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extremes

Sweet Video Shows Sub-Zero Surfing with Rip Curl H-Bomb Power-Heated Wetsuit

Rip Curl wetsuits may keep surfers warm in general, but nobody recommended hitting the waves in 20 degree weather, with wind chill factor bringing it down to -4 degrees Fahrenheit. Not until the arrival of the H-Bomb power-heated wetsuit, that is. All we know about this unreleased product is that it uses "fibre-heating elements, which conduct electricity that generate heat and warm the blood." This video was shot last winter, when Floridian Adam Wickwire and Hawaiian Elise Garrigue went product testing in the "icy, unexplored oceans of the Arctic Circle." [Rip Curl] Thanks, Matt!

11:00 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Wilson Rothman
16,856 views, 35 comments

Latest by kzemach: It's probably using something similar, if not actually, to Gorix (see [www.gorix.com]). This has been around for years; we looked at some samples back in early 2001 and it does work. The only drawback is that heating via more »

Bug Labs vs BBerry

Bug Labs Gadgets Better Than a Blackberry?


No. Peter Semmelhack explains why his open source gadget hardware will never be as lean and mean of an email chucking machine as the Blackberry. The BB's about doing a few things particularly well, while his hardware is meant to stimulate the brain and live up to your imaginative hacking plans. Like legos, they're bricky and you can build stuff from them, but don't expect something slim in the pocket. [Bug Labs on Giz]

10:20 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Brian Lam
5,965 views, 9 comments

Latest by ANoel: @junyo: Good point. more »

Speakers

Computer Speakers Go Undercover as Picture Frames

Not a lot needs to be said for these speakers, since combining them with picture frames is such a strange idea to begin with. But MIRAEPLASMA's creation has some cool technology under the surface. Utilizing a "plasma technology" within its film speaker, the speakers have a comparatively thin form factor and are said to offer sound quality akin to a conventional PC speaker. Selling for $33 when they hit Korean stores, these might do well if they were came over to North America. More photos over at Aving. [Aving via Oh Gizmo!]

9:31 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Adrian Covert
2,320 views, 5 comments

Latest by strider_mt2k: At least the controller looks like the beetle version of W.C. Fields. There's THAT, right? more »

VZW_LG_Voyager2.jpg Cellphones

Full Verizon Voyager Specs Leaked

If you have been eagerly anticipating the release of the LG VX10000 "Voyager" from Verizon, you will be happy to know that a full spec sheet has leaked onto the web. A recent hands on revealed some interesting details like an external touch screen, QWERTY keyboard, and an HTML browser —but the spec sheet elaborates with features like: internal and external displays with 400 x 240 resolution, 240 minutes of talk time and 480 hours of standby, QVGA video resolution, and more. There is even a list of available accessories. The phone launches November 21 for $299 after $50 rebate with 2-year contract. For the full details on the Voyager specs, hit the following PDF link. [Spec Sheet PDF via Phone News]

8:47 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Sean Fallon
47,607 views, 40 comments

Latest by jn000: @Wegmans: yea...wegmans...ur a fucking dumbass... first ...u dont have 2 open the phone 2 type it therz a touchscreen keyboard... Obviously u didnt fucking kno nething about this fone so shut the fuck up! If verizon sux then how cum sooooo many ppl more »

Tornados

World's Largest Indoor Tornado

It's far from destructive, but the indoor tornado set up at the Mercedes-Benz museum is cool nonetheless. Using the museum's 144 air intake nozzles, they set up a smoke machine on the ground below, had air blowing in from the sides causing a swirling effect and let the nozzles suck up the smoke. The Guiness Book of World Records officially declared it the largest indoor tornado. I think want one of these in my house. [Pop Sci]

8:24 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Adrian Covert
18,541 views, 28 comments

Latest by Simpsons-Movie-ruled: @ANoel: took me a moment to get it, but that was HILARIOUS more »

Olpc

The OLPC Gets Handed Its Ass...Again

Intel and Microsoft have shipped 150,000 of their "Classmate PCs" to the Libyan government, beating the OLPC to the market there. OLPC is expected to ship 1.2 million of their laptops to Libya, but that may prove difficult given the recent news regarding production problems. [BetaNews]

