Nov 19
The idea of a “portable record player” is fairly ludicrous—what’s portable about having to lug around large, breakable shellac discs? These gramophones may not fit in your pocket like an iPod, but they sure do got style. More »
Nov 19
Caption Contest: Steve Ballmer goes on kill-crazy rampage at Microsoft Store
Posted in: Microsoft, steve ballmer, Today's Chili, Windows, windows 7, Windows7
In the photo above you see Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer performing a ribbon cutting at the company’s new store in Bellevue, Washington. Shortly after finishing with the ribbon, Ballmer proceeded to rampage the store and patrons, leaving 17 dead, 6 wounded, and a stunned Miley Cyrus wondering if she had made the wisest career decisions. Ballmer was finally subdued by Dave Matthews, who knocked the CEO unconscious with an 8-foot bong.
Josh: “I’m a PC, and I’m going to mess up your insides so bad, you’ll pray for death.”
Ben Bowers: “Anyone else want to claim Windows 7 was their idea?”
Chris: “To the cloud! With Windows 7 and Windows Live, Microsoft can mix and match its CEO’s best faces until it’s able to piece together a photo it’s proud to share.”
Ross: “Using the power of Control-X while mobile is just one of the many superpowers Ballmer has and Windows Phone 7 users don’t.”
Darren: “Moments before this tremendous occasion, Ballmer begrudgingly confirmed a prompt questioning his true intentions to dismantle a red ribbon.”
Nilay: “Touch my junk and I’ll have you arrested.”
Don: “There can only be one!”
Vlad: “I love this company! I love it so much I’m gonna cut it up into little pieces and eat it!”
Joe: “Clearly event organizers hadn’t planned for every possible emergency.”
Thomas: “Baby Ballmer cuts his own cord thankyouverymuch.”
Myriam: “Developers! It’s time to get cut and paste into Windows Phone 7…”
Caption Contest: Steve Ballmer goes on kill-crazy rampage at Microsoft Store originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nov 19
if you work on the go yet still want a lunch that’s either hot or cold, this new solar powered lunchbox design is just the thing.
It features multiple compartments and a collapsible, flower looking device that’s laced with solar cells, that let you keep the box fully charged. That energy can then be used to either heat or cool your food. And the best part is that the three compartments are all controlled individually, so you can have a meal that consists of both hot and cold food.
Via Treehugger
Nov 19
Domain names are the new used cars. Really, there’s no better way to own a piece of your favorite celebrity in the early 21st century than by snatching up their old domain names. It’s hard imagine anyone buying a domain like Facemash.com for $35,000, were it not the former domain of an Internet billionaire.
Mark Zuckerberg launched Facemash.com in 2003–the site was something of a Harvard-specific version of Hot or Not. He soon let the domain lapse, after moving on to bigger and better things.
The person who bought the site post-Zuck recently put it up on the auction block with a Buy it Now price of $35,000. While the asking price seemed pretty lofty, Facemash pulled in nearly that amount, raking in $30,201 after 10 bids in 20 days. The buyer is anonymous, but Rahul Jain, the former owner says that no one at Facebook or Sony (the studio behind The Social Network) was behind the bid.
Jain says that part of the winning bid will go to Indian education non-profit, the the Dakshana Foundation.
Nov 19
![Click here to read Like Google But Slower: I Will Solve Your Problems [Live]](https://i0.wp.com/cache-03.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/11/160x120_lgbs.jpg?resize=160%2C120 "Click here to read Like Google But Slower: I Will Solve Your Problems [Live]")
You have problems. I am the solution. For two hours I will reveal your hidden solutions, shine a guiding light through the tangle of love, and help you find drivers for your USB devices. In real time. This has begun. More »
Nov 19
We love/ need our cell phones so much that take our cell phones with us everywhere we go (the bathroom) and use them constantly (while driving). On a typical day, we touch every part of them with our dirty hands, lay them down on all kinds of surfaces, stick them in our warm pockets, and then put them up to our faces. In turn, we’re smothering our precious phones with germs, more germs than any other surface in our home and office.
Violight, the UV light sanitizing gadget company, quotes CBS News, saying “A British microbiologist claims the average cell phone carries more germs per square inch than doornobs, the soles of shoes, even toilet seats.” And you touch this thing to your face!! Ew.
Well, there is a solution: The Violight UV Cell Phone Sanitizer. Volight claims that its germicidal UV light kills 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria in just 5 minutes. You can use it to sanitize your cell phone, headphones, MP3 player, or whatever small electrical device you can get to fit inside it.
This would make a great gift for the germaphobe on your list, or for someone who just wants a little extra protection during this cold season, or for that matter, anyone with a cell phone. This little germ zapper is available for $49.99 on violight.com.
