Game of Thrones Risk Board Game: World Domination is Coming

This beautiful Game of Thrones version of Risk was created by Fay Helfer. The detail is amazing and the set comes complete with pyrography artwork and a detailed, carved map of Westeros. It was made as a commission for Matt B, who is now the envy of the interwebs.
game of thrones risk

The surface of the board and the case are apparently made from wood that was hand carved and burned. Westeros was already a beautiful 2D map, but this this game is even more lovely and blows that out of the water. There are also fabric pouches included in the box which hold the game pieces.

Game of Risk1

If only I had the extra money, I would commission one for myself. You did a great job Fay.

game of thrones risk 2
[via W.I.C. via Nerd Approved]


Eureka: 9 Stunning Lightbulb Designs [Catalog]

Without light, we’d spend 10-12 hours a day unable to function (by modern standards at least). And sure, we’ve always had fire and candles, but it wasn’t until the advent of electricity, and then the lightbulb, that man conquered the dark once and for all. More »

IBM buys Texas Memory Systems to bring on speedy storage

IBM buys Texas Memory Systems to bring on speedy storage

IBM is becoming serious about enterprise-grade computing in more ways than one. It just struck a deal to acquire Texas Memory Systems, best known these days for its extra-quick RamSan SSD cards. As you’d anticipate, that fast yet lean storage is the focus — IBM wants servers that aren’t limited by their drives, or which just use less power than old-fashioned spinning hard disks and tape machines. Neither side is talking about how much the deal is worth, but TMS’ product roster should stay on the market even as it’s folded into IBM’s Smarter Storage initiative. Expect that database at work to suddenly get faster sometime after the acquisition closes later this year.

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IBM buys Texas Memory Systems to bring on speedy storage originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook Is Finally Deleting Your Photos When You Want Them To [Facebook]

It doesn’t change the fact that you should be careful what pics you post online, but Facebook is no longer saving your photos on its servers after you’ve deleted them. Finally! More »

Oculus Rift’s latest VR headset prototype gets a showing at Gamescom 2012 (hands-on)

Oculus Rift's latest prototype gets a showing at Gamescom 2012 handson

“This is the latest prototype,” the Oculus guys tell us. That’s great, now strap us in. The team decided to make a sudden stop in Germany ahead of appearances back in the US over the next few weeks — and we’re glad, because it meant we got to call in on them and grab some time with the Oculus Rift. If you didn’t know, the Rift is a Kickstarter-funded VR gaming headset (stay with us) that’s caught the attention of several games developers — most notably John Carmack. He liked it so much, in fact, that he developed a special Rift-ready version of Doom 3 for the headset and Doom 4 will also be heading to the VR peripheral too. We got to play with the earlier game and while there’s a video after the break, we reckon you’ll really need to try this in person to fully grasp how the Oculus Rift plays. Check out our impressions after the break.

Continue reading Oculus Rift’s latest VR headset prototype gets a showing at Gamescom 2012 (hands-on)

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Oculus Rift’s latest VR headset prototype gets a showing at Gamescom 2012 (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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X-51A WaveRider hypersonic mission doomed by bum missile fin

DNP X51A Waverider hypersonic test fails with snapped fin before scramjet deployed

The latest attempt to go past Mach 5 with the X51A has finished badly again, as a broken fin caused the missile to lose control before its air-breathing “scramjet‘” motor could even kick in. It happened just after the booster rocket phase, which accelerates the craft to at least Mach 4, a high enough velocity for the hypersonic scramjet to work. The craft ended up in the Pacific shortly afterwards instead, and this latest affair may end up dunking the entire $300 million program. The Air Force initiative is already short on funding, and the previous two tries were equally dismal failures — meaning a fourth missile, already built, may end up a museum piece.

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X-51A WaveRider hypersonic mission doomed by bum missile fin originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Awesome Lego Lenticular Mosaic Turns Batman Into the Joker [Video]

Mosaic posters made with Lego bricks are a dime a dozen, but this one is different and absolutely awesome: a lenticular poster that makes Batman transform into the Joker as you pass by. And the Brian Bolland’s versions, no less. More »

Lenovo plans to beat Surface with superior hardware

Acer hasn’t exactly been coy when it comes its opinion on Microsoft’s Surface tablet, but Lenovo believes that it can beat the tablet with some good old fashioned competition. CEO of Lenovo, Yang Yuanqing, voiced his opinions on the company’s latest earnings calls, saying, “Although we don’t like Microsoft providing hardware, for us, it just adds one more competitor,” when asked about Surface.

Lenovo certainly seems confident of its abilities, going on to say that it would beat out Surface in hardware: “[They’re] just one of our many competitors. We are still confident that we are providing much better hardware than our competitors including Microsoft. They are strong in software, but [we] don’t believe they can provide the best hardware in the world. Lenovo can.”

Still, Lenovo didn’t totally call out Microsoft, saying that the company still had a strong relationship due to the Windows partnership: “To be frank, we’re not that worried about [Surface]. Microsoft is still our strategy partner. We are very optimistic on the Windows 8 launch so we will fully leverage that to launch our new products.” The company recently launched its ThinkPad Tablet 2, designed to run Windows 8 on an Intel Atom processor, with HSPA+ and LTE connectivity options, plus security and fingerprint support.

Meanwhile, the company is reportedly planning on releasing an ARM-based convertible tablet later in the year when Windows 8 officially launches. The idea was first shown off with the IdeaPad Yoga, a convertible ultrabook that allowed the screen to fold back on itself so that it could be used like a tablet. The ultrabook is running one of Intel’s ULV Core processors as well as Windows 8 Pro. The ARM version, however, is reportedly running one of NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processors on Windows RT.

[via CNET]


Lenovo plans to beat Surface with superior hardware is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Huawei Ascend D Quad XL hits the FCC with North America-friendly 3G, 12MP camera mention

Huawei Ascend D Quad hits the FCC with North Americafriendly 3G, 12MP camera mention

We’d been hoping that Huawei’s flagship Ascend D Quad would roll by the FCC, hinting that the long-in-waiting hardware was soon to become a reality. It’s here, and it looks to be the XL version we were promised back in Barcelona, with no mention of the LTE that some US carriers love so well. Like the Ascend D1, though, it’s carrying pentaband HSPA+ that would let its 3G fly at full speed on any North American GSM carrier. There’s a slight surprise in the camera. Schematics mention a 12-megapixel sensor as a possibility alongside the officially announced 8-megapixel shooter — that said, whether it’s a quiet upgrade, a regional variant or just a discarded dream isn’t made obvious here. More certain references can confirm video out through HDMI and MHL as well as the increasingly de rigueur NFC. We don’t need the FCC to confirm launches that start late this month in China and October in Europe, but the approval guarantees that there won’t be rude surprises for the release or for any imports, whether they’re unofficial or through a carrier deal.

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Huawei Ascend D Quad XL hits the FCC with North America-friendly 3G, 12MP camera mention originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Next iPhone’s Rumored Foolproof Dock Connector [New IPhone]

How can you improve on Apple’s nine-year-old 30-pin dock connector? More »