Upgrading the stock stereo system to a multi-disc system with DVD capabilities and a pop-up screen was one of the few ways the benefits of chips and electronics in cars were immediately obvious to the average consumer in 2002, when most in-vehicle electronics, like that those controlled anti-lock braking systems, were hidden away.
Two decades later, as is evident with companies like Sony, Apple, and even Dyson trying to break into the automotive industry, cars are becoming more and more like rolling electronic gadgets. The electrification of the motor car brought with it incredibly elaborate infotainment systems relying on giant touchscreens and even voice recognition. Meanwhile other electronic upgrades, such as cameras and sensors keeping tabs on everything else on the road, have facilitated features that will autonomously keep a vehicle in its lane, automatically break for obstacles, and even identify and obey speed limit signage (YMMV).
Cars that drive themselves without any human intervention are allegedly just around the corner, and in a few years the vehicle in your driveway will have more in common with your smartphone than the Model T. As with a smartphone, consumers eventually won’t really care what’s under the hood, as long as a car gets them from point A to point B and thoroughly distracts them during the ride.
DataPlay: The futuristic optical disc format that time forgot
In the early 2000s, there were serious efforts to find the next technological breakthrough that would succeed the CD. One of those was the DataPlay, a miniaturized version of a CD with a 32mm diameter. Why use DataPlay instead of CD? For one, it could store more than just music—artist interviews, music videos, and pre-recorded songs could be accessed when connected to a PC. It was also adorable tiny, or as The New York Times put it, “about the size of the ing in the center of a CD.”
After winning the CES Best of Show award in 2001, the DataPlay was released in 2002 and was quickly backed by artists and recording studios due to its strict digital rights management system. Britney Spears’ album Britney and re-releases from ‘N Sync, Pink, Usher, OutKast, Sarah McLachlan, and Brooks & Dunn were included in the first batch of DataPlay discs.
In the end, DataPlay failed and is now an all-but-forgotten format. It was too expensive, forced owners to purchase new music players, and locked down content in a way customers weren’t used to at the time. It also arrived during the growth of digital media.
Gizmodo had a feeling DataPlay wouldn’t be successful:
Let’s see, they’ll cost more than CDs, be difficult to copy, sound about the same as CDs, and require a whole new player (of which only one is available, the iRiver IDP-100, pictured at right). Sure to be a huge hit.
While you’d all be aware that celebrities, despite their wealth, are given expensive shit for free all the time, today we’re going to take a look at one gift in particular. Partly because it’s a gaming PC, but also because we kinda have the receipt for it as well.
Esports guy Jake Lucky tweeted this out earlier today, and it certainly provoked a reaction:
Responses in the replies generally ranged from “it looks like shit” to “that’s massively overpriced” to “lmao all that just to gamble” (more on that soon). That first sentiment might be a bit much. I think this looks great! It’s a gaming PC, what do you expect, and the white lighting in these photos is an infinitely classier look than the electronic clown car aesthetic you often see on these kind of systems. I’m particularly fond of the lighting around the fans, it’s a very “starship corridor” look.
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As for the price, well, there are some caveats here. The PC—which was put together by Paradox Customs—was actually bought for Drake as a gift by streamer Xposed (Paradox tells Kotaku they “hashed out” the component selection together), and in the time between the order first being placed and the PC actually arriving the market for a lot of expensive PC parts crashed for some reason. Throw in some Canadian taxes Xposed had to pay and Paradox say the actual cost in July 2022 is somewhere closer to $6500. Which, you know, is still ridiculously expensive for a PC, but it’s also not $8000.
How do we know that? Paradox tweeted this earlier today, which handily also gives us a chance to take a look at the kind of specs you can expect to see in a PC that cost more than my last three desktops combined.
As for who paid for the system and why, Xposed actually picked out this exact system for himself, then says he ordered a second for Drake because he had helped the rapper out with an earlier PC, but at the time had to skimp and get him a “prebuilt from Best Buy because it was short notice”:
In December 2021, Xposed signed a partnership deal with Stake, a shady and controversial online gambling site which Drake just happens to be continually streaming and promoting at the same time, and who shared this new PCs arrival on their socials.
YouTube Music for Wear OS is finally getting a tile! Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
Good news for YouTube Music listeners! A compatible app for Wear OS is finally available so that you can take your playlists with you on the go.
Google announced in a user community post that YouTube Music is finally a standalone app. This week, the company will start rolling out the ability to stream YouTube Music over LTE and wifi. You’ll no longer need to carry your phone in your back pocket to access your YouTube Music playlists or pre-download the music you want to listen to out on the trail. All you’ll need is an internet connection on the watch itself.
This standalone version of YouTube Music is the first smartwatch app for the streaming service after it brutally replaced Google Play Music in late 2020. Samsung had pre-announced this ability earlier this year for its flagship smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 4, which is one of our favorite Android-based watches at the moment.
