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Top 10 Pervasive Tech Myths That Are Only Wasting Your Time Here’s a differentiating factor among PCs: The EXO Ultra Gaming PC, built by ex-Alienware system designer Garrett Bain, will be running GPUs chosen from the top ~1% of all NVidia’s GPUs from a particular manufacturer. (That’s unique.) Looks like now that the big corporations have bought up all the bigger boutique PC makers, there’s room for a new generation of gaming PCs, built with even more dedication to being stupid, stupid, stupid fast. The EXO prototype is that, and there’s more inside that sets it apart as one of the systems able to go the extra mile.
•Each EXO prototype has a polished aluminum chassis frame, and this one has carbon fiber panels all around. You can, however, order whateverthefrick panels you want, including woods like bamboo, diamond patterned steel plate, and more. Whatever. Seriously, not just what you can select in a drop down menu in a browser based shopping cart. •Instead of routing power supply cables through you entire case, they’ve got a mobo tray mounted “power strip” with short lead cables to all components. Very clean. • Like I said before, the EXO has an exclusive deal with NVidia to get their top ~%1 of the bin. That means that the chips inside of the EXO machines will be of higher quality, and shipped to overclock. (A first.) galleryPost('ultragamingpc', 8, 'Ultra Gaming PC'); and…
This super-cool project by some dude takes an old newspaper box and hooks up a 17-inch monitor to it so he can get digital headlines every day. Inside the box he stores the monitor, a Mac mini, and speakers/subwoofer for some audio as well. Using AppleScript, he fetches the front-page news of various other newspapers from Newseum so he can get a quick view of what’s going on every morning.
See it in glorious video after the jump.
There’s a group out in Tulsa who does whatever it takes to get their haul. They cut open ceilings and walls, rappel down surfaces, disable security systems—even climb through air ducts—and manage to make off with $60,000 to $400,000 per strike. And all without leaving a trace of their identity. Sound a bit like the movies? It does to us, too, but we can’t help but imagine what kind of gadgetry these guys carry with them.
Now they’ve turned their eyes toward electronic heists. At a Best Buy in Tulsa, the burglars entered the store by breaching the ceiling, rappelling down to the store office and cutting a hole into it, taking care of the alarms and surveillance of the store, and then took around 50 laptops and 60-inch plasma TVs. And then they took the safe, weighing a few thousand pounds, which is evidently a trademark of this particular ring.
Got a Belkin router? Feel like getting some free cash? (* AU: Live in America? -SB *) Well, a class action lawsuit settlement recently decreed that if you bought one of 37 Belkin products between October 13, 2002, and February 5, 2007, you may be entitled to a refund. Check the deets over at Consumerist and see if you qualify. –Adam Frucci
Some Belkin Wireless Owners May Be Entitled To Full Refunds [Consumerist]
Now what exactly does this spectacular babe have to do with gadgetry, you ask? Have you been living under a rock? That’s Megan Fox, one of the big stars of Transformers, the upcoming megagadget flick by Michael Bay. Here she’s posing for the ace photog at Maxim magazine, among a few others.
We figured that was reason enough to serve up a batch of pictures to gawk at. Ya know, to prepare you for the movie’s debut on July 3. Here’s a preview of some of the distaff eye candy you’ll be watching. Time for a reality check: So who’s hotter, Megan Fox or Optimus Prime? – Charlie White
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Megan on Maxim (Maxim Online, via Megansafox]
newVideoPlayer("stalker_phone_gawker.flv", 475, 376); We’re not trying to say that the Today Show/traditional media is fearmongering with this “cellphones are stalking the crap out of this family” story, but we had to change our underwear twice while watching this minute and a half clip.
If you take the video at face value, some “hackers” have taken over the family’s cellphones and are using it to record conversations and take illicit pictures of the victims. They’re also breaking into voicemail and leaving threats about raping and killing the daughter. This happens even if the family changes cellphones, apparently, so whoever’s doing this is a hardcore hax0r the likes we haven’t seen since the first Scream movie. – Jason Chen
Here’s a never-before-seen section of the iPhone: the settings. Which makes sense, because what kind of lame commercial will say “wow, look at all the cool settings the iPhone has!”
Here’s what else is new:
newVideoPlayer("settings_gawker.flv", 475, 376);
• Confirmed in-line viewer for PDFs, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel docs in email. Microsoft complained about lack of support before. This is a huge deal, even if it is read-only. • Turning off the phone requires you to slide your finger across the top (like unlocking it) to confirm. • You can rewind voicemail like a sound file. • You can finger-scroll through contacts using the alphabet on the right. • The special iPhone headphones have volume and call control. • IMAP/POP support confirmed • Typing with two thumbs actually looks manageable • Limited amount of ringtones can be selected from the settings menu. Doesn’t look like songs can be used. • Confirmed turn by turn directions and up-to-date traffic info for Google maps. – Jason Chen
The iPhone is the most hyped up phone ever, and it’s coming next week. People are going to be waiting in line for hours to get their paws on it without having seen it. Hey, it’s fun to get excited about gadgets—that’s why we’re all here, right?
The problem is, the iPhone is only available through AT&T, in my opinion one of the most unscrupulous telecoms around. AT&T’s tactics combine Microsoft-style anti-competitive maneuvers and anti-privacy efforts a la RIAA for a chilling effect. I avoid giving AT&T any of my money; it’s a personal boycott. I’d like to call for a more wide ranging one, but that brings up an interesting question: does a hyped gadget you really want trump any moral misgivings you might have about where it’s coming from?
AU: Thought I’d run this in full to bring attention to the issue of exclusivity in handset availability. Anyone have any thoughts on who will get to sell iPhone here in AU? Who would you be happy seeing it with? And is there a carrier that would make it a no go zone? -SB
That busty iLuv model appears once again today, this time showing off another docking station. This iLuv Wing has a graceful design resembling an uplifted pair of … wings. It pumps out 20 watts’ worth of sound, and is pictured here with a Samsung Yep T9 player, but it’s also just as willing to couple with an iPod. It has a little spinner function, too, letting you rotate that multimedia player 90 degrees if you like to watch. Something in landscape mode, that is.
No pricing info was available yet. – Charlie White
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iLuv ‘Wing’ can turn the docking part horizontally for wide-view [Aving, via Coolest Gadgets
newVideoPlayer("fire_condom_gawker.flv", 475, 376);Here’s another slice of brilliance from American Inventor. This one’s a Fire Condom, a big ol’ tinfoil tube to put on if your house goes ablaze. I don’t know how well you’d be able to navigate a smoke-filled room with this thing on, but I’m no fireman. And since when did tinfoil keep you from burning alive?
Hey, American Inventor, next season get some real inventors, will ya? These chumps couldn’t invent their way out of a paper bag. –Adam Frucci
American Inventor [ABC]
