RSS Feeds
|
US Edition
Babblebaby
|
Defamer
|
Gizmodo
|
Kotaku
|
Lifehacker
Get a load of this: the cockpit-like Acabion GTBO features a a 750bhp, turbocharged Hayabusa engine that is capable of hurling the bike down the road at 545km/h with a 30 second 0-300mph acceleration time—and, amazingly, that speed is capped. If all of that wasn't eye popping enough, the bike is also fuel efficient. It can get 100mpg at 100mph and 25 at 250.
It appears that Lenovo have themselves a new ultralight X300 series Thinkpad—and outside of the price and release date, we have all of the specs that you need to know. At a glance, some of the major features include: a 13.3-inch LED backlit 1440X900 screen, an ultralight 2.5 pound form factor, and Intel Merom Santa Rosa Dual Core CPU (2.0 Ghz / 880 Mhz ), a 64 GB SSD, up to 4GB of DDR2 PC2-5300 memory, and 4 hours of battery life. Hit the gallery for the full details. [Thanks Tipster!]
Bug Labs, the open source gadget hardware kit, will go on sale on Monday at around noon EST. But without Wi-Fi. Getting reliable open source Wi-Fi drivers in the base unit has been problematic, so they're launching without it in a special HiroP unit, named after the main character in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. There is some good news, though.
It seems that there are strong opinions on either side regarding the MacBook Air released earlier this week. Naturally this raises some questions—not only about the MacBook itself, but about ultra-light, ultra-thin laptops in general. That having been said, do you prefer laptops with a super-small form factor?
Apple Insider's sources believe that the Macbook Air's battery, sealed inside the chassis, is not soldered anywhere and is a quick and easy swap with a single screwdriver. Even so, I believe such a move would void your warranty.... Read More »
The Software: The "January Software Upgrade" for the iPod touch, including Mail, Google Maps, Weather, Stocks and Notes. Mind you, this is not to be confused with the totally free 1.1.3 system upgrade, which brings the player up to date on iTunes 7.6 for rentals, etc., but has no apps of its own.
The Price: $US19.99 plus tax (so for me, $21.46)
The Verdict: Worth it.
If you have a phobia regarding your drinking water, this BottomsUp concept may be right up your alley. All you need to do is screw the filter onto any standard PET bottle and the water that emerges on the other side should be nice and clean. You can also attach a PET bottle on either end for an easy transfer. Something tells me that this idea is good enough to become a reality—my only question is, what the hell is in that bottle on the right? Additional picture after the break.
If you were curious about how the MacBook Air's ultra-compact Core 2 Duo processor came to be, an in-depth AnandTech study has revealed that the processor is a mixture of Intel's 65 nanometer (65nm) Merom architecture with an 800MHz bus and a new, smaller chip package originally slated to be released later this year. Hit the link for all the details. [AnandTech via AppleInsider]
Despite being kicked out of public places, ripped off by the man at the checkout, bombarded with annoying "truth" ads about the horrible death that awaits you, and generally being treated like outcasts by society —you continue to reside in that little country called "Flavour." And you have decided that no commercial or politician in Washington is going to force you to pick up and move. So, for all of those die-hards out there, it is nice to know that there are still a few manufacturers that are smoker friendly.<
According to insiders and Microsoft partners, a "Milestone 1 code drop" has been released of the next-gen Windows OS. This, along with an updated roadmap leaked to TGDaily, points to a release window of 2nd Half 2009. Among the new features seen in the really, really early M1 release are combining multiple graphics cards from different vendors into one graphics system, and a new version of Media Center. It's still unclear when the first beta versions will be available (meaning when the developer community at large will be able to test it), but guesses point to early 2009. COME AND GET IT! [TGDaily via Electronista]
If you want to get a nice close-up view of bugs, the innards of gadgets or boogers, this EyeClops Portable Microscope could do the trick for you. Rather than forcing you to stick your eye up to an eyepiece, it's got an LCD screen on board. It also comes with a thumb drive for storing your most exciting shots and then transferring to your computer for later viewing. It's completely exciting, and you can get one yourself when it comes out this spring for $80. [DVICE via SlashGear]
Before winning the majority of Hollywood studio support, those partial to the Blu-ray format have primarily relied on a few points to make their case: more storage and rocketing sales at the ratio of 2:1 to HD DVD. Those are bullshit arguments. As consumers, we should have only been looking at what each format delivered and in that case, HD DVD was a more stable platform with more features on almost every disc that was offered in both. It's a moot point now, because the platform with more content deserves to win, but here's why I wish HD DVD wasn't on its knees:
When Wilson compared the same discs in each format, Harry Potter and 300, HD DVD had many, many more features. Proof is in the pudding:
Stay in the yard, Cat.
But stay away from the pool.
My kids would be sad.
[Product Page via Geekologie]
When we're driving cross country, navigating the backroads of America with our trusty GPS unit, we always think, "boy, I wish this thing had fewer gas stations and more titty bars." Hurrah for NUDAR, the site that hopes to catalogue every single nude, topless, pastie, bikini bar, nude beach and nudist resort in the continental US. You can contribute by sending in the location of nude places so people can download the "Points of Interest" to their GPS devices for use on the road. I'll show you point of interest, baby. [Nudar (NSFW) via Fleshbot]
Sure, there are really slick tablets out there meant for artists and graphic designers, but writing on a tablet is still not the same as writing on paper. That's why devices like this unfortunately-named WowPen keep popping up; they want to give people the ability to turn their pen-and-paper drawings into digital masterpieces.
