Wednesday, August 22, 2007
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Google Conquers the Stars After Fully Invading Earth
9:09PM Jesus Diaz | After taking over planet Earth Google is all over the stars like James T. Kirk on blonde alien chicks: they just added a new option to watch the skies in Google Earth. We tried it and it’s quite good, even if some of the photos don’t smoothly blend into each other. The search works great and they even have a time lapse mode to watch planet movements in relation to the stars. Go get it at Warp 9. [Google Earth] galleryPost('googlesky', 8, 'Google Earth Sky Mode'); More »
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Rowing Across Canada in a ‘Road-Boat’
7:35PM Gizmodo US Edition | In 2001 some Canadians tried to row across their home country using a ‘road-boat’. This is a vehicle made of several rowing machines, powered by a group of muscular Canadians. They failed then, but now they’re trying again. The team will be fund raising for The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, so we hope that this time they make it all the way. [Rowing Across Canada] More »
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Sharp Unveils “Experimental” LCD TVs Just 20 mm Thick
7:20PM Addy Dugdale | Sharp has unveiled a new LCD TV, described by its president as “experimental.” And if you thought that three-and-a-quarter inches was thin, then try three-quarters of an inch. Mikio Katayama, President of Sharp, didn’t go into too much detail about the new screens, but this is what he did say: galleryPost('sharpthinlcd', 8, 'Sharp LCD'); More »
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We already touched the Samsung VP-HMX10A …
7:18PM Jesus Diaz | We already touched the Samsung VP-HMX10A in July, but Samsung is bringing it to IFA 2007 in Berlin and we will be there to play with it. [Akihabara] More »
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This is What a 32GB SD Card Would Look Like if Scaled To Size…
6:00PM Brian Lam | …per bit, from a 1GB SD card. We saw the 32GB SDHC monster at CES where they were announced, but Toshiba just announced their availability in Japan for $700. There’s an 8GB microSD card, and a 16GB SD card, too. It’s nice to realize that all our phones and computers could one day pack their memory footprint in something the size of a postage stamp. [Impress thanks Gadgetress] More »
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Logitech G51 Speakers Bestow Serious Surround Sound Upon the Lamest of Games
6:00PM Wilson Rothman | Logitech’s $200 G51 surround-sound speakers work with hot new 5.1 sound cards thanks to a direct six-channel input, but they were designed to intensify even lame-ass stereo games with a 5.1 matrixing mode and an explosive 56-watt subwoofer. The system has an integrated headphone jack for conveniently talking trash with the other kids combatants. But say your mom suddenly interrupts the melee with your favorite PB&J—Logitech thought of that, too. The dual mute function allows you to mute the audio coming out of the speakers so your mom doesn’t complain about you going deaf. And it lets you mute your headset, so your battalion of renegade mercenaries (or is that mercenary renegades?) don’t have to hear the dreaded, “I love you too, mommy.” The final touch, for the more artistic gamer, is something called G-Skin. The speakers have clear shells, under which you can insert your own “personal artwork.” Hopefully, once Logitech sees what your own stuff looks like, it will begin offering download-and-print artwork of its own. That or you borrow some of those excellent unicorn drawings from your sister. More »
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First Look at Microsoft’s Crazy Sidewinder Gaming Mouse (Designed by Darth Vader)
5:50PM Brian Lam | The first joystick I ever bought was a Msft Sidewinder. Some hands on time with their new mouse, the first ever to carry this brand, was very positive: it’s worthy of the marquee and a is a well engineered pointer, even if it does look like a Darth Vader’s Imperial interrogation droid-ette. Or a hydrofoil. First off, a button can be assigned to have your character spin 180-degrees to about-face the punk firing over your shoulder. Then, interchangeable weights can add up to 30 grams of heft under the mouse’s center of gravity, and swappable pads offer 3 levels of glide. I’ve got a gallery of press shots and hands on, if you care to read on. More »
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Tyre Pressure Monitor for Lazy Car Nerds
5:27PM Brian Lam | To check your car’s air pressure, you could get an air pressure gauge, or kick the tyres, but that wouldn’t be quite as geeky as this aftermarket tyre pressure monitor. Four caps with sensor read each tyre’s pressure and relay it wirelessly to the dashboard-mounted LCD. The setup also informs you if your tyre rapidly deflates, alerting you of a flat. Coo, but two problems: More »
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Motorola RAZR2 On Sale Now
5:00PM Brian Lam | As expected, that hot damn RAZR2 just went on sale for $250 little green doggies at Sprint. This is a far cry from the $500 that the original RAZR went for at its launch. Expect other carriers to be following suit now or later with their RAZR2 variants. [Sprint] More »
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