To be perfectly honest I guess I really shouldn’t be that surprised that Walmart sells coffins and caskets on their website, but why are they listed under the ‘For the Home’ category? I’m pretty sure they have to be shipped directly to a funeral home, and in case you were wondering, they can’t accept a returned casket if it’s already been used due to FTC regulations. So forget about saving even more money on a refurb unit.
So it turns out that ’speculation’ about a newer, larger screened DSi was bang on, as Nintendo officially announced a new version of their dual-screened console this morning. The DSi LL will be available in Japan on November 21st for about $220, and will later be renamed the DSi XL for the Europe market when it’s available there in Q1 of 2010. As for availability in North America? Currently unknown.
The biggest improvement on the LL/XL is the 4.2 inch screens, a full inch larger than the ones the DSi sports. It’s also claimed to have about 1 to 3 hours more battery life than the DSi depending on screen brightness, but since the new model is considerably larger and about 50% heavier than the DSi, there’s plenty of space for a larger battery. And in addition to the standard DS stylus, the DSi LL/XL also appears to come with a larger “touch pen” that’s 4cm longer and considerably more ergonomic than the built-in one.
And death as well, we suppose. See, if you’re one of about 68,700 Belkin Surgemaster owners (model numbers “F9G930-10, F9G930v10, F9G930-10-W and F9G930-10-SN, all manufactured in 2003. The model number and date of manufacture are located on the underside of the unit. Grey models F9G930-10-GRY and F9G930fc10G-CL are not a part of this recall.”), you might want to stop using them. Like right now. It seems the device’s rotating plug has shown the ability to detach itself and expose wiring, a quirky behavior that can quickly lead to uncomfortable situations.
Contact Belkin toll-free at 800-952-1465 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.belkin.com/recall.
We’ve all been hearing a lot about Net Neutrality lately, but a Reddit reader created the above graphic to really try and hit the point home. This is what the Internet could look like if Sen. John McCain and anyone opposed to Net Neutrality have their way. It’s not that far fetched when you think about it. Just look at your own cable setup; it’s the same cable coming into your house, but you sure don’t pay one price to see it all.
Opponents of Net Neutrality are harping an old tune with socialism undertones, along the lines of “the government wants to dip its fingers into everything”. Proponents, well… seem to have a clearer head. What do y’all think?
Whenever you purchase a new PC, one tends to notice all of the extra software that comes with it. If you ask the manufacturer, they’ll tell you that they’ve done you a favor by providing lots of “useful” trial applications for you. Of course any tech-savvy person with half a brain immediately goes through and systematically removes every bit of it. Well if you want a computer without all of these “extras”, apparently you’ll be able to get one at the Microsoft Store.
That’s right, Microsoft’s new retail stores are going to carry computers without any additional 3rd-party software. That’s of course nothing to say for first-party software, as they will be installing all of the optional Microsoft software that you would otherwise have to download. This includes Windows Live Essentials, Bing 3D Maps, Security Essentials and the Zune client. Sure, it’s not a completely crapware-free computer, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
Just yesterday I was commending Google for something as seemingly trivial as changing the way we check our voicemail. Today there is something far more significant coming from the company. As if we needed another reason not to spend a fortune on TomTom’s iPhone app and kit, Google has announced their new navigation software called Google Maps Navigation.
Imagine having traditional turn-by-turn navigation GPS functionality combined with Google Maps. That is essentially what you will be getting with Google Maps Navigation. This means not only will you have things like voice guidance and automatic rerouting, but a host of other awesome features. Hit the jump for seven that Google seemed most proud of.
When building a gaming computer, each component is important in its own way. Most people focus on their motherboard, CPU, RAM and video card. However, things like your case, hard drive and power supply also play a vital role in things. We’ve covered cases and hard drives, but haven’t really touched on power supplies. These are rather tricky to properly review without specialized equipment. We currently have an Ultra X4 850W Modular Power Supply, and I thought I’d share at least my initial thoughts with you.
Modular power supplies are nothing new, but they are something I would recommend to anyone building a new system (or just replacing their old PSU). I’m very picky about cable management, and having a lot of extra unneeded wires lying around drives me insane. Of course making the inside of your case look better is only one of the benefits, it also helps to maximize airflow thus keeping your components cooler.
Imagine you crossed your desk at work with one of those Razor scooters, I think the results would look something like this Mobile Desk which I absolutely want for my next trade show. It’s got a bicycle seat and a small tray for holding a laptop when you’re being productive, but each leg features a wheel allowing you to roll around the office without ever having to get up. Surprisingly there’s a two-seater version as well, but with a price tag of $1,000 I’m going to stick with the more affordable $500 single rider model.