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Thanks to the distortion-reducing power of the ALTAIR adaptive optics system on the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, three University of Toronto scientists were able to capture images of the star 1RXS J160929.1-210524 from a distance of about 500 light years away. The image is believed to be the first ever of a planet in…
We’re generally savvy enough to avoid the clever marketing schemes of niche credit cards, but every once in a while an especially tantalizing deal comes around that even we cannot resist. Forgive us, 28.4% APR. We’d just crawled in from the desert and our thirst was unquenchable. [The Consumerist]
As most of you already know, Quantum of Solace is scheduled to hit theaters on November 14th. The second trailer for the film came out last week and while it does seem to feature some Minority Report-style gadgetry, there is still no “Q” gadget guru in the film. Personally, I love the direction that the…
Although leading up to the iPhone 3G’s launch, AT&T was coy about how hard they expected their network to get slammed, AT&T CTO John Donovan reveals that they expected a 5x growth in data consumption vs. the old iPhone. However, the spike has been barely more than half of that, about 3x. That wouldn’t have…
Despite repeated pleas from family, friends and the FBI, Verizon took its sweet time getting around to helping out in the search for woman in Kansas City who was last seen being abducted on camera in a Target parking lot. When a technician did finally arrive three and a half days after being initially asked,…
If you are looking for a super cheap way to stream content from your Media Center PC, it doesn’t get much better than this $99 DMA2100 deal from Newegg. The cheapest we have been able to find it elsewhere is around $140—and that is still pretty good. The DMA2100 is not as flashy as the…
The folks behind XBMC, the cross-platform media streaming solution, have announced that the first beta version (dubbed “Atlantis”) of their media center has gone live on all platforms: Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and Xbox. The first things users will notice is the new skin “PM3.HD”—a high-definition tribute to Project Mayhem III. The announcement also…
Well, this is an unsettling toy concept. The Epidermits toy by the Karten Design firm is a little robotic… thing that’s covered with human-like skin. Said skin can be tattooed or pierced to “customize” your toy. It runs on fuel cells and can be “stored in a state of forced hibernation in standard refrigerators.” And…
Verizon has quietly gone live with their new Dashboard flash-based mobile storefront. So far, the app is only available on the LG Chocolate 3, but more phones are expected to be added by the end of the year. That would make it one of the largest implementations of Adobe’s flash in the US. The service…
We love the modular equipment from Bug Labs, but this patent from Microsoft takes the enthusiasm of interchangeable tech and cranks up the practicality. In a long, somewhat convoluted patent application, Microsoft pitches a modular GPS system. But through their explanation, the device becomes increasingly complicated, including “two-way cellular communications” across a “voice network” and…
I don’t know when cellphone manufacturers are going to realize that adding gimmicky cheap features to their cellphones won’t make them better, smarter, or more interesting. Example: accelerometers are great but would I like to use my hands like bloody David Copperfield to control my music? I would do it to make a hot chick…
In an interview with Impress, MSI’s Neo Lin (Notebook Product Manager) leaked some details of upcoming Wind mini-notebook revisions. The big news is that HSDPA will be coming to the new U91 (8.9″) and U120 (10″) systems. But the (translated) interview has some other interesting info other than just the specs on new models. Lin…
This is what happens when a toner cartridge explodes. Beautiful! I just wish all explosions ended with such pretty pictures. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go stick some fireworks inside my printer. [Flickr via Kottke]
While one Apple zealot was video taping their iPhone 3G under Paris Hiltonesque NightShot (innocently we’re sure), they spotted a matrix code on the left side of the phone. We assume it’s just serial/IMEI data that’s often shoved in a phone’s battery compartment (which isn’t exactly an option for the iPhone 3G), but we’re happy…
According to an AT&T product sheet obtained by BGR, the Blackberry Bold has been pushed back to November despite several bits of evidence stating that it would be released in October. That issue right there may or may not put the validity of the rest of this information in question, but if you are curious…
A handy deal on this Cobra portable GPS with a 5″ screen, Bluetooth and text-to-speech recognition-saves you around $90 compared to Amazon, where it’s $282 sans shipping. [Woot]
This week at Uncrate: We hit the slopes centerfold-style on Burton Love Snowboards, add a touch of class to our drinking with a Silver Plated Beverage Holder, and learn to fly in the Eclipse 400. We also track our steps with the Fitbit, take our ‘tending skills on the road with the Evolution Mobile Bar,…
Apparently the military has been working with West Florida’s Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) for several years trying to develop an underwater exoskeleton that would improve a soldier’s speed and endurance underwater. Much like early pioneers of flight, IHMC has looked to nature to provide answers. So far, the project known as Performance…
By now you’ve probably heard about how the super-duper 1337 h4ck3r5 from anonymous busted into one of Sarah Palin’s private email accounts and posted the contents for the world to see. Well, it looks like those h4ck3r5 aren’t as 1337 as one might think, as they left themselves pretty wide open to get busted for…
As if you needed proof that the new KITT was way lamer than the old KITT, the remarkable supercar of the future was jacked by a common thug during a Toronto event. It’s been a week since the occurrence that’s slowly leaked into mainstream consciousness and KITT is still being operated by a rogue agent.…
