Hasta La Gadget!

WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Senate candidate Tommy Thompson (R) appears to be exaggerating his response to the 9/11 terror attacks, saying he was handing out bandages in New York the morning after, when he was actually delivering a speech in Washington, D.C.

Thompson, who is locked in a tight race with Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin, was the Secretary of Health and Human Services when America was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001, and he’s been touting his role in the response on the campaign trial while simultaneously casting Baldwin as a far-left radical because she voted against a bill that included a 9/11 resolution.

Thompson’s agency did indeed mobilize a massive response to the attacks, including shifting multiple teams of doctors, morgue workers and supplies to both New York and the Pentagon area.

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Rumors have floated for the better part of a year that Google has been prepping a same-day delivery service that would pressure eBay and make even Amazon Prime seem pokey. If we’re to believe a pair of New York Times contacts, it’s much closer to reality. Google staffers and their close connections are supposedly in the midst of testing the extra-fast shipping option in San Francisco with at “at least one” major clothing chain participating alongside local shops. Most details are still missing, including the price premium for waiting mere hours as well as the implied mobile option; Google certainly isn’t talking on the record. We’re almost hoping that the story is bogus, as the last thing we need is one less reason to step outside.

Filed under: Internet, Google

NYT: Google actively trialing same-day delivery from retail for the chronically impatient originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What do you do during a time of looming military budget cuts, war drawdown, and the ascension of robotic warfare? Make stupid viral video meme parodies, of course. Your. Tax. Dollars. At. Work. More »

As you know, it’s pretty hard for us to pass up fun Star Wars items around these parts, so when I saw these quirky felt Star Wars plushes over on Etsy, I had to oblige and post them.

They’re made by E. Binard, and they’re some of the cutest Star Wars creations I’ve seen. You can choose from a felt Jawa, R2-D2 or Yoda, but I personally dig the hand-stitched AT-AT and Millennium Falcon. I bet that it could even make the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs.

The felt Admiral Ackbar is pretty nifty too – though the fishhead will constantly be reminding you that whatever you’re planning on doing is a trap.

Prices for these handmade Star Wars felt creations range from $40 to $195 (USD) depending on the size and complexity of the design. Check them all out over on E. Binard’s Etsy shop.

There were balloons. There were streamers. There were brand new Ultrabooks, members of staff unfurling banners, and — once other customers started to arrive — there was even a vibe of genuine excitement for today’s official launch of Windows 8 in the UK. But whichever aisle I scanned, nowhere was to be found what I had come to buy: a Windows 8 disc for desktop upgraders. It was a faltering start, but it was also strangely symbolic of my mission — namely, to explore what Microsoft’s latest operating system can do for regular desktop folk. People who, in other words, aren’t yet looking to invest in touch-enabled monitors or laptops or all-in-ones; who rarely get the chance to lean back with a media-consumption tablet; and who simply want to upgrade their traditional tower PC before getting on with their lives. Read on past the break and you can begin this potentially short, hopefully sweet journey with me, starting with a quick rundown of my test rig (which also happens to be my mission critical work computer) and an anti-climactic revelation about whether, in the end, I ever found the software box I was looking for.

Continue reading Windows 8 upgrade diary: the buying experience

Filed under: Desktops, Software

Windows 8 upgrade diary: the buying experience originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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