Gizmo Updates

CD Destroyer:

Ready to purge all those CDs loaded with credit card numbers, personal documents, and top-secret files? Here's a compact, USB-powered contraption that'll make mincemeat of your discs in mere seconds.
Sniffed out by Gizmodo, the $29 CD Destroyer will take any CD or DVD and—with help from a trio of carbon-steel teeth—carve a series of cool, elliptical scratches on its surface, effectively turning your disc into a pretty-looking coaster. According to the specs, the CD Destroyer can carry out its destructive duties within about five seconds—good news for anyone with a stack of incriminating discs to trash. The Destroyer comes with a USB cable for power, and the manufacturer has thoughtfully thrown in a leather carry case for paranoid road warriors.

iPhone Hacked:

A new (and unauthorized, of course) piece of software developed by a team of hackers will let you use the iPhone with any SIM, not just AT&T's, according to Engadget.The blog reports that the coders at iPhoneSIMfree.com called Engadget editors and walked them through the unlocking process, which requires a software app that the team has yet to release on the Web. The Engadget bloggers say the installation took just a few minutes, and that once competed, they were able to make calls on their test iPhone with a T-Mobile SIM card. Practically every iPhone feature was still working, according to Engadget, save Visual Voicemail. Sure, it may all sound a little fishy, but Engadget has a bevy of screenshots and videos backing up the story.So, how can you unlock your own iPhone, you ask? First of all, the hackers behind iPhoneSIMfree.com haven't released their code yet, and it's not clear when they plan on doing so. Also, even if you do get your hands on the unlocking software, you'll almost certainly void your warranty in the process, so do it at your own risk. Still, if you've been chomping at the bit to get an iPhone but don't want to sign a contract with AT&T, your lucky day may be fast approaching.

PS3 Adds DVR features:

Looks like European PlayStation 3 owners will soon be able to watch and record TV on their consoles, thanks to a new DVR add-on coming in 2008. But what about those of us stuck in the U.S.?Sony Europe announced today that the new device, dubbed PlayTV, will be available early next year in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. According to Wired News, Sony reps in the U.S. say they are "investigating" the possibility of a PlayTV for the States, but there's no official launch date—or even confirmation that PlayTV will come here at all. Bummer.Anyway, PlayTV will come with a pair of DVB-T (the digital broadcast standard in Europe) tuners, allowing you to watch one show while recording another, and an electronic programming grid will let you select individual shows or an entire series for future recording. You'll be able to watch and record shows in HD (up to 1080p), while PSP owners can stream shows to their handhelds over Wi-Fi or transfer them via USB for later viewing—nice. Of course, Sony's announcement begs the question: what ever happened to talk of IPTV functionality on the Xbox 360? There are whispers that 360 TV features may be coming this fall, but nothing official. Stay tuned.