If you’re a YouTube Music Premium subscriber, you’ll have access to all of the service’s streaming library, plus premade playlists. You won’t have to endure ads either, and the app comes with a Smart Downloads feature to ensure the newest music is synced to your watch any time it’s back on WiFi. YouTube Music will also start aggregating new playlists based on your history as you keep listening.
If you’re already on a Wear OS smartwatch, you’ll have access to the new YouTube Music tile. The tile is like a quick-launch remote for any recently played playlists. It’ll also allow you to browse the main page of the YouTube Music app from your watch.
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Tiles work like widgets, wherein you can place it in its own screen space of sorts to swipe over to it when you’re ready to listen. Music apps like Spotify offer a similar tile that stays embedded in the Wear OS interface, so you can head over and start the music regardless if you have headphones on.
For more information, Google has updated its support page with instructions on the new YouTube Music app for Wear OS. The update should roll out for YouTube Music users this week.
When Apple released the Magic Keyboard, it essentially gave iPad owners the ability to transform their tablet into a laptop. At least, from a hardware perspective.
It’s not an ideal solution, though. The accessory is heavy, it doesn’t let you use the iPad as a standalone tablet, and viewing angles are limited. Seemingly taking a page from Microsoft’s Surface Pro devices, Apple could one day release a more traditional detachable keyboard attachment with more tablet placement options, at least if a newly revealed patent moves forward.
In the patent (via Apple Insider), Apple describes a tablet accessory with a base portion and a “coupling mechanism,” which would sit alongside a keyboard that uses electromechanical keys. Apple describes several iterations of this detachable concept, each of which gives users the flexibility to place the iPad in various orientations.
There are some rather strange implementations here, including a few that will make people squirm and a few that seem rather intuitive. In one scenario, Apple describes a “coupling mechanism,” or a hinge, that overlaps the back panel of the tablet and has its own auxiliary display showing a custom message, battery levels, the date and times, etc. It reminds me of the panel on the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition I recently reviewed.
Image: USPTO
Having the screen on the back of the tablet so you can view important information when the device is closed could be rather useful. I’m less thrilled about what happens when you flip the tablet around. In this setup, the hinge would overlap the tablet display, creating a large rectangular notch with a built-in interface where the tablet’s menu bar would reside. One version doesn’t even have its own “graphical interface,” and another uses the front notch as a stylus holder. When the pen is removed, a screen underneath could show editing tools.
Interestingly, the UI shown on the display of this tablet is unmistakably a desktop OS similar to macOS. Apple has repeatedly held its stance that the iPad will remain an iPad, meaning it will supposedly always be a mobile device that doesn’t share the same operating system as its laptops or desktops. This, however, suggests otherwise.
Image: USPTO
A more traditional hinged keyboard accessory looks similar to the Surface Pro, where the tablet snaps into a keyboard attachment on the bottom edge and closes like a book. In one concept, the hinge supports additional accessories, like a camera, projectors, or microphone. Again, Apple isn’t exactly known for modularity, so this seems like a long shot.
Image: USPTO
In any case, here is how Apple explains the detachable accessory, in typical jargony patent language:
“The accessory device may include a coupling mechanism for releasably coupling the base portion of the accessory device to a tablet computing device in multiple different installation modes. The coupling mechanism may include an auxiliary display for providing a graphical output along a surface of the coupling mechanism. Additionally or alternatively, the coupling mechanism may include a recess for receiving a stylus.”
As with all patents, we shouldn’t read too much into any of this, though it does reveal some of the unique ways Apple is considering evolving the tablet form factor after having launched the Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro and now iPad Air models. This patent was applied for in July 2020 and granted today. It’s possible, even probable, that these never escape the Cupertino spaceship, but they at least give us a glimmer of hope for a future where the iPad is a true Mac alternative.
Modular gadgets sound useful on paper but rarely break through to mainstream audiences. We’ve seen countless attempts come and go, leaving behind only fleeting blips of excitement from enthusiasts who are time and again burned when the promise of a customizable device never materializes. Every few years a new example arrives: Project Ara was a modular phone concept that Google killed before it could take off; LG didn’t extend its modular phone vision past the G5; and Alienware’s modular Area-51m gaming laptop wasn’t all that modular after all.
It would seem a risk to bring another one of these shape-shifting devices to market, and yet San Francisco-based startup Framework did just that last year when it released the Framework Laptop. Early impressions of the notebook have been mostly positive, but the long-term success of this modular device rests on the upgradable parts made available to customers over the years.
The company has taken steps, like opening an online marketplace, to fulfill its promise of giving users the tools they need to customize, repair, and upgrade their laptops, but what really makes me optimistic about the future of modular PCs are the fascinating mods being worked on by early adopters.
One such project outfits the Framework Laptop with its own version of Apple’s MagSafe charging. After receiving requests from forum members who seemingly took the suggestion from Linus Tech Tips, YouTuber Christopher “CJ” Peet, who hosts the Elevated Systems channel, modified one of the Framework Laptop’s expansion slots to hold a magnetic charging adapter that, when inserted, sits flush with the edge of the laptop.
