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Halloween
Rockets
BALLS 17 Experimental Rocket Competition, In Photographs
"BALLS 17 is a venue for projects that should NOT be flown publicly due to safety and legal restrictions. This may include, but is not limited to, LARGE rockets, complex staging or clustering, metal rockets, self designed and/or fabricated rocket motors and new technologies being developed or proven."
That's the disclaimer on the BALLS Experimental Rocket Launch website. Their 17th annual meeting just concluded in Nevada's Black Rock Desert where at least one rocket cracked 70,000 feet. Many others had successful flights. And some just blew up. Photography by Erik Charlton. See more of his fantastic shots from the event here. [via MAKE]
Blood Sweat and Bargains
Wallet full of cash and bags at ready, I stood, mouth agape, in front of the five-story electronics bazaar in front of me. It was one of several dozen in Shanghai, magical places where floor after floor are filled to bursting with gadget vendors begging you to stop by and see their wares. Like Circuit Cities on crack, everyone inside is desperate to make a sale and every price is negotiable. Welcome to the way the Chinese—or at least the majority who live in megacities like this one—buy their electronics.
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How to Buy Gadgets in China And Not Get Screwed
Wallet full of cash and bags at ready, I stood, mouth agape, in front of the five-story electronics bazaar in front of me. It was one of several dozen in Shanghai, magical places where floor after floor are filled to bursting with gadget vendors begging you to stop by and see their wares. Like Circuit Cities on crack, everyone inside is desperate to make a sale and every price is negotiable. Welcome to the way the Chinese—or at least the majority who live in megacities like this one—buy their electronics.
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12:00 PM on Mon Oct 6 2008
By Elaine Chow
7,642 views,
48 comments
Latest by PipeRifle: I've always had a bit of a problem with the idea that haggling is "part of the culture" or "just how they do business". How often is this really, really true? Doesn't everyone want to make as much money as possible without scaring people off, and price their goods accordingly? All more »
Htc touch hd
Frustrating is the wait here in the States for HTC's Touch HD—especially when our European friends are swimming in them. German site Area Mobile is the latest to post their impressions, and unsurprisingly, they're pretty positive. I only wish iPhone-killer had a cooler German translation.
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HTC Touch HD Gets German Review (Verdict: Es ist gut!)
Frustrating is the wait here in the States for HTC's Touch HD—especially when our European friends are swimming in them. German site Area Mobile is the latest to post their impressions, and unsurprisingly, they're pretty positive. I only wish iPhone-killer had a cooler German translation.
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11:59 AM on Mon Oct 6 2008
By John Mahoney
2,038 views,
12 comments
Latest by Noobs-R-Us: I don't know. It seems that every touch of the screen to change or move something is followed by a 1-2 sec delay. Scrolling through the photos for example. Not good! more »
Laptops
AT&T Adds DataConnect Overage Charges, Pulls Plug on Unlimited Pre-Paid Data Plans
Shockingly, AT&T has discovered that *gasp* people are abusing their unlimited pre-paid data service by tapping into it with their laptops. As a result, the plug is being pulled on the $19.99/month option starting on November 12th. AT&T will also place a cap on the legitimate laptop DataConnect plan that works out to 5GB a month for $60. Overages will be billed at $0.00048 per kilobyte, which translates into a bank account-busting $480 per gigabyte. However, rumors claim that AT&T will terminate service once a $100 overage threshold has been reached. [PhoneNews via Engadget Mobile via MobileBurn]
11:45 AM on Mon Oct 6 2008
By Sean Fallon
1,373 views,
16 comments
Latest by shawn_dude: Where's that deathstar image? I think they just blew up Alderan. more »
iPhone 3G
One in Three iPhone 3G Buyers Bailed on Their Carrier (Half Were From Verizon)
Whether people were holding out for 3G, the $199 pricepoint or just for their damn contracts to run out, in a market where carriers are pretty much forced to steal customers from each other, the iPhone 3G has been a Batman-worthy thief. One out of three iPhone 3G buyers jumped from other carriers to AT&T, though it might surprise where they came from. More »
11:30 AM on Mon Oct 6 2008
By matt buchanan
5,284 views,
45 comments
Latest by RobotVampire: I switched from US Cellular to VZW about 3 years ago and the service has been great. The big reason for me to switch at the time was phone selection and price for services. The iPhone is pretty cool, but I'm waiting for an iphone with a keyboard (hopefully available more »
WiMax
Xohm's WiMax Coverage Quietly Live and Working in Six More Cities
We saw Sprint/Clearwire/whoever's Xohm WiMax tested in B-more with speedy results. And now, news from a Xohm employee in Baltimore is that the service is also live and working (albeit in an "unsupported" test capacity) in Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and northern Virginia. So anyone with WiMax-enabled hardware in those cities, let us know if you're picking up any sweet 3 mbps pipe out there. [MP3Car]
Mods
This NES Cartridge Now Stores 250GB of Anything
To the modern modder, the NES cartridge is a tool as versatile as a Swiss Army Knife, or maybe one of those blade-things that fits in the credit card slot of one's wallet. Regardless, the NES-Box is an NES cartridge stuffed with a 2.5" 250GB SATA drive. Connecting to any computer via USB, the drive needs to additional power to operate. And the best part? This baby is actually on sale for $180. We find it hard to believe that the one in stock hasn't been purchased yet, but maybe if you ask the Etsy seller real nice, they'll fashion another just for you. [Etsy via ubergizmo]
chevy volt
