Hasta La Gadget!

Calculators were the original handheld computers, but unlike the whole PDA fad, they’ve had amazing staying power through their 40-year history — to this day, buttoned-up dudes crunching numbers at wooden desks have HP 12Cs next to them not for the kitschy retro street cred, but because they’re functional, familiar, and do exactly what they’re expected to do. Thing is, even purpose-suited perfection can only carry a product for so many years; eventually, raw technology and a new generation of users with different expectations are going to conspire to tear down the status quo. HP was the first giant to recognize that it might be a good idea to have virtual versions of its products available for a more modern medium, porting the 12C and 15C to the iPhone; now, TI — HP’s archrival in the calculator business for decades — is doing the same by offering its BAII Plus as a $14.99 download from the App Store. That’s exactly the same price as the 12C, so come on, you HP and TI diehards — duke it out and tell us which brand makes the better adding machine once and for all, won’t you?

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

TI joins HP, creates official business calculator port for iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Get 20 percent off your next Denny's Grand Slam (and everything else on your bill) with this coupon.

(Credit: Denny's)

People–supermodels, mostly–often stop me in the street and say, “Rick, your tech deals are insanely awesome, but what about food? Surely finding all those bargains makes …

Originally posted at The Cheapskate

You’ve created the Facebook event, filled your freezer with prawn elbows and no-frills champagne, and gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that Sandra in HR didn’t find out. It’s time for a party! A Windows 7 party!

The Internet has been abuzz with mirth over Microsoft’s latest marketing wheeze. Windows 7 is launching on October 22, and Microsoft is inviting you to throw a knees-up to celebrate, with a series of videos handing out tips to make your bash go with a bang.

Microsoft eschews such conventional party-planning tips as seating guests boy/girl/boy/girl, choosing a fun fancy dress theme, and hiding your valuables in the garage. Instead, a Windows 7 party will feature such treats as an overview of the new operating system’s exciting features.

In the words of one of Microsoft’s shameless Gap-clone shills, “In a lot of ways, you’re just throwing a party with Windows 7 as an honored guest.” Party on. But it’s not the first time that a Microsoft video has drawn hoots of derision from anyone with half a brain: we at Crave UK have collected 16 of our favorite visual howlers from the boys and girls at Redmond.

Hosting a Windows 7 party

This party has everything: the scripted laughter, the palpable sense of 30 years of tension between the bossy alpha blonde and the grandmother, and the moment at 1:20 where you can actually see the guy on the left’s soul die.

Entertaining the guests at your Windows 7 party

We identify with Toby, the guy at the back who thought he was out for a few beers and a chance to stare at the pretty girl on the left, but has instead found himself hanging out with perma-grinning rejects from the Stepford branch of Abercrombie and Fitch, who say things like, “Just for kicks, look what happens when I right-click on IE!”

…

Granted, none of these are teardowns we haven’t already seen ad nauseam, but seeing every Sony and Microsoft console ripped to shreds and placed side-to-side in a series of glass cases is still a sight to behold. Peruse the display yourself, found at Tokyo Game Show and shown courtesy of the Museum of GAME Science, in a video tour after the break.

Continue reading Video: a brief history of game console teardowns

Filed under: Gaming

Video: a brief history of game console teardowns originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kevin C. Tofel certainly knows his way around ultra-portable devices like MIDs, UMPCs, and netbooks. And during a product briefing with NVIDIA, the managing editor behind jkOnTheRun received confirmation from NVIDIA that it’s working to deliver Google’s Chome OS on the Tegra smartbook platform, eventually. Anyone surprised? Tegra is ARM-based and Google has been perfectly clear that its Chrome OS is targeting ARM and x86 systems ranging in size from netbooks to full-size desktops. But hey, it’s Tegra and Google’s unproven OS together at last… what could go wrong? Until that day it’ll be Windows CE or Android (and maybe a Linux distro or two) when the first Tegra-based Smartbooks begin shipping from carriers, well, right about now.

Filed under: Laptops

NVIDIA: Chrome OS on Tegra is money, not that anyone ever doubted it originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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