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Monthly Archives: March 2013

This Ring Is Carved Straight Out Of A Diamond — 150 Carats’ Worth

By David Ponce on 03/22/12 • 32 Comments

By David Ponce

The above is not a gadget, not exactly new, but it is all kinds of amazing. It’s the creation of Mohamed Shawesh, President and CEO of Shawish Jewelry. It could be called “the world’s first diamond ring” and it wouldn’t be a lie. very other “diamond ring” out there is really a “ring of gold, studded with diamonds.” This on the other hand, well is a ring that’s been carved entirely from a giant diamond. Using lasers and traditional diamond cutting and polishing techniques, the ring weighs in at an impressive 150 carats. A year went into its making and its design is copyrighted, much like the shape of the Coke bottle is. It’s expected to sell for $70 million, though it was recently on display at Baselworld, leading us to believe that it has found no buyer. Yet.

[ Company Website ] VIA [ BornRich ]

ModMyPi Offers Case For Raspberry Pi, 5% Kickback To Foundation

By David Ponce on 03/22/12 • 2 Comments

By David Ponce

So you might have heard about the Raspberry Pi, that deck-of-cards-sized $35 computer that runs Linux and has a Broadcom BCM2835 system on a chip (SoC), which includes an ARM1176JZF-S 700 MHz processor, VideoCore IV GPU, and 256 Megabytes of RAM. It’s supposed to promote the use of computers in schools, but at that price point, people are grabbing it for all sorts of reasons. We hear it runs HD video just fine, even if it has to be stored on a separate SD card. Anyway, for $35 what you get is a pretty bare bones system, with no case. ModMyPi is selling just such a case, which comes in 5 different colour combinations. They’re made out of perforated ABS plastic, which should keep your Pi cool while keeping the dust out. They cost “£7.99 ($12.70) for the black or white versions. The other colors will cost an extra £1.99 ($3.15), as will international shipping. So the price ranges from $12.70 up to $18.99 depending on your selection and location. To sweeten the deal, ModMyPi will donate 5% of their profits to the Raspberry foundation.

Hit the jump for a couple more pics and links.

… Continue Reading

Deal Of The Day: $639 Off On Dell XPS 17 Core i7

By David Ponce on 03/22/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

The Dell XPS 17 is a large laptop. Not necessarily a heavy one, but at 17 inches, it’s a lot bigger than the Ultrabooks that are all the rage these days. But larger does mean you can fit more stuff in it, and in this case, we’re looking at a pretty beefy Core i7-2670M 2.2GHz Quad-core Laptop powered by 8GB RAM and with a 750GB 7200RPM Hard Drive. Other features include 1080p LCD, Backlit Keyboard, 3GB GeForce GT 555M & Blu-ray Burner. And while all this would normally cost $1,818, it’s now $1,179 after a $639 rebate.

[ $639 Off On Dell XPS 17 Core i7 ] VIA [ LogicBuy ]

Seagate GoFlex Desk 4TB USB 3.0 Drive Reviewed. Verdict: Colossal Speed.

By Ian Chiu on 03/22/12 • Leave a comment!

We were already huge fans of Seagate’s line of GoFlex External Hard Drives but they are now first to cross the 4TB barrier with their Seagate GoFlex Desk. For the uninitiated, the GoFlex line of drives allow for buying one drive with a specific connector (USB, FireWire, eSATA) and the ability to accessorize with each of the other types. FireWire at home and eSATA at the office, or just carry the connector with you if you don’t have a heterogeneous situation to solve. The large volume of the latest drive may appeal to many walks of life charged with toting the massive amounts of data that the GoFlex Desk 4TB enables. The interchangeable interface feature means that you can support the fastest possible manipulation of that data. Working with VMs or DB backups isn’t trivial with regards to size. Moving data on that scale can be downright glacial with older transfer protocols.

Seagate’s USB 3.0 connector has clocked some amazing speeds during tests and the USB 3.0 to SATA converter that runs the GoFlex Desk looks like it might work for other SATA drives in a pinch too. That’s a nice piece of added value but your mileage may vary. There are some possible problems working with data past 2TB, so do your research. Make sure you know which protocol you can use and where. You’ll also want to spend some time checking your OS’s support for 2TB+ drives. Older operating systems may require patching if they will even work at all. We’d check out this article for details about the speed and compatibility if you are planning a trip 4TB into outer space.