If the future dashboard and GPS-assisted engine weren't already enough reasons to consider the Chevrolet Volt when it drops in 2010, Congress has added even more sweetener to the prospect of picking one up in the form of a $7,500 tax break passed as part of last week's bailout package. The credit applies to any vehicle with a battery rated at 6kWh or higher, placing it far enough in the future for the auto industry to swallow, I guess; the Prius's 1.3kWh battery doesn't qualify. [Daily Tech via Crunchgear]
Bailout Package Includes $7,500 Tax Break For Future Chevy Volt Owners
If the future dashboard and GPS-assisted engine weren't already enough reasons to consider the Chevrolet Volt when it drops in 2010, Congress has added even more sweetener to the prospect of picking one up in the form of a $7,500 tax break passed as part of last week's bailout package. The credit applies to any vehicle with a battery rated at 6kWh or higher, placing it far enough in the future for the auto industry to swallow, I guess; the Prius's 1.3kWh battery doesn't qualify. [Daily Tech via Crunchgear]
realdvd
Surprise: RealNetworks Banned from Selling RealDVD Copying Software
After being oh-so-predictably sued by six movie studios, RealNetworks is now just as predictably banned by a judge from selling its weirdly anachronistic DVD-ripping RealDVD program. At least until Tuesday, so the judge can review the filings to determine just how boneheaded it is. More »
Movies
This Week in VUDU: Hellloo 63 HDX Movies
VUDU has over 120 new HD flicks available for rent this week, but the big news is that half of those films are in their new HDX format—downloadable HD that looks a lot better than the current downloadable, highly compressed "HD" we're accustomed to. Read on for the full new HD and HDX lists. More »
supercomputers
Worldwide LHC Computing Grid Online, Just in Time for LHC to Go Down
Well, the LHC may be out of commission until April, but the LHC Computing Grid, otherwise known as the world's largest computing grid, was just switched on. The system is comprised of combined computing power from 33 countries. That's 140 computer centers crunching 15 million gigabytes of LHC data per year (or roughly six CDs/second at its peak). More »
Rumor
iPhone 2.2 Update Finally Brings Google Street View to Maps?
After being sent out to developers last week promising only "compatibility testing" enhancements, the pre-release version of iPhone software 2.2 is starting to spill its secrets. The folks at Mac Rumors have dug up evidence that appears to indicate Google Maps' Street View finally making it into the Maps app, after popping up in the regular mobile Maps applications for non-iPhones as well as, of course, Android, with the cool Compass view feature. On top of Street View, they've also uncovered a few other new features. More »
Teardowns
Zoom lenses are by no means a rarity, but it's not often that someone chooses to sacrifice one to the internet. FredMiranda forum member sbv20 found himself with a useless Canon 17-85mm lens after the aperture became stuck, so he did what any good gadget freak would: he tore it apart. He documented the process with a fantastic series of photos which demonstrate that even the boring lenses found dangling from necks at any tourist destination are obscenely complicated.
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Canon Lens Completely Disassembled (Result: A Lot of Rings)
Zoom lenses are by no means a rarity, but it's not often that someone chooses to sacrifice one to the internet. FredMiranda forum member sbv20 found himself with a useless Canon 17-85mm lens after the aperture became stuck, so he did what any good gadget freak would: he tore it apart. He documented the process with a fantastic series of photos which demonstrate that even the boring lenses found dangling from necks at any tourist destination are obscenely complicated.
More »
Blu-Ray
Sony Pictures Blu-ray Club: Kool-Aid Points for Early Adopters
If you're that guy replacing all of your old DVDs with hi def Blu-ray movies, then you may be interested in the Sony Pictures Blu-ray Club. Through the promotion, new Sony Pictures Blu-ray discs enabled with BD Live content can be registered online through ethernet-connected Blu-ray players. This registration will then redeem the disc purchase for Sony Rewards points that are good for special giveaways and offers. More »
Htc
We were surprised to see the HTC Diamond just coming in white, but those in France now have the opportunity to pick up the Diamond in one of seven colors: White, blue, brown, fuchsia, yellow, purple or rose. Unless you're packing up to move abroad, chances are you'll never see most, if any of these Skittlesfied options. But we thought we'd show you just to rub it in. Happy Monday! [Phone and Phone via NowhereElse]
HTC Touch Diamond Pops Up in Seven Colors
We were surprised to see the HTC Diamond just coming in white, but those in France now have the opportunity to pick up the Diamond in one of seven colors: White, blue, brown, fuchsia, yellow, purple or rose. Unless you're packing up to move abroad, chances are you'll never see most, if any of these Skittlesfied options. But we thought we'd show you just to rub it in. Happy Monday! [Phone and Phone via NowhereElse]
Led
It's not built quite yet, but Tameer Holding is constructing the world's largest LED screen in Dubai for a commercial office building named The Podium. The gigantic display will be implemented as the building's facade, reaching 33 stories into the sky and maintaining visibility up to a mile away. (Needless to say, that's a lot bigger than we are building displays in America.)
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The World's Largest LED Screen Is, Of Course, In Dubai
It's not built quite yet, but Tameer Holding is constructing the world's largest LED screen in Dubai for a commercial office building named The Podium. The gigantic display will be implemented as the building's facade, reaching 33 stories into the sky and maintaining visibility up to a mile away. (Needless to say, that's a lot bigger than we are building displays in America.)
More »
mousing
