Nine Inch Nails iPhone App Awaits Apple's OK

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame has revealed details on a new innovative iPhone app currently awaiting approval from Apple that's offers fans a range of interactive features.

The pioneering musician, known for openly embracing the post-CD era with music and video downloads including torrent distribution, fan remixes and the power of social media, has been developing the app since last summer when he saw fans standing in line for a NIN gig taking and sending photos.

Reznor revealed to Wired magazine and on his Twitter feed plans to use Twinkle, an iPhone Twitter app from Tapulous, as the basis for his free app.

The app is billed as a mobile window on all things NIN: music, photos, videos, message boards, and even NIN fans via a GPS-enabled feature called Nearby.

Nearby is "kind of like Twitter within the Nine Inch Nails network," Rob Sheridan, Reznor's long-time collaborator told Wired magazine.

A feature on the new iPhone app's Nearby tab will enable fans to post messages and photos from their iPhones to the Web site and have them appear on Google Earth.

"You can post a message or a photo by location, and if you're at a show you can see conversations between other people who are right there," added Sheridan.

Microsoft Office 2007 Update Due

Microsoft Corp. announced Thursday that it will start pushing Office 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) to customers this month.

In an entry to the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) blog, Cecilia Cole, a Microsoft program manager, said that the service pack would be posted to the update service in April. She did not name an exact date, but said that more information would be published on an Office-specific blog "later this month."

When Microsoft releases updates for WSUS users -- who are almost exclusively enterprises that feed their systems patches from their own servers -- it also makes those same updates available on Microsoft Update, the similar service for consumers and small businesses. Microsoft Update, a superset of the better-known Windows Update, provides patches for Windows and some of its other software, notably Office.

Microsoft first talked up Office 2007 SP2 nearly six months ago, when it said it would ship the update between February and April 2009.

Office 2007 SP2 includes support for Open Document Format (ODF), the document format used by the open-source OpenOffice.org; boosts the performance of the Outlook 2007 e-mail client; adds the ability to uninstall service packs; and contains all the bug fixes and security patches released since Microsoft rolled out SP1 in December 2007.

Microsoft did not issue a service pack blocking tool for Office 2007 SP1, and apparently will not for SP2 either; searches on the Microsoft site failed to dig up any mention of a blocker. It has crafted toolkits to block other updates, however, including one to keep the new Internet Explorer 8 from reaching PCs.

Office 2007 debuted at retail in January 2007, concurrent with the launch of Windows Vista.

Archos 5 firmware adds GPS car holder support, new file browser

We tell ya, the Archos 5 is becoming more inviting by the week. Late last month we saw a much-wanted high-def video plug-in come to light, and now an even newer firmware is adding a few more fantastic amenities. For starters, the v1.6.53 software adds GPS car holder support -- something the Archos 605 acquired last April. Essentially, it enables the device to comprehend map and routing data piped in via the hardware mount, and we should point out that it arrives with TeleAtlas maps for eight regions of Europe, North America and Russia. Additionally, users will definitely spot an all new file browser with drag-and-drop and multi-selection functionality, not to mention the TV Snap-on app that enables the unit to store several different channel lists. For the full changelog and to get that download rolling, give the links below some lovin'.

Sony patents PSP-controlled spy car

Check it out, all you budding G. Gordon Liddys -- if the usual assortment of spy gadgets isn't doing the job, Sony's got something in the works that should be right up your alley. According to a little site called Siliconera, Sony's European arm has filed a patent for a remote-controlled car uses the PSP as an interface. This bad boy is equipped with a camera that feeds video back to the hand held and allows the user to upload the footage to a website. If that weren't all, the patent makes mention of an augmented reality racing game incorporating virtual markers and paths that the players physically create -- that is, the junk in your apartment is incorporated into on-screen game play. Innocent fun, right? Well, perhaps -- at least until Iran gets involved. They're still pretty bent by the whole squirrel thing.

MSI's Wind U123 netbook gets unboxed

We already caught MSI's upgraded Wind U120 (which goes by U123, if you must know) sitting pretty at CeBIT last month, but the crazy cats over at PortableMonkey have gone and got a model fresh in the box. Needless to say, this retail edition (which is hitting Japanese shelves any moment now) didn't stay packaged up for long, but we are happy to say that we've been cordially invited to feast our eyes upon the unboxing process. Right out of the gate, we have to share the disappointment in the lack of a rear panel for easily accessing the internal RAM and HDD, but at least the Atom N280 is a (minor) step above what we've grown accustomed to. Check the read link for all the pictorial delight.

Gigabyte T1028 netbook / tablet gets the hands-on treatment

We've already seen Gigabyte's T1028 netbook / tablet up close, and even gotten a glimpse of the user manual, but the folks at UMPC Portal have now finally come though with a proper hands-on of the device, which looks to confirm that it does indeed deliver the goods, if not quite justify its $600+ price tag. What's more, as welcome as that swiveling touchscreen is, it looks like it's the little touches that really push this one over the edge, including an all too often omitted ExpressCard slot, built-in 3G, 802.11n WiFi, some actually accessible upgrade options, and an apparently faster than usual 2.5-inch hard drive. Hit up the link below for the complete rundown (including some benchmarks) and, of course, plenty of pics.

How would you change HP's MediaSmart Server ex485 / ex487?

Now that you've had a few months a stream all manners of media throughout your home and backup your small cadre of computers via one of HP's new MediaSmart Servers, we're interested in seeing just how you'd change this bad boy. HP popped in a faster processor and a bit more RAM in order to make sure these, um, actually worked as advertised, but we're certain even that hasn't satisfied the hardcore critics in attendance. Have you been totally satisfied with your ex485 / ex487? Has the server handled all the Windows Home Server functions with ease? Are you noticing any lag? Are you happy with the file support, heat output and overall styling? Feel free to rant uncontrollably in comments below -- just keep it under control.