Unfortunately, these things are currently better suited for writing and crude drawings than artistic masterpieces (unless crude drawings are your masterpieces, of course), so you're probably still better off just getting used to using a tablet for now. This one involves sticking a USB device to the top of your pad of paper; it senses what you're drawing, and you can hit a button to switch between drawing and using it as a mouse. Could be useful, depending on what you need it for. [Product Page via i4u]
Toshiba's new G450 USB HSDPA is designed to primarily function as a USB HSDPA modem for data on-the-go, but in a surprise combo double-attack move it also doubles as a handy mobile phone. With its unconventional keypad and 96 x 36 pixel OLED display you're unlikely to want to use it as your main phone, but you never know, it may come in handy. It does give you tri-band EDGE/GSM, 2100 MHz HSDPA and 300 hours standby time, with 3 hours talk time and three colours for around $330 in Europe. [Unwiredview]
The Mekaniskt is a robotic Tetris, an arm that can suck pieces, moving and rotating them to make the perfectly fit in place using Nintendo NES-like controls. The only problem: the lines don't disappear.
This problem begs for some kind of ACME disintegration ray to be installed at the bottom (or like some readers say, a conveyor belt. We like deadly rays better, though.) In any case, it comes straight from Sweden, the Nordic lands of Europe where Earth is ruled by blue-eyed Valkyries and vodka and salmon is the breakfast of the champions, so even if it wasn't cool—which it is—that's enough reason to talk about it. Discuss. [YouTube - The video was heavily edited from the original one. Thanks Scott!]
That free Xbox Live Arcade game Microsoft promised in compensation for the extended service downtime? It's going to be Undertow, a game that popped last November. We feel for the poor developers who worked on this game, seeing as it's being given away as a consolation prize. [Gamerscoreblog]
Its about time someone started applying machine intelligence to good things rather than the seemingly evil: the new JeJoue SaSi "personal massager" comes with built-in motion playlists and also actually learns what its lady likes in the way of sub-knicker action. And occasionally, just for kicks, it rocks a bit of freestylin' to give you a surprise. Updated: NFSW demonstration video after the jump.
It starts with a case: This week, after one company preemptively announced a sexy MacBook Air sleeve before the Jobsnote, others have followed suit. Not only is there a real Manila folder case in the works, but others, from WaterField to Belkin, are launching their own lineups. Here are Belkin's first hasty MBA-friendly bags. (They're pretty, but almost too pretty. Is Belkin saying that the MacBook Air is for girls?) Like I said, the Bandwagonware starts with cases—easiest to fudge—but soon we think we'll see companies like Belkin, Targus, Kensington, DLO and Griffin popping other goodies, from neon rubber protective skins to any number of competitively priced drives and dongles, just to fit in. [Belkin]
ORLANDO, FL. (Agencies) - Following disagreements with the Galactic Empire President and Emperor over the arrest of Santa Claus last year, Darth Vader resigned today from his post of Imperial CEO effective immediately. Citing personal reasons, Lord Vader's spokeswomen Lucy Lamarr pointed out that the Dark Lord will now join a rock band. "And by 'joining a rock band,' I mean playing guitar in Rock Band on his PS3 with his pals, back in his home city of Dyersburg, Arkansas." Later this morning, however, Lord Vader clarified his position:
This sweet fish-tank setup features a gigantic water bridge that connects two tanks, allowing the fishy inhabitants to travel between the two habitats at their leisure. It was housed in the former Evanston, IL, coffee shop the Liquid Potion Lounge, and it was amazing. Sure, it's highly unlikely that the fish even realised that the bridge actually connected two things, but fish tanks don't exist for fishes' amusment: they exist for ours. And this one fits that bill just fine.
I can't lie—as funny as every parody of the easy target the Macbook Air will be, I want one. Sure the computer's sealed tighter than Jessica Alba's underwear when the director pitches her a nude scene, but such technological chastity brings about a laptop that's sexy without being pornographic and graceful/delicate without cracking in your hands (yet).
Still, until I can justify the $2,500+ on a computer I'll almost never use, does anyone know where I can find some manila envelope-themed lingerie? [via digg]
After a mammoth building session, Lego master Mark Kelso has just recently put the last brick on his model of the Invisible Hand, General Grevious' ship from Star Wars Episode III. Yes, that photo of him and his model is to scale—it's frickin' massive. It took an equally massive 9 months to build too:
While this image of a gigantic waterfall cascading down from beneath the Brooklyn Bridge looks like some wacky photoshop, it's actually something that's being installed this summer. A new art project will have four waterfall sculptures installed in New York City from mid-July to mid-October, spewing water from heights of 90 to 120 feet, or about as high as the Statue of Liberty.
Computer viruses no longer come from the US or Europe; the hottest hotbeds of hackerdom may be in China and Russia now, but even that will shift. Soon, the most dangerous internet criminals might hail from Mexico, India and Africa, says a new study. Shouldn't somebody call Nick Negroponte?
USB 3.0 could take off fast. We believe that the connectors were shown for the first time publicly at this year's CES, and at least one manufacturer is already working the spec into their laptops. Eagle-eyed scouts at The Register spotted two USB 3.0-like ports in the Asus' M50 laptop.
You could buy an ordinary 4-port USB hub and continue on your path to be a common, somewhat unremarkable human being. OR, you could buy this cubic 4-port hub and change your path to be a common, unremarkable human being who owns the most stylish USB device on the block. Your fate, your decision. But you'll never find a $US11.99 product again that can alter your status so quickly in both the geek world and the general Order of Things. [product via geekalerts]
There's only one thing better than robots that can destruct things: robots that can destroy things and terrify people by firing flameballs, bowling balls, watermelons and bloody pig entrails at high speed. Like the Robopult, a gigantic $US70,000 industrial robotic arm hacked to throw all these things like a Terminator version of Roger Clemens. We talked with Aaron Rasmussen about how the heck they managed to get an industrial robot and some of the details of this crazy project:
