Google to beta test 1Gbps fiber internet service at Stanford’s Residential Subdivision

Right after having a giant Christmas tree as your mascot comes the next best reason to be a Cardinal: the chance to have 1Gbps internet from Google. If you’ll recall, the Big G announced earlier this year that it was planning to rollout a 1Gbps fiber connection to between 50,000 and 500,000 homes in a given community, and while the search is still ongoing for the perfect fit (that’s expected to be announced by the year’s end), Google’s using a sliver of Stanford’s campus to trial things before heading public. The university’s Residential Subdivision — a group of approximately 850 faculty- and staff-owned homes on campus — will be the testing grounds for the aforesaid internet service, and the current plan is to break ground on the initiative in early 2011. El Goog chose Stanford for a couple of reasons: first, it’s bright enough to realize how awesome of a PR move this is, and second, this chunk of campus is spitting distance from Mountain View. Third, the Cardinal mascot was down with it — and seriously, who is Google to question that thing?

Google to beta test 1Gbps fiber internet service at Stanford’s Residential Subdivision originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lego Chess-Set Costs More Than a MacBook Air

How great would it be to make Lego models for a living? Ask Derek Seiple: At least part of his income comes from building and selling these Lego chess-sets on nerdcraft store Etsy.

The sets are made to order: you pay, then Derek orders the Lego bricks and plates and gets to work building. The process could take up to three weeks, which sounds like a long time until you see the numbers involved. The board is 22.75-inches on each side and one inch thick, with squares of 2.25-inches. The king is 4.5-inches tall, and you can choose custom colors other than black and white.

The astonishing part of this set is the price: $1,295, plus $50 shipping. Even considering the 4,000 pieces that go into making it, and Derek’s valuable time, that seems like a lot of cash to us. Cash that could be spend on an even nerdier chess-set.

Lego Chess Set [Etsy via Bits & Pieces. Thanks, Derek]

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Moon Crash Landing Reveals Silver, Water, More

This time last year, NASA’s LCROSS mission sent a probe crashing into a lunar crater, in hopes of kicking up evidence of water on the moon. According to some new data, the scientists got a lot more than they bargained for–the crash kicked up high concentrations of silver and mercury, as well.

Scientists have found trace amounts of those elements on lunar rocks sent back to earth in the past, but nothing so far has suggested that they are so prevalent on the lunar surface. Scientists believe that the existence of the elements offers a clue as to how water first arrived on the moon.

“The silver is like a tracer,” Peter Schultz, the leader of the study told National Geographic. “It tells us where [moon water] probably came from, and I think it’s telling us that it came from comets and asteroids colliding with the moon.”

Zotac introduces upgraded Zbox HD-ID40 nettop

Zotac just rolled out a couple of Zbox nettops last month, and a few more the month before that, but it’s now back yet again with the new and slightly improved Zbox HD-ID40 model. No Blu-ray drive this time around, but you will get a dual-core Atom D525 processor, along with 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, a memory card reader, and NVIDIA Ion graphics — if you prefer, you can also get a barebones rig and supply your own components and OS. No word on pricing jut yet, unfortunately, but it sounds like this one should soon be hitting retailers that carry Zotac products. Head on past the break for the complete release.

[Thanks, Matt R]

Continue reading Zotac introduces upgraded Zbox HD-ID40 nettop

Zotac introduces upgraded Zbox HD-ID40 nettop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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President Obama Signs an iPad

obama_ipad_signature.jpg

As we reported yesterday, President Obama took time from his busy country-running schedule in order to meet with Apple chief Steve Jobs, during a trip to California. That meeting wasn’t Obama’s only iPad encounter while out on the West Coast.

The above images was pulled from a rally at the University of Washington in Seattle. The note on that exceedingly calm man’s iPad says, “Mr. President, sign my iPad.” Obama did exactly that, signing on the little red line.

The man with the iPad, one Sylvester Cann IV, describes the encounter thusly, “[Obama] looked slightly surprised, but proceeded to use his finger to scribble on the iPad using the Adobe Ideas app.” Bringing together Adobe and Apple? How’s that presidential bridge building?

Cann added, “This has to be the first time an iPad has received a Presidential autograph.” Could it be? Seems possible, though, as we noted, George W. Bush owns an iPad, too, for whatever that’s worth.

As for future autographs, might we suggest getting the President to sign the back next time? It’ll last longer.

Check out a picture of the signature, after the jump.

Netflix Officially A Streaming Video Company With DVDs On the Side

While everyone was focused on Apple ditching software discs with its forthcoming App Store for Mac, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was busy digging a grave for optical media. Steve Jobs just threw a shovel full of dirt on top.

“Three years ago we were a DVD-by-mail company that offered some streaming,” Hastings told reporters and investors Wednesday. “We are now a streaming company, which also offers DVD-by-mail.”

