Hasta La Gadget!

The space shuttle Endeavour began the final leg of its journey to the California Signs Center Museum yesterday. The shuttle was on the back of the giant trailer and is being towed through Los Angeles city streets. The trip will take two days even though the distance is only 12 miles.

The retired space shuttle is making its final parade lap through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles. People all around the area can travel to the shuttle’s route and watch as it’s towed down city streets to its end location. There will be some sort of choreographed dance tribute by the Fame actress Debbie Allen outside The Forum and the Endeavour will stop for the performance.

The custom-made NASA transporter will haul the space shuttle through the streets of Los Angeles, and that transporter is pulled by a quartet of computer-controlled vehicles. I mentioned previously that a Toyota Tundra pickup will pull the space shuttle on its final leg. Accommodations to allow the space shuttle to make it down the streets required some trees to be removed.

Some residents of Los Angeles complained that despite the fact that the removed trees would be replaced; it would take many years for the new growth to reach the same size as the old-growth trees that had to be removed. The California Science Center Foundation will be replanting up to four trees in place of each tree that had to be removed and providing two years of free tree maintenance. If you live in the area, and want to see exactly where the space shuttle will be at a given time of the day today and tomorrow a timeline is available at the source below.

[via MSNBC]

Space shuttle Endeavour on its way through Los Angeles is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Well, that’s a form factor you don’t see that often. Of all the Windows 8 PCs we’ve seen so far, the Dell XPS 12 is tough to forget, if only because it’s the only one whose screen flips inside the hinge like an easel. We already got hands-on at IFA last month, but now we’re learning some key details — you know, like pricing and availability. Dell just announced that it will go up for pre-order today, starting at $1,199. (It will ship October 26th, the day Windows 8 launches.) That’s a princely sum indeed compared to some of the other Windows 8 ultraportables we’ve seen, but it’s important to remember that this runs not on an Atom processor, but an Ultrabook-grade CPU. And while you might assume that 12.5-inch display makes do with 1,366 x 768 resolution, it’s actually a dense 1080p panel. Hopefully we’ll get to review a final unit soon, but in the meantime feast yourself on a fresh round of hands-on shots below.

Filed under: Laptops, Dell

Dell XPS 12 Windows 8 convertible priced at $1,199 and up, ships this month with pre-orders starting today originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It would appear that Dell wants to get in on the party early with three Windows 8 computers it’s putting up for pre-order here this morning for a release date “soon after Windows 8 is officially available on October 26.” With the XPS 12 convertible laptop, the XPS One 27 All-in-one, and the Inspiron One 23 All-in-one ready for action, you’ll not be left wanting for the Windows 8 touch-capable environment in all its glory. This release will be strictly pre-order inside the United States on Friday, the 12th of October (today), with releases of the actual physical devices aimed nearer the end of this month.

This update from Dell has you not just able to pre-order the new machines, but the Windows 8 operating system on a set of other compatible Dell machines on the market right this minute as well. Of course no matter what you pick up, Windows 8 won’t be getting to your door before October 26th – after that though, it’ll be a free-for-all. Over at Dell.com they’ve got your whole Windows 8 collection, everything you could possibly want, up for pre-order and regular order right now.

Dell’s XPS 12 is a strange, flippy beast – have a peek at our hands-on from August of this year to see how it looked when Dell first brought it out for sunlight. It’s got a flip hinge to it so you can use it as a normal laptop or can twist it around and push it down for a massive tablet, too. With a full HD display at 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and full touch capacity you’ll have a hard time saying no – this attached to a price of $1,199 USD on pre-order from today.

A couple of Dell All-in-one machines are also up for order this morning, the XPS One 27 and the Inspiron One 23. With the XPS One 27 you’ll get a massive quad HD (2560 x 1440) display – the same as it’s had in the past – but this time with touch capabilities so you can make full use of Windows 8 and its full touch user interface. This update also has an articulating stand that’s able to tilt the display to a 60 degree angle – flexibility indeed! This device rings in at $1,599.99 USD. Have a peek at our XPS One 27 hands-on right this minute to see the layback.

