Here’s What Happens When 40,000 College Students Realize They Can E-Mail All 40,000 People at Once

NYU recently sent out a seemingly innocuous e-mail to all of its students asking them to opt for paperless forms. People in college get those kinds of e-mails all the time! But when one student decided to ask his mom if he should enable the paperless forms, he accidentally triggered a method that allowed him (and every other student) to reply all to all 39,979 students on the e-mail list. Which meant, any student could send an e-mail to every single student at NYU. And as things in college goes, things quickly got out of hand. More »

Microsoft plans OTA update to keep Windows Phone 8 devices from randomly rebooting

Microsoft plans OTA update to keep Windows Phone 8 devices from randomly rebooting

Microsoft is prepping a remedy for Windows Phone 8 which will squash a bug that’s caused some devices loaded with the OS to reboot without notice. According to a statement issued by Ballmer and Co., Redmond and its partners have identified the cause of the restart woes and are working on pushing out an over-the-air update in December. However, Microsoft is remaining coy regarding what’s behind the mishap. Sure, a randomly restarting handset is cause for agitation, but remembering that the latest release of Windows Phone has accounted for the month of December might be a small consolation.

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Source: AllThingsD

Chew on This: Keyboard With a Plate in the Middle

Keyboards are every computer user’s best friend. For one, you can’t really do much on your laptop or computer without one. And if you happen to have a tablet, you’ll have to endure the pains and inconveniences of a virtual keyboard if you don’t have a physical one.

I do a lot of work on my computer and I often get hungry in the middle of work. Eating in front of my computer (and getting crumbs all over the keyboard?) Guilty as charged.

Keyboard Plate

It’s a situation that Dutch designer Hella Jongerius knows all too well, which is why he came up with this ultra-interesting concept for a keyboard. As you can see, it’s not just a keyboard. It’s a keyboard with an actual plate, right smack in the middle.

Keyboard Plate1

It’s a ridiculous concept that probably won’t get made in reality, but it’s still a pretty fun one at that.

[via Buzzfeed]


Clever Quips About Facebook and Apple That We Wish We’d Thought of Ourselves

Our readers are pretty spectacular. And on days like today, a couple were particularly on fire, with a few awesome jokes. More »

Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy Note II starts shipping

Verizon's Samsung Galaxy Note II starts shipping

If you’ve pre-ordered a Verizon flavor of Samsung’s Galaxy Note II, it’s high time you check your email for a shipping confirmation, as we just received a notice of our own. With two-day shipping on the package carrying our smartphone behemoth, it’s estimated to arrive on November 29th. Presumably, it’ll be available at Big Red’s brick-and-mortar establishments on that same day, but we’ve reached out to Verizon and Samsung for confirmation. In the meantime, you can peep inside your inboxes and let us know in the comments if your hulking handset is on its way as well.

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Xbox 360 sales rocket to 750,000 in US for week of Black Friday

Black Friday and the days leading up to it were undoubtedly good for a lot of companies, but Microsoft had a pretty good week itself. The company announced today that it sold 750,000 Xbox 360s in the US during the week of Black Friday, which is technically counted as November 18-23. Selling nearly 1 million consoles in just six days is definitely impressive, especially when that console is six years old and will likely be replaced by new hardware soon.


Nintendo announced yesterday that it sold 400,000 Wii U consoles in the US during its first week (which was November 18-25), but it’s a bit unfair to compare those sales to the Xbox 360′s for a couple of different reasons. Remember, the Wii U suffered from stock shortages, so it’s possible that Nintendo would have sold more Wii Us if it had product to ship. We should also consider the fact that Microsoft was offering some pretty attractive deals on Xbox 360 bundles, whereas Nintendo wasn’t offering discounts on the Wii U since it’s a brand new machine.

