Update: My bad, this rig wasn’t actually built to serve as a gaming PC, though I’m sure any gamer would love to take it for a spin.
I’m not sure if I’ll ever put together a ‘pimped-out’ gaming PC ever again, and even if I did, I probably couldn’t compete with this custom rig from Puget Systems. The final price tag, including one year parts warranty and a lifetime labor warranty was $16,338.89. But what can you possibly put into a PC to rack up that kind of damage? Well here’s a hardware breakdown thanks to the good people at Slashdot:
Four quad-core Opteron processors, 32 GB of memory, Windows Server 2008, Asus Xonar DX PCI Express sound card, 3Ware 9550SX-8LP SATA 3 Gb/s RAID controller, Two Western Digital 300 GB VelociRaptor hard drives in RAID 1, Two 1 TB Samsung SpinPoint F1s also in RAID 1, and Four 1 TB Samsung SpinPoint F1s in RAID 5. Puget went with MagiCool’s Xtreme Nova 1080 radiator, Nine 120 mm fans, Four Koolance CPU blocks, Koolance combined pump and reservoir unit, and Cooler Master Stacker 810 case.
You’d think a monster of a system like that would have to be buried in a server room with a KVM extender lest you go deaf in half-an-hour, but apparently a good chunk of that money was spent on keeping the system quiet enough to actually use at a desk.
Ordinarily, having a disembodied Care Bear head would be more than a little freaky. But you can relax. It’s dead, and it’s not coming back, and you can make sure of that jamming your cell phone into its brain cavity every night. They only cost $14, but you might get more emotional fulfillment out of violently making one yourself.
Well that’s not entirely true. I don’t actually sleep in a jet engine bed yet, but that’s because Motoart has only recently announced their 747 Jet Liner Bed that uses an authentic 747 engine nacelle crowning as the headboard. It also features an 84-inch diameter round mattress (since according to them, round beds are apparently making a comeback) and the open ends where the nacelle has been cut in half are covered with plexiglass allowing you to see the internal structure.
Pricing is available upon request, so I’ll let you come to your own ballpark figure on what one of these unique beds actually costs.
The first time we brought you one of Parvus’ wearable wrist computers was waaaaay back in 2006 with their Zypad WL1000 model. While that version was targeted torwards the consumer market, their latest model, the WR1100, seems more suited for those in the military or law enforcement fields. Powered by a custom Linux OS, the WR1100 features a 3.5-inch 640×480 touchscreen with an automatic contrast mode allowing it to be used even in direct sunlight. The fiberglass-reinforced nylon/magnesium alloy case is designed to be extremely durable yet lightweight, and the unit is rugged enough to withstand water, dust, extreme temperatures and other harsh operating conditions.
Functionality-wise, the Zypad features everything from GPS to Wi-Fi to even Bluetooth and Zigbee support allowing the device to communicate with other users and other electronics while you’re ‘in the field’, wherever that may be. At 23 ounces it’s probably not the lightest thing you’ll ever strap to your wrist, but if you don’t want the hassle of digging a PDA out of your pocket while hanging off the side of a cliff, this is probably your best option. And on a side note, it’s also suitable for Leela cosplay.
Not long ago I decided to switch out the hardware on my personal NAS. I had an old Athlon system that was of little other use running FreeNAS, which served my needs. Honestly, the thing was a bit loud, and probably used a bit more power than was really necessary (okay, I was just looking for an excuse to upgrade). So I bought a cheap Atom-based CPU/Motherboard combo and switched things out. I was able to switch to a better-looking case thanks to the smaller board, and now I can’t even hear it running. I’ve been tempted to use similar hardware to make a new HTPC, but I haven’t found a case that I quite like. Of course I may just hold out for one of the new MSI Wind Nettop CS120′s.
MSI just announced the availability of their new Wint Nettop, which offers a lot in a tiny package. Obviously the small size will make it great for sitting in the living room, but that’s not the best feature. Between having a slot-loading DVD burner, 7.1 channel audio support, built-in WiFi and nearly-silent operation, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better solution (at least in this price bracket). Other specs include a 1.6GHz Atom 230 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 (expanable to 2GB), a 160GB hard drive, a CompactFlash slot and a copy of Windows XP Home. All of this will set you back only $299. Just download Boxee and get yourself a Netflix subscription and you’ve got a kick-ass little HTPC.
By now I’m sure that everyone has seen the new iPod Shuffle. I had mixed feelings when I first saw it, mostly I was confused why Apple would go to such great lengths to make sure that everyone had to use the earbuds that came with their new Shuffle. At the same time I realized that some people might welcome the smaller device, and being able to access the controls inline, rather that having to try and press buttons on a device clipped to their waist whilst jogging. Either way, the Shuffle really isn’t my thing, but for those that are interested, but don’t want to be stuck with Apple’s earbuds, Scosche is on top of things.
I’ve already seen several different sets of earbuds crop up that cater specifically to the new Shuffle, but who wants to drop $50 on a new set of earbuds when they’re perfectly happy with the ones they already have? That’s where the inline control adapter kit comes into play. This handy little device plugs into your Shuffle and allows you to use any ordinary pair of headphones or earbuds. You can even use it to plug into the aux input in your car stereo and still control the iPod. We’re not sure when this will be available, or how much it will run, but we’re hoping for soon and cheap.
I don’t know if any of you got on the GrandCentral bandwagon back when they were still handing out numbers, but it’s one of my favorite Google services (next to my Gmail). Basically I have one number that I give out to everyone, I then have it ring both my house phone and my iPhone when someone calls it. If my cell phone or house number changes, I just log into my GrandCentral account and update it, and no one has to memorize a new number for me. If I want someone to stop calling, I just click a little button and when they call, GrandCentral tells them that my number has been disconnected. Pretty sweet, no? The big downside is that Google hasn’t been sending out any invites, and honestly they haven’t made any real changes to it in a very long time, making people wonder if it might get axed. Finally yesterday they announced Google Voice, which is essentially the new face of GrandCentral.
You remember that friend you had when you were little? The one with the Super Nintendo? And the Power Wheels? Who you only put up with so you could play with their toys? Well, I’m an adult now (sort of), and I’m back where I started, because I don’t have one of these:
Maybe one of those guys in the video will be my friend…
Bicycle sharing programs, where you grab a bike at one locale, ride it to your destination, and then return it to another, are not uncommon in large urban areas. But sometimes a non-human powered mode of transport is preferred, and the ‘Link’ Urban Scooter System is just that, finding itself somewhere between bike sharing and renting a car. The ‘hubs’ can be mounted to existing light poles, which are already secure and wired for power, and each one contains 4 collapsible electric scooters that can be borrowed and used for short trips around the city.
Users would have to pre-register with the program in order to gain access to the scooters, and they’d also be issued a mandatory helmet which would have to be worn at all times. Clearly the guy in the photo montage above is NOT a registered user.
The ‘Link’ Urban Scooter System concept was created by Anton Grimes, a student at the University of New South Wales, as part of the Australian International Design Awards. But it also suits Sydney’s 2030 plan to reduce the amount of cars in the city and make it more pedestrian-friendly.
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