Like MagSafe, it makes the charging cable easier to attach, and more importantly, disconnects the cord when your child or dog inevitably trips over it. Yes, you could add this feature to any USB-C charging port with a cheapo adapter, but those stick out and may prevent you from sliding your laptop into a sleeve or backpack. They’re also more likely to get battered around and tend to slip out easily when you unplug the cord.
This isn’t the sort of thing anyone can do, but Framework makes it easy for seasoned DIYers by providing a Github repository with reference designs and documentation so those with the right tools can create custom expansion cards. Peet did just that. He downloaded the blueprints and tweaked the enclosure using Fusion 360 CAD software so it could fit the magnetic adapter flush with the side of the laptop. After everything was mocked up, he 3D printed the redesigned enclosure and soldered everything together.
Peet admits his project was intended as a proof-of-concept and that fellow tinkerers who want to try it themselves need to be careful when soldering the components. And while the modified part worked just fine on a laptop and smartphone, this particular version is limited to only a 5V charge because he used a weaker USB 2.0 standard.
Despite those limitations, other modders took the idea and ran with it, making adjustments as needed to simplify the build and ramp up the charging capabilities. Sean Nagle, a field service engineer, 3D printed a custom expansion tray with enough space for the two USB-C ends to slide together without any soldered.
He then took automotive-grade primers and paint to make the component match closely with the silver aluminum of the Framework. Finally, Nagle snapped the original Framework power cord (with a magnetic adapter on the end) to the modified charging port and measured a power draw of around 56 watts, close to the 60W rating for the adapter.
“I really liked the Apple magnetic charging and I was aware that they probably have some patent on it that is going to make it unavailable on other laptops. So I decided, if you can make your own, that’s the route to do it,” Nagle said.
While Nagle says he has no plans of making this a business, fellow Framework Laptop owners have purchased copies of the charging module from him and other DIYers who are making similar ones.
Adding MagSafe-style charging is only one of many mods being worked on by eager inventors. Along with his MagSafe hack, Peet embedded a 2.4GHz dongle from a wireless mouse into one of the expansion slots so he could stop worrying about losing it. The YouTuber feared the receiver might not be strong enough to hold a signal through the aluminum chassis, but the mouse instantly responded after he inserted the expansion card.
“My original idea was a dongle that’s contained within the expansion card itself because that’s just practical,” Peet said. “When I’m home, and I’m using the laptop, I like to have a mouse because I’m more comfortable using one than a trackpad. When the wifi dongle is connected to my laptop, it doesn’t fit in my sleeve and I lose it when I’m going somewhere.”
But in perhaps the most impressive Framework mod thus far, Peet took the motherboard from his laptop and installed it in a mechanical keyboard chassis, effectively turning the keyboard into a functional PC.
After discovering the motherboard is roughly the size of a 60% tenkeyless keyboard, Peet drafted and 3D printed a custom keyboard chassis with windows in the sides so the Framework expansion cards could still be used to connect the keyboard PC to a monitor or peripherals.
The finished product is a modern take on the Commodore 64, an 8-bit computer (the top-selling computer of all time, by the way) from 1982 whose components are housed below a keyboard.
“I actually started doing laptop mods years ago back when basically all laptops were modular and you could fix them and upgrade them and use the components outside of the laptop. Of course, manufacturers got away from that and mobile tech became disposal,” Peet said. “As soon as the [Framework] laptop became available, the pre-sale, I ordered one. Not that I needed an ultra-portable laptop, but just so I could tinker with it.”
The first version of this keyboard, which runs on an Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU, was a rough draft made of plastic that wouldn’t withstand the thermal requirements of the processors. The second iteration improves the fit and finish of the original, uses a better keyboard PCB board, and swaps out the gray keys for retro white ones. Peet says the next step is to take this sophomore effort to get CNC machined so it can withstand higher temperatures. While this might not be the most practical use of the Framework’s swappable parts, Peet views his keyboard PC as one of the fun things you can do with the motherboard once it needs to be replaced.
To be clear, these are not official Framework mods and the company told Gizmodo that, while it built in port protection circuity, there are ways a misbehaving module could “cause temporary or permanent issues.”
“We’re excited to see the activity around developing new modules for the Framework Laptop,” Framework founder Nirav Patel said. “We launched the Expansion Card Developer Program last summer and have been amazed by the interesting and worthwhile designs that the community has prototyped. The magnetic charging Expansion Card looks really useful, but we haven’t tested that module ourselves.”
Framework didn’t give us a timeframe, but the company plans to bring third-party and community-developed modules that “meet any necessary standards and regulations for the regions they are sold in” to its recently opened Framework Marketplace, a central hub where you can purchase various components, including mainboards, keyboards, SSDs and RAM, and replacement parts.