Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Dell is killing its four big balls XPS gaming machines (not the entire XPS line, like the standard notebooks, which are selling really well) to focus all of its juice on Alienware as its sole gaming brand. The timeline isn’t overly specific, but the clock is ticking for…
So, multitouch has some interesting applications, but all pale in comparison to playing a two-player version of Missile Command. The clone was installed by Steve Mason at the Obscura Digital production studios’ massive 8’X4′ multitouch wall—and as you can see in the video after the break, It looks like a good time, not to mention…
CNNMoney/Fortune has a story out saying that Eve, the female character to stand opposite Wall-E in the movie of the same name, was designed in part by Apple lead designer Jonathan Ive. The robot design is kinda cool, in that it reminds me of the most recent incarnation of Marvin the Paranoid Android, but the…
It took around a year to put together from scratch, but a German PC modder going by the name “Froop” managed to build an elaborate PC casemod inspired by the Chernobyl theme in the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The result is “Unit 4,” a working PC model of Chernobyl complete with a flip-top that allows you to…
Despite mocoNews’ and WSJ’s reports last week that SK Telecom and Virgin Mobile were set to merge the Helio and Virgin Mobile USA brands, SK Telecom denies these rumors and says it’s fully committed to Helio. Dow Jones quoted SK Telecom spokesperson Mina Ryu as saying the all-stock transaction merger was “groundless.” While SK Telelcom…
Sprint, we just don’t know how to feel about you. First, we hear your Nextel merger was an oopsie. Then there are reports that you’re spending $100 million battling the iPhone in a futile televised slap fight. And to top it all off, we hear that you’ve just lost 1 million customers. That’s some bad…
When you have been rouging it where showers are hard to come by, you will be happy to to have a Universal Shower Diffuser close at hand. Basically,the device attaches to the top of a standard PET water bottle and restricts the flow of water so that it can be dispensed like a shower head…
PC World Editor-in-Chief Harry McCracken announced in a blog entry today that he will be stepping down in June to build his own tech site from scratch. McCracken gained notoriety last May, after temporarily resigning due to the publisher’s pressure to kill an anti-Apple piece. Giz wishes Harry the best of luck in the next…
This Hardbox enclosure from Korean company Sarotech looks even more book-like than the Western Digital MyBook drives that have been around for a few years. There are two status indicator lights on the front, behind which sits 3.5-inch SATA drives that connect to your PC via USB. It’s great for hiding the fact that you…
A newly published patent application from Nikon has revealed plans for a new viewfinder technology involving a small display screen that can be viewed within the optical viewfinder. The photographer could switch between the optical image and digital display for a number of reasons, the most notable being the ability to enable a wide viewing…
Bike theft is a pretty sizable problem in cities, with only the most industrial-strength locks keeping nimble-fingered thieves from taking off with your two-wheeler. This Bike Tree concept helps alleviate this problem by raising bikes up and out of reach of bike thieves. It also helps save space, allowing more bikes to be parked in…
Industry numbers group NPD has just confirmed that Microsoft’s Zune’s sold 2 million units, just slightly under one year after it sold its first million. Where is Microsoft getting the marketshare for the extra million? Mostly from Creative, who dropped from 4% marketshare to 2% from Q1 ’07 to Q1 ’08. Apple’s also gone down…
Personally, I think that a “budget” Blu-ray player priced at $300 is not a true bargain, but given the prices of most of the majors out there it definitely falls into that category. The untested BD Profile 1.1 Magnavox (Funai) NB500 has been spotted on Wal-Mart shelves sporting 1080p/24 and 1080p/60 video output resolutions, bitstream…
According to confidential documents obtained by IDG News, Microsoft plans to issue a list of demands incentive-backed requests to ultra low-cost PC (ULPC) makers interested in Windows XP, such as Asus and OLPC, asking that their screens are smaller than 10.2 inches, hard drives are under 80 GB and touchscreens are not used. In addition,…
We’re not sure why nobody’s caught this bug until now, but OpenBSD developer Marc Balmer has just closed the book on a 25-year-old flaw affecting BSD file systems. He found it when an OpenBSD user emailed him about SAMBA crashing, which he then traced to a workaround SAMBA used to function correctly on BSD systems,…
PC Magazine has partnered with HP and a slew of designers to create nine “computerlicious” (one-of-a-kind) laptops for a charity auction. Available on eBay now (and currently up to about $100 a pop), 100% of the auctions’ proceeds will go to The National Cristina Foundation (they donate used PCs to schools and non-profits). If you’ve…
An AT&T spokesperson just told us that the iPhone Black dropdown reference on the AT&T Wireless website is just a temporary placeholder. The spokesperson says that it was used over the weekend for a “scheduled catalog update,” distinguishing the various iPhone models (4GB, 8GB and 16GB). Sorry dudes, the 3G iPhone is probably not called…
This Ubuntu app isn’t quite as cool as the TiVo remote app for iPhone we saw last week, but the concept of controlling your TiVo over your network is just getting started. By allowing any network device to issue orders, you can essentially make your cellphone, laptop, PC, wall panel or internet connected dog into…
Being late to school is one thing, waking up at 2 p.m. and rolling in to class is quite another. Apparently, this was the daily routine of Jaime Pacheco, a 15-year-old high school freshman at Bryant Adams High School in Dallas. Naturally, this routine created problems for both his family and the school system, so…
8bitjoystick (a site known for some good Xbox 360 intel) has confirmed that Microsoft has been working on an Xbox 360 accessory known as “lips.” What’s “lips,” you ask? No one knows for sure, though we know it’s not the Wiimotesque Newton, and voice certainly comes to mind. As does kissing and some dirtier stuff.…