Software discs haven’t actually mattered for a long time now. The real innovation of Apple’s App Store for software sales isn’t online distribution. It isn’t even creating a central marketplace. It’s putting that marketplace in a client right on the desktop. For Apple, it’s having that client not be iTunes, an already overstuffed monster well overdue for dismemberment and redistribution.

The real front in the battle over optical media remains video — with Netflix, Apple, Hulu, TiVo, Xbox Live and others on the side of the cloud, and Blu-ray, 3D televisions and most game consoles on the side of the disc. Microsoft is the only company that is nearly everywhere pursuing both approaches equally all at once.

Netflix has been able to become a streaming video company by partnering with nearly everyone who makes a net-connected box or screen, from TVs and set-top boxes to tablets and smartphones.

Reportedly, Netflix accounts for more than 20 percent of US downstream internet traffic in peak times, with the heaviest traffic falling between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m — traditional television prime time.

That’s only likely to rise as Netflix streaming becomes available on a greater number of less expensive devices attached to television sets. And it’s a good reminder that while software discs vs downloads is a battle that’s virtually over, streaming media over the internet vs streaming media over cable or broadcast has in some sense only just truly begun.

In Canada, Netflix already offers a streaming-only video plan, with regular or Blu-ray DVDs as an extra, optional feature. Its CEO’s comments suggest the US will likely be next.

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HP Slate 500 Launched Sans webOS

HP Slate 500.jpg

Waiting for that HP webOS to finally take on Apple’s iPad? Looks like you’ll have to keep waiting, for the foreseeable future. HP did, in fact, launch a tablet today–the Slate 500–but in spite of the company’s purchase of Palm and the recent release of webOS 2 and the Palm Pre 2, that ultra dynamic operating system is nowhere to be seen on the thing.

Nope, the HP Slate 500 is a Windows 7 machine–not only that, it’s Windows 7 Professional. Yep–HP is pushing this thing as a business tablet. The company looks to be tackling professionals in fields like education, insurance, and real estate–words that don’t really scream, you know, “sexy” the way an iPad does.

The screen is 8.9 inches, and the device weighs 1.5 pound. Inside you’ll find a 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540, a 64GB hard drive, and 2GB of RAM–over in its hands-on, PCMag describes the thing a “zippy.” There’s also a built-in camera and an SD card slot.

There’s no 3G on the thing, but it does feature 802.11b/g/n. The Slate 500 runs $799 and is available. As for the webOS tablet? That’s still coming–at some point next year.

New androgynous International Docking System Standard Interface works both ways in space

New androgynous International Docking System Standard Interface works both ways in space

There’s nothing more embarrassing than trying to dock with your cosmonaut compatriots only to find that his port was made in metric, yours was crafted with the finest in ye olde imperial units. Such faux pas can now be safely avoided in space thanks to the newly agreed upon International Docking System Standard, or IDSS. It’s an androgynous system that allows for the same portal design to be used on both ships and docking stations, meaning craft can pair up with stations, ships with ships, and any other groovy coupling you can think of. The standard was finalized last month and just released to the world, but we’ve managed to find stunning footage of an early prototype from 1973. That’s embedded below for your scientific edification.

Continue reading New androgynous International Docking System Standard Interface works both ways in space

New androgynous International Docking System Standard Interface works both ways in space originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Multi-Touch Mouse Brings ‘Magic’ to the PC

Up until now, only Mac-users have been able to sacrifice their carpal-tunnels at the beautiful white-glass altar of RSI that is the multi-touch mouse. It has been possible to hack Apple’s Bootcamp drivers for Windows to get the Magic Mouse working, but now there is a “magic” alternative.

The Speedlink Cue is a wireless 1000dpi optical mouse with a multi-touch top and a tiny USB nano-receiver like the ones that ship with Logitech mice. Mouse clicks are registered by touching the top section where left and right buttons would normally live, and other gestures can be configured with the supplied software.

Given that the only magic thing about Apple’s Magic Mouse is how it can manage to suck so hard whilst it looks so darned good, it’s no surprise that the Cue fails to beat it on beauty: the mouse comes in white, red, black and silver flavors, all of which are horribly boxy and have a logo emblazoned across the bottom that makes them look cheap. Appropriate, I suppose, as compared to Apple’s awful offering, it is cheap, and will ship in November for €40 ($56, but sure to be less in the US).

Our advice? If you want multi-touch that will work on both Mac and PC, buy Wacom’s Bamboo Touch. Amazon will sell you the finger-tablet for just $36. Better, grab the version with the pen and kiss RSI goodbye forever.

Cue Wireless Multitouch Mouse [Speedlink via Oh Gizmo]

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Friday Poll: How app-happy are you?

A recent survey by Nielsen said 32 percent of iPad owners have never downloaded or installed a single app. Does that include any of our readers?