In any case, the week of Black Friday was pretty great for Microsoft, at least as it relates to the Xbox 360. Microsoft also said today that sales of Halo 4 exceeded expectations during the week of Black Friday, though sadly didn’t give any specific sales numbers. We’re still waiting on those numbers, in fact – Microsoft hasn’t had any problem gloating about the amount of money Halo 4 has pulled in since launching earlier in the month, but has yet to talk actual sales numbers.

Earlier today, Microsoft told us that it has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses since the new OS launched last month. Add that to the company’s previous report that it had sold 70 million Xbox 360s worldwide, and Microsoft’s executives have plenty of reason to be smiling this evening. Did you take advantage of the deals and pick up an Xbox 360 last week?


Xbox 360 sales rocket to 750,000 in US for week of Black Friday is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Poll: Are you buying an Ouya or a Wii Mini?

Poll Are you buying an Ouya or a Wii Mini

When the Android-powered, crowd-funded Ouya console arrives next year with a near-$100 starting price, it’ll be the cheapest new game console at launch in … well, ever. Of course, the big entrenched players aren’t just taking this lying down — Microsoft’s got a $99 version of its Xbox 360, albeit with a subscription-based subsidy, and Nintendo today introduced the Wii Mini, a $99 Wii console with a fewer abilities than its slightly larger forebear (exclusive to Canada for now, but we doubt it’ll stay that way). Neither of these initiatives is a direct response to Ouya, mind you, but the three choices will assuredly find themselves paired against the others in the minds of consumers.

As such, we can’t help but wonder where you’ll end up. Does Nintendo’s revamped, smaller Wii get you all worked up, or is it Ouya’s promise of open-source freedom that’s doing it for you? Perhaps you’ve got a custom gaming rig that makes all other options look like Playskool by comparison? Let us know in the poll below!

Update: That whole “voting” part of the poll below seems to not be playing nice with our new look. Alas, we’re working on a fix right this minute, and will let you know as soon as you’re clear to vote. Terribly sorry about that!

Update 2: And we’re clear! Cast votes to your heart’s content!

Continue reading Poll: Are you buying an Ouya or a Wii Mini?

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The Daily Roundup for 11.27.2012

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Continue reading The Daily Roundup for 11.27.2012

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Rev. Run Weight Loss: Hip-Hop Legend Drops 22 Pounds In Effort To Lower Diabetes Risk

At 48, Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons is finally hitting his stride with a healthy diet and exercise routine that he says is on par with achieving the kind of physique he’ll need to keep up with his Run-D.M.C. group mate Darryl “D.M.C” McDaniels.

“I just did a concert with D.M.C. after 13 years, and after losing some pounds for that, I felt really good,” Simmons told The Huffington Post. “We got good reviews for having lots of energy on stage and I realized that if I’m going to continue to do shows … I gotta be in Mick Jagger-type of condition.”

But aesthetic goals (and criticism from the public) aside, Simmons says his new healthy-living routine is rooted in something far more serious — combating his higher-than-average risk for Type 2 diabetes.

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New Ron English Exhibition At Opera Gallery Brings ‘Crucial Fiction’ To New York (PHOTOS)

Ron English broke into the art scene as a student in the 1980s, hi-jacking billboards and replacing them with his own work. His irreverent pop culture mashups combine vandalism, advertising and classical art technique on the jam-packed canvas. The Pop Surrealist has been dubbed the “the father of street art,” and we’re not going to question this status.

ron english crucial fiction

English’s current exhibition “Crucial Fiction,” now at Opera Gallery in New York, is a collaboration between the established artist and his former self. The gallery asks, “What might happen if a 50-year-old man at the height of his powers as fine artist and painter could finally animate the elaborate visions constructed by his 8-year-old self, that boy who dug holes to China in the backyard while imagining every blade of grass as a green army soldier laid low by the advancing plastic hordes of cowboys, Indians and assorted disposable heroes?” This hopeful premise doesn’t only sound ripe for a great exhibition, but possibly also a Disney movie starring — dare we say it — Bruce Willis.

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