7:56 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Sean Fallon
2,304 views, 11 comments

evoting.jpg Indecision '08

Uncle Sam Wants to Know How You Feel About E-Voting Machines

If you're not exactly down with the state of e-voting in the US (and you really shouldn't be), the Election Assistance Committee (a federal oversight committee that now has reign over certifying e-voting machines) wants to hear about it and what you think of their recently proposed guidelines (PDF, 600 pages). More »

7:20 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Matt Buchanan
1,695 views, 20 comments

Cellphones

Verizon's F700 Variant Could Actually Be the Samsung SCH-U940

samsung_f700_variant.jpg Last week we mentioned a rumor that a variant of the Samsung F700 could make its way on the Verizon network sometime in the near future. Today, another rumor from Phone Arena has determined that the variant is actually the Samsung SCH-U940, and it is set to make its official debut sometime in the next few months. Details are scarce but word on the street is that the U940 will feature a 440x240 pixel touch screen, a slide out QWERTY keyboard, and a 2 MP camera downgrade from the 3MP version found on the F700. Again, keep in mind that no official announcement has been made. [Phone Arena]

7:00 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Sean Fallon
10,662 views, 11 comments

Latest by Sqube: @xxdesmus: It's not a smartphone. It's a high-featured phone. Why should it have WinMo if it's not playing at being a PDA? more »

31mWi8vqbEL._SS500_.jpeg FSJ Book Review

Reading Options by Fake Steve Jobs (Verdict: Fanboys Must Read)

Whether you tune in for Keynote liveblogs, or despise Applemodo, Options by Fake Steve Jobs will be an effortless read. The opening:


It is Tuesday afternoon. I am barefoot, sitting on a cushion in the lotus position, gazing at a circuit board. This board, no bigger than a playing card, has taken years to create. It is the heart of the of the iPhone, the most important object my engineers have ever assembled. And it is wrong.

I do not know why, exactly. But it is wrong. By this i do not mean that the board does not function correctly. It functions perfectly. But it lacks beauty. My engineers argue that a circuit board need not be beautiful, since no one will ever see it.

"Yes," I say, "but I will know it is there. And I will know that it is not beautiful."


More »

Feature

6:36 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Brian Lam
9,181 views, 23 comments

Latest by yelraf: @WilCon:Actually, Shakespeare wrote about many real people, just not when they were alive. Still... more »

OS X Leopard

Apple Hasn't Given Up on Time Machine AirPort Disk Support

time_machine.jpg If you kept up with our Mac OSX Leopard Liveblog, you might have heard that Apple pulled wireless Time Machine back-ups with AirPort disks at the last minute. If you were irritated by this development, good news may be on the horizon. According to an Appleinsider source, Apple is classifying the AirPort disk issue as a known issue. So if the rumors are true, engineers are looking into it and an upcoming maintenance update resolving the problem may be well on its way. [Appleinsider]

6:20 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Sean Fallon
8,677 views, 16 comments

Latest by kaosfere: I was severely disappointed to have TimeMachine stop working in the final release, as it was gloriously backing up to a Netatalk share running on one of my Linux boxes under the previews. However, after a lot of effort, I figured more »

rbbox.jpg Gaming

Rock Band Gear Unboxed: Christ, That's a Lot of Boxes

Game|Life has gotten their box of Rock Band goodness and it looks like there's more cardboard and assembly instructions involved than a desktop from Dell. After tearing through the tree's worth of post-consumer recycled packaging and freeing various appendages from twist ties, you then have to put the whole damn thing together, which apparently requires a small novella for the drum kit. Check a couple more shots after the jump, or just head over to Game|Life to see all of the pulling, snapping excitement. [Unboxing, Drum Kit Assembly]
More »

6:10 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Matt Buchanan
12,813 views, 18 comments

Latest by jeffj-nj: I can't tell if the unboxing article (or this one about that one) is complaining about how much stuff there is, or if they're excited, as they should be... ?! more »

Question of the Day

Do You Use Leopard's Spaces?