[Seagate Desk GoFlex 4TB Review @ Everything USB]

Video: New iPad Hit With Heavy Ammunition In Slow Motion

By David Ponce on 03/21/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

Geeks tend to like new gadgets. That’s why you’re here. But they also like things that are awesome. Weapons can sometimes be pretty awesome. So it stands to reason that combining the two and filming the union in slow motion makes for some pretty crazy footage. In the above video, you can see Apple’s newest iPad take a few hits from a couple of different projectiles. First, it’s a bunch of 0.223 rounds fired from an HK53 assault rifle. But that’s just the appetizer. Then, it’s a Benelli M4 Super 90 shotgun packing some very special cartridges. They’re full of flechettes (little steel arrows) and bolo rounds (these are two metal balls joined by a wire). The damage this time, is pretty impressive.

And that’s it really. Just some dude shooting an iPad.

VIA [ Geekologie ]

Shuttle Pr0n: Fascinating Video On Board The Shuttle’s Booster Rockets

By David Ponce on 03/21/12 • 1 Comment

By David Ponce

We’re all sad that the shuttle program is over. Space exploration is just no longer the cool thing it was; government dollars for NASA have been dwindling for years. This shifting of priorities is due to the fact that we’re no longer “at war” with the USSR. The cold war meant that each power had to constantly outdo the other and the race into space was as good a way as any to try and one-up your adversary. But all that’s a distant past. So, to relive some of the memories, maybe you could watch the above video. It’s a fascinating 400 second journey of a couple of cameras strapped to the side of the booster rockets on Atlantis and Endeavour. They reach speeds of 3,000pmh and 41 miles of height before noisily re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the ocean. It’s all caught in multiple angles and is well worth the watch.

VIA [ GeeksAreSexy ]

It’s Time To Go Medieval On That Office

By David Ponce on 03/21/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

Nothing says “I’ve been shopping at Thinkgeek!” like showing up at the office with a desk catapult. Or trebuchet. We’re not sure. See, the rubber band says catapult, as does the fact that its mechanism relies on it. Also… the name. But that plastic “weight” at the bottom of the swing arm says trebuchet. We’re going to side on catapult though, since a little plastic nubbin would probably not contribute much weight to anything. So yeah… nerdy discussion aside, what you have here is a device capable of throwing spiky foam balls at up to 40ft. That should be far enough to keep you occupied for an afternoon, after which you might have to spend some time explaining to HR why you spent the best part of a day running around the office picking up little foam balls from the floor.

It’s $15.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

Sonastand Is Practical, Portable iPhone Sound Amplifier

By David Ponce on 03/21/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

This little object has been making the rounds lately but we were a little slow on the trigger and missed the mark entirely. Better late than never, we say, and so we bring you news of the Sonastand. It’s a fully funded Kickstarter project consisting of a piece of machined aluminum we certainly wouldn’t mind carrying around. See, it’s both a stand for the iPhone and an amplifying horn in one. There’s no complicated docking maneuver to use it, you simply slide the phone in and the speakers will be positioned right where they need to be. In audio tests, the Sonastand has shown to provide considerable decibel improvement. It’s easy to carry around; a little pouch is even provided. It will eventually come in 4 sizes to accommodate cases and the like. And the best part is that it’s not too expensive, at $35, with expected delivery in June of this year.

Hit the jump for pictures, a video, and links.

… Continue Reading

Laptop Sleeve To Cost 10,000 Times The Price Of The MacBook Pro It Could “Protect”

By David Ponce on 03/20/12 • 2 Comments

By David Ponce

We’ve always wondered what an object covered in 8,800 diamonds would look like, and how much it would cost. Well, you’re looking at it up there, and it costs $11million. Inspired by the infamous IAmRich $999 iPhone app that came out in 2008, Coverbee (the company behind this product) has spent the time since “perfecting” the sleeve. They needed to find a way to make sure the diamonds would stay put and that the sleeve itself wouldn’t scratch the laptop its supposed to be protecting. To this end, they fitted the opening with rare black sable fur from Siberia. Each one of its diamonds is graded VS clarity and F in colour and has its own certificate of authenticity. And if you have the cash and decide to buy, it’ll be shipped to you “by a prominent Secure Logistics company, that is normally used to carry gold bars and bank notes of the Federal Bank.”

We have a feeling this could be a hoax of some kind, simply because of some of the things said in the description of the product. Hard to explain what, other than saying it’s a hunch. Still, in case it’s an actual product, you have to get in touch with Coverbee directly to place an order (as opposed to, say, pressing a couple buttons on an ebusiness website).

[ Product Page ] VIA [ BornRich ]

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