

How the mighty has fallen. Once upon a time, Microsoft could sell garbage and people would still buy them because it was the only garbage in town. Now it’s desperately playing catch-up to iOS and Android with its late-to-the-game abysmally-named Windows Phone 7 operating system.

Naysayers are already predicting a Kin-like premature demise for WP7 and that may very well turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. But for this ethereal moment, I am happy with my LG Optimus 7.

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2010. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: lg, microsoft, mobile phone, optimus 7, windows phone 7, wp7

We have won one or two Internets before in our lifetime and now we can finally claim our hitherto figurative prize.

The entire hosted content of the defunct Geocities free hosting service will be released as a 900-gigabyte torrent file by a group called Archive Team. I’m sure we all have fond childhood memories and traumas associated with the pop-ups-with-flashing-cursors monster that was Geocities. Here’s the chance to relive it.

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bittorrent, copyright, geocities, history, internet, nostalgia

I’ve long been a keen observer in the growing war of opinions over the future of intellectual property rights. Just a few days ago, ABC, NBC and CBS decided to block Google TV devices from streaming from their websites, joining Hulu in what appears to be a last-ditch effort in forcing Google to cough up concessions it really shouldn’t have to. This got me thinking, so I shall leave a few notes here for my future reference.

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: abc, cbs, google, google tv, nbc

It’s been just over a month since the sudden debut of the world’s first PS3 mod device. The original release was purely commercial and overpriced (around 150 USD for what is essentially a simple USB development board in a casing), and as a result it was quickly made obsolete by cheaper (and free) alternatives). Still, its spirit lives on in the countless clones that have since flooded the market and we owe the original creators for the breakthrough. If only they weren’t such greedy bastards.

Since the breakthrough, a PS3 homebrew community has blossomed overnight and, though it still has a long way to go, significant progress has been made. It’s really like the early days of PSP’s 1.5 firmware. Here’s a quick summary of the current state of PS3 homebrew.

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2010. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: jailbreak, piracy, playstation, ps3, psfreedom, psgroove, ti-84 plus

I blame this one on moyism

I’m glad I waited a full year for the ensuing orgy of product announcements to peak before making my choice, because Aspire One is the best purchase I’ve ever made. It also has a superior product name compared to its major competitors. (Dell E? EEE PC? WTF?)

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© DarkMirage for Ramblings of DarkMirage, 2008. | Permalink | 42 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: acer, aircrack, aspire one, geek, laptop, ubuntu