Next time you use your phone, just think about laying your cheek against a toilet seat, only dirtier, then you’ll want to buy one for everyone on your shopping list, plus one for yourself.
Nov 19
Advent Vega goes on sale in the UK, promptly sells out
Posted in: NVIDIA, slate, tablet, tegra, tegra 2, Tegra2, Today's Chili, uk
No Android Market? No problem! The 10-inch Advent Vega tablet, famously boasting NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chipset, just went on sale across the pond earlier today, and after a matter of hours, the £249 device has already sold out. In a message that sounds eerily similar to that uttered by HP regarding its Slate, PC World has confessed that the first shipment “sold out nearly as quickly as ‘Take That’ tickets.” It’s hard to say just how “unprecedented” the demand was with no actual sales figures, but it looks as if this here tablet will be quite the item this holiday season. The Tickle Me Elmo of slates? Maybe, just maybe.
Update: We’ve touched base with PC World and Currys in the UK, and both reckon that it’ll be “another week or two” before stock is replenished.
Advent Vega goes on sale in the UK, promptly sells out originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nov 19
In China, One Tweet can Cost You a Year in a Labor Camp
Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, Today's Chili, twitter
China, the worst country in the world*, recently sentenced a 46-year-old woman one year in a labor camp for a sarcastic tweet. Or as they call it “disturbing social stability.”
Back in October, Cheng Jianping under the twitter wangyi09, RT’d a post from her fiance Hua Chunhu with a few words of editorializing. The post mocked Chinese protesters who smashed Japanese products during a recent demonstration.
Eleven days later, on the day the couple planned to marry, Ha Chunchi was taken away by police from his office. He was released five days later, only to find that Cheng was missing. Family members told him the police had taken her away the same day they came for him. She was sentenced to a year in the Henan Province labor camp.
In her twitter feed, Cheng has also supported imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo.
via CNN
* There are certainly more dangerous totalitarian regimes out there, but China is the only one who is a true emerging super power. One which has a near-unbreakable symbiotic economic relationship with the West. One which national American politicians refuse to publicly condemn due to the sheer amount of economic debt China holds. If China wants to be a true global player, they are going to have to break away from their backwater mental shackles and grow up. This is some unnecessary third-world stuff.
Nov 19
Sand Glass is a concept traffic-light which gives visual feedback as to just how long you’re going to be stuck at a junction. Using the hourglass as a metaphor, Sand Glass lets its LED-pixels bleed through the lamp’s waist one by one, so you can see just when the lights will change.
It’s great, and if deployed would be diverting enough (for the first few weeks at least) to ease some of the boredom of waiting at the lights. I think the design is a little over-cautious, though, and could be simplified even further.
First, adding numbers seems redundant. Why bother with the whole hourglass schtick if you’re just going to put a countdown up there too? The flowing virtual-sand is plenty clear already, and allows for adjustment of the time remaining, something hard to do inconspicuously with numbers.
The Sand Glass could also remove the amber light altogether. The amber lamp is a throwback to times when both lights at a crossroads would be controlled by the same switch: flipping both lights simultaneously would be dangerous, so the amber light provided a buffer in both directions. With the clear visual timing-signals in the Sand Glass, amber could finally be retired.
I love this concept, especially as it could presumably be made for the same cost as any other LED traffic-light. It might even stop me jumping the lights on my bike.
Sands Of Traffic Times! [Yanko]
See Also:
- Triangle, Circle, Square: Odd-Shaped Traffic-Light Concept …
- Laser Wall Replaces Traffic Light
- Art Lebedev Reinvents the Traffic Light
- Ready, Steady, Go! Countdown Stoplight Brings Fun to Traffic …
- Cities Removing Red-Light Cameras To Increase Traffic Ticket …
Nov 19
Honda shows off Fit EV concept at LA Auto Show, we hope to see it again
Posted in: electric vehicle, ElectricVehicle, ev, Today's Chili
The Fit is a well regarded car here at Engadget HQ, models finding their ways into the garages and parking lots of three separate staffers, all of whom are now saying things like “ooooh” and “shiny” while looking at the lovely blue model Honda brought along to show off at the Los Angeles Auto Show. It’s just a concept at this point, delivering the current standard 100 miles of range while managing a 90mph top speed, more or less matching the Nissan Leaf we recently sampled and inspiring us all to call our electricians for quotes on quick-charger installs. Sadly we have plenty of time to save up for those, with the Fit EV not hitting production until sometime in 2012, and Honda not making any promises about US availability. To that we say “boo.”
Update: Scratch that, Honda has confirmed 2012 US availability for the Fit. Full press release is below! “Whoo!”
Continue reading Honda shows off Fit EV concept at LA Auto Show, we hope to see it again
Honda shows off Fit EV concept at LA Auto Show, we hope to see it again originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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