You knew that NFC hardware can be embedded into SIM cards, right? Right? Regardless of whether you’ve been paying attention, the practice is about to become a whole lot more common, as 45 of the world’s largest mobile operators have extended their support for the GSM Association’s standard. Among the networks, you’ll find heavy hitters such as China Mobile and China Unicom (which account for nearly 800 million subscribers between the two), along with familiar names such as America Movil, AT&T, Deutsche Telecom, KPN, Orange, Rogers, SFR, SK Telecom, Softbank, Telus, Verizon and Vodafone. Even Isis, the unholy mobile payment lovechild of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, has pledged its support… in hopes of taking your money, that is. The new standard is expected to drive the proliferation of NFC across the globe, with Anne Bouverot, Director General of the GSMA commenting, “Mobile operators, working together, are ideally positioned to roll out services based on the requirements published by the GSMA, providing proven security and interoperability, global reach and customer care for consumers and businesses and a secure platform for service providers.” Now, as you’d expect, we just wanna see it happen. For a complete list of the cooperating carriers, check out the PR after the break.

[SIM card photo via Shutterstock]

Continue reading SIM-based NFC gains global support from 45 mobile carriers, all huddled around GSMA’s standard

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We always try our best to keep a positive mental attitude on The 404, so it makes sense that we’ve chosen The Hold Steady’s latest album, “Stay Positive,” as today’s Audio Draft Pick. We also run through the accidental video game archive, shame the Guinness World Records, and warn our listeners about open manholes, literally.

Today’s “Best Web site you’ve never seen” award goes to Derek Yu’s Accidental Video Game Porn Archive that showcases sexual innuendos found in your favorite video games. It’s an easy way to waste a few hours at work. They’re all hilarious, but this Menage a Kong has got to be one of my favorites, with this Star Fox violation in a close second. I also like that Derek and I share the same last name–this Web site is totally something a Yu would do. Nice job, cuz!

We don’t wag our fingers as much, but we have to scold the Guinness World Records for this record-breaking fail. One of the entries on its Web site awards the “Most Individuals Killed in a Terrorist Act” to the terrorists behind the attack on the World Trade Center towers and even invites viewers to “break this record.”

Instead of immediately taking down the award, Guinness World Records compounded the fail by threatening legal action on the ICanHaz network for posting a screengrab that features the Guinness World Record logo without proper authorization. If that isn’t a case of corporate cowardly B.S., I don’t know what is. Daps to Fail Blog for their hilarious response complete with a Rick Roll at the end!

The Hold Steady's "Stay Positive".

(Credit: Last.FM/The Hold Steady)

Jeff’s pick for today’s “Audio Draft,” sponsored by Beck’s Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, is Brooklyn local band The Hold Steady. In our own words, these guys sound like the aural lovechild of Bruce Springsteen, Social Distortion, Joe Strummer, and Billy Joel. The music combines various instruments (banjos, organ, piano, theremin) to produce a jamming rock theme, and then adds gruff vocals with epic storytelling lyrics to complete the circle.

The band’s latest album, “Stay Positive,” keeps the party going with a steady balance of hilarious stories from the road (“Sequestered in Memphis”) and heartbreaking admissions of love lost, but not forgotten (“Lord, I’m Discouraged”). Check out the entire discography and let us know what you think in the comments!

(Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET News and Reviews.)

EPISODE 381

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Originally posted at The 404

Leica has a stranglehold on the the hearts and minds of photographers everywhere. Even if the professionals call it a “dentist’s camera,” as in a camera that is popular with folks with too much money and not many photography chops, there’s something about that little red dot that is as iconic as the black and white of a Speedmaster or the clean lines of a Ferrari GTO. It’s something that survived the ravages of time relatively unscathed – perhaps worn down by evolution and advancement but still, at least to the part of the brain that desires comfort in the permanence of the material, the same.

So we come to the Leica D-LUX 4, the latest lovechild of Leica and Panasonic. The D-LUX 4 is, at its core, a Panasonic LX3K and but the price disparity is so slim that you’ll barely notice it. The D-LUX, like the LX3, has a 10-megapixel sensor, 3-inch screen, and a 10x optical zoom. The minimum focal length is 5.1 mm and the max is 12.8 (about a 24-60mm equivalent on a 35mm frame). It has a tiny pop-up flash and ISO sensitivity from 80 to 3200. It weighs 8 ounces.

I won’t go into the D-LUX v LX3 fight here but suffice it to say there is very little difference, on the aggregate, between the two. This site shows excellent side by side comparisons, for example, and there is little clear difference in the pictures.

On the whole this is a heavy-duty camera built for discerning point-and-shooters. At $699 it’s $100 more than its Panasonic-made twin and comes with little more than a battery and charger, AV cable, and USB cable. It takes SD and SDHC cards.

Shooting is great fun with the D-LUX 4. The pictures come out crisp and clear, even in low light. Take this shot, for example:

This was shot in Aperture Priority mode at the settings you see here. I have been hard-pressed to grab a shot like that, especially from about 20 meters from the subject in a dark room, with my Canon Rebel let alone a typical point and shoot. For me, that’s worth the price of admission right there.

The UI is quite clean and the buttons are all well-placed and easily accessible. The Mode wheel is a little light – it will slip out of your set mode if you jostle it too much in a bag – but once you start shooting everything is painless. I was also amazed at the quality of the LCD. Usually the LCDs on point and shoots are a “sketch” of the image taken. This LCD was absolutely true to the actual scene and was a great gauge of a shot’s value.

The camera has all of the obligatory scene modes although setting it in Aperture or Shutter will give you great shots 99% of the time. Don’t be afraid to leave the flash off as well.

One pet peeve – there is no automatic lens cap so you have to take the little dangly lens cap off before shooting. If you don’t attach it you will lose it and it does fall off in your bag.

Bottom Line
The cynical anti-marketer in me wants to say “Just buy a LX3″ but not having used one actively I can’t make that claim. They are, on the whole, almost exactly the same except for price.

I was quite impressed with this camera and if Leica and Panasonic want to swap everything down to the button placement on the back more power too them. The D-LUX 4 is a gateway drug and anyone who has used an M8 will attest that when you use Leica glass on a Leica body you get some amazing shots. That said, the D-LUX 4 is an excellent second point-and-shoot and is great for grabbing hard to frame shots that other point-and-shoots would completely destroy. Sure you’re going to be a little ostentatious wandering around with your sexy red dot but who doesn’t want to be noticed sometimes?

Sample Shots

Here is some further D-LUX 4 discussion:

CameraPorn
BoxedLight
Product Page