Leopard_Spaces_16.jpg Brian and I have been debating the merits of the Leopard feature called Spaces. Using CTRL keys, you can shift up, down, left and right, to different sets of open apps and windows, while the desktop itself remains stationary wherever you go. I have jumped in with glee, but Blam is not as sold: he thinks it does pretty much what Exposé does for him already. Here's how the debate went, but we're curious as to what you thought. More »

5:55 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Wilson Rothman
14,008 views, 78 comments

Latest by ghmlco: Do I love Spaces? Hell, I'm an addict. Confessions of a Space-oholic. [www.iSights.org] more »

gas-mask.jpg Planet Cheap Terror

Turn Your Old, Dusty PC Into Ghetto Gas Mask

Everyone needs a gas mask to go with their tinfoil hat, but the problem is that they tend to cost too damn much. Unless you construct one from scrap parts from your last PC. With a paper bag base, CD case visor and a filter fashioned from a keyboard box, cleaning disk, CPU fan and a WC paper tube, it's probably not going to shield you from Resident Evil or Planet Terror-esque biohazardous tomfoolery, but the listed specs do promise protection from acid rain, your mother-in-law and +10 to haxx0r skills. [Sorgonet via Makezine]

5:40 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Matt Buchanan
2,973 views, 6 comments

Latest by noasalira: Why not called it a trailer-park gas mask? -- seems like it would be useful in all those meth-labs... more »

Apple

100k iPhone Users Jailbreak'd Yesterday

Approximately 100k iPhone users, and what I'd guess as about 5-7% of all iPhone users, browsed to jailbreakme.com to put apps back on their 1.1.1 iPhones. That's not far from the 9% owner base that Apple brags picked up 2 million Leopard copies over the first two days of sales. That's a lot of iPhone hacking. [iPhone Atlas via Crave's Krazit]

5:32 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Brian Lam
2,459 views, 8 comments

HDTV

New York Leading the Country in HD Adoption

With 1.3 million households out of 7.4 million total—17.5 percent—receiving at least one HD network, NYC is leading the US in HD uptake. Los Angeles technically has more households receiving HD, but only 17.1 percent of total households are getting the good stuff. Nation-wide, 12.7 million households—11.7 percent—get HD service. Oh, to be one of them. [Yahoo!/IDG]

5:19 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Matt Buchanan
811 views, 6 comments

waste your money

Do Hit Chair: A Smashable Waste of $6000

do_hit_chair.jpg If you can believe it, the Do Hit Chair is a a $6020, 0.04" thick steel cube that the user smashes to resemble something approaching a chair. This "customizable" seating solution was designed by Marijn van der Poll and one can only assume that the absurd price tag on this thing is some sort of art-based premium. Honestly, charging this much for something so damn stupid because it is technically a "work of art" is infuriating. In fact, it makes me want to grab a sledgehammer and break some shit. Maybe that was the point in the first place. [Product Page via Productdose via Geekologie]

5:10 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Sean Fallon
4,241 views, 38 comments

Latest by yougottabekidding: Damn, he stole my invention. All the good ideas are now taken. The end is near. more »

Most Popular Stories
Today's most popular headlines are Top 10 Sexiest Halloween Costumes for 2007 (33,604 views today), 12 Best Geek-o'-Lanterns in the World (13,117) and Initial D Takes Arcade Driving Sims to the Next Level (10,200).

5:00 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007

Gaming

Saitek Cyborg 3200dpi Gaming Mouse Is Ugly, Super Customizable

Saitek continues on the path of insane 3200dpi laser gaming mice, though its latest, the Cyborg, seems to take a cue from Logitech's G9 design-wise with a boatload of customization options—unless you're a leftie (ha!). Besides being similarly ugly, you can adjust the grip by sliding the front section forward or backward, rather than pop the outer shell off entirely. Its four-way scroll wheel also has adjustable speed settings, which Saitek says is unique for a gaming mouse. Finally, two of its buttons are apparently "freely programmable" in addition to built-in media controls. Oh, and like any high-end gaming mouse of late—a useless trend if ever there was—it has swappable weights. No official street date or price, though Amazon UK pegs it as Jan. 11 for £40 ($83). [Electronista]

4:50 PM on Wed Oct 31 2007
By Matt Buchanan
6,266 views, 9 comments

Latest by Cetrian: @Endless - Indeed! I have a sort of odd desire to spend way too much on mice. I sided on the G7 for a long time, but it lacks 3 things: two side buttons, longer batt life (like the MX) and more »

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