The Inspiron One 23 brings on a lovely full HD (1920 x 1080) display and a single-cord setup to match its full touch-sensitive interface with Windows 8, all of it running on Intel’s 3rd Generation Core chipset, with several iterations available for pre-order. This model will run you $779.99 USD for starters.

Also of note is an updated version of the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook, a device that’s now got Ivy Bridge with full Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics – this update comes in at $999 USD and is up in the Dell store right this minute as well. Have a peek at our original Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook review to see what this device is all about.

In the UK, meanwhile, the XPS 12 convertible running Windows 8 will be starting at £999, the XPS One 27 with touch at £1,779, and the Inspiron One 23 AIO with touch at £879.

Dell hits Windows 8 PC pre-order market with a bang is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Windows 8 launches on October 26. It’s been said to be Microsoft’s most important product launch to date. And Redmond is reportedly prepped to properly support the product with a massive marketing campaign. Forbes reports the campaign costs between $1.5-$1.8 billion, making it the largest product launch in the history of the industry.

Microsoft has strangely been relatively quiet about Windows 8 so far. On the eve of its release, the company seems to be instead focusing on Bing and Internet Explorer 9 marketing. But that should change in the coming days. Windows 8 launches in two weeks. And thanks to its differences, unlike previous Windows versions, Microsoft has to sell the OS to the average consumer, the enthusiast and corporate IT manager.

Windows 8 is different and not different in a good way demonstrated by Windows Phone 8. Microsoft’s upcoming mobile OS is unlike iOS and Android. Everything from the notifications to apps to workflow is different but also refreshing. The smartphone market has doubled in size nearly every year for the last five years. Most consumers have not been on a particular mobile platform long enough to have the workflow utterly ingrained within their DNA. At this point, a change to something else could be welcomed, even celebrated. But that’s not the case for Windows 8.

Windows has featured the same flow for 17 years. As the dominant desktop OS in the world, there is a large chunk of the world’s populace who have only used Windows. I’m a big fan of it on a mobile device, but not a desktop computer. Microsoft wisely knew that it was going to have to spend big money to convince users that different is good, and that Windows 8 is worth the trouble to learn a new workpath.

Making Windows 8 dramatically cheaper than previous versions should help as well. Microsoft is pricing the upgrade versions of Windows 8 to move. It’s only $40 to upgrade from Windows XP, Vista or 7.

The vast majority of this huge marketing campaign no doubt targets new computer buyers. The Windows 8 marketing blitz is likely designed to get people into Best Buy to purchase a new computer. For the first time in a generation, Microsoft can honestly advertise that Windows offers something different. Replace that aging, malware-infested Pentium 4 desktop with a new, touch-enabled all-in-one. This is where Microsoft will win.

Details are still light on Microsoft’s Windows 8 marketing campaign, but expect to see the new Windows flag and the Metro interface everywhere over the holiday season. Microsoft wants Windows 8 to be the Furby of 2012. Windows Phone 8 launches shortly after the desktop operating system. The Microsoft Surface should drop in the near future as well. Microsoft wants to draw all the attention their way this holiday season, and with the big money reportedly being spent on marketing, it’s certainly putting its pocketbook behind that goal.

We have seen remote controlled flying toys in the past, but just what does the £69.99 Micro Drone bring to the table that other flying toys do not? You can say that the Micro Drone is far more stable compared to your average toy helicopter, especially when you take into consideration that it comes with a quartet of rotors as well as automatic gyro control. Just what does all of that translate to the end user and parents who want to purchase a safe Christmas gift for their kids this holiday season? Well, we are looking at an increased level of safety for cats, that fine bone china collection of yours, and even unsuspecting family members. Not only that, you need not be super loaded to own one of these puppies.

The Micro Drone is one agile quadrocopter, where it is more than capable of performing its fair share of outrageous aerial acrobatics, ranging from sharp turns to 360° flips in mid-air. If you have a camcorder to go along with your Micro Drone performance, then it would truly be something to impress the kid down the road with, especially when he has been boasting about his remote controlled toy car all summer long. The battery of the Micro Drone can be juiced up via USB, and the remote control itself is something from the 22nd century with a digital display.

[ Micro Drone is a super agile quadrocopter copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]