Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum 3D megadisplay eyes-on

By Paul Miller

From: http://www.engadget.com/

There are some things that you just long for irrationally in a sort of trade-your-next-10-years-of-Christmas-presents sort of way, and this new 3D Cinema 21:9 Platinum HDTV from Philips is one of those things. We just got a few too-brief minutes alone with the 58-inch set, where it proved itself quite an excellent 3D display -- it's hard to differentiate exact 3D quality without another display nearby for reference, but we didn't see any issues or worry points with the image quality offhand. With shutter glasses on the image remained bright and saturated with little ghosting, and while opinions may vary on Ambilight, we absolutely love it in action, particularly with this letterbox-destroying aspect ratio.

So, how many Christmases do we have to fork over to get Philips to ship this dang thing to the US?

Philips Cinema 21:9 Platinum 3D megadisplay eyes-on

Happy '90210 Day': September 2 Ode For 'Beverly Hills, 90210'

By: JAKE COYLE |
From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

NEW YORK — OMG, it's like one of those freaky Mayan calendar things or something.

But, yes, it's true: Thursday Sept. 2, 2010, is being celebrated as "90210 Day." It's the one day this century that the date will line up perfectly with the famous California zip code.

For fans of the 1990s teen drama "Beverly Hills, 90210," this is an occasion for celebration in nostalgia for a show widely regarded as cheesy, but nevertheless beloved.

"Beverly Hills, 90210," aired from 1990-2000 and followed a group of teenagers in wealthy SoCal families. Its main characters – Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley), Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) and Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) – became enmeshed in increasingly outlandish soap opera plots.

The event Thursday isn't inspiring any parades, but the CW network has altered its schedule. It changed things around to make sure an episode of the current incarnation of the show, simply "90210," will air.

A group on Facebook formed last year is calling it "International Beverly Hills 90210 Day." Celebrations have been organized in places such as the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, which will screen old episodes. The town of Beverly Hills, itself, is throwing a party hosted by Larry King.

Sports and pop culture writer Bill Simmons, known as "the Sportsguy" on ESPN.com where he writes, is hosting a podcast devoted to "Beverly Hills, 90210." Last week in his podcast, "The B.S. Report," Simmons announced that he will hold a special Thursday and give out "90210 Awards" such as "biggest plot stretch ever."

"We're diving so deep into this," he said. "It's almost like we're performing surgery on the show."

The columnist did, though, say that after the Thursday podcast he would retire references to the show in his writing – which are frequent.

"The show premiered 20 years ago; it's heyday was 15 years ago. I don't want to be that guy who's referencing things that happened 38 years ago," Simmons said.

"Much like when (Michael) Jordan walked away from basketball and Jim Brown walked away from football, I'm walking away from `90210.'"

Samsung's Galaxy Tab Takes on Apple's iPad

Posted by Stephen Shankland
From: http://www.cbsnews.com

DJ Lee, head of Samsung Mobile global sales and marketing, shows the e-reader application in the Galaxy Tab at the IFA trade show in Berlin.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)

BERLIN--When Samsung debuted its Galaxy Tab on Wednesday, it made a bold claim: the device is at least as good as today's dominant tablet, Apple's iPad.

"Honestly, I don't see anything [about the Galaxy Tab] that is weaker than the iPad," W.P. Wong, head of Samsung Mobile's product planning team, said at a press conference here at the IFA electronics show.

And in several ways, he said, the Galaxy Tab is stronger. It permits both picture-taking and video chat with front- and back-mounted cameras. Its weight of 380 grams (0.8 pounds) is considerably less than the iPad, which weighs 680 grams (1.5 pounds) without 3G and 730g (1.6 pounds) with it.

"In terms of the weight, you may not think it's a significant factor, but we think through consumer research that weight is very critical to enjoy the user experience," Hong said.

The product itself will begin shipping in late September or early October in European markets, but Samsung is already trying to raise expectations about as high as they'll go.

"The Galaxy Tab will change our lives," Samsung Mobile President J.K. Shin said. "It is a true paradigm-shifter."

Samsung certainly has abundant experience with consumer electronics, including the fact that it makes the memory, display, and processor used in the Galaxy Tab. But it'll be tough taking on the iPad.

"Apple's iPad is unlikely to face a viable competitor until 2011, allowing the company to maintain a dominant share in the tablet market at least through 2012," research firm iSuppli said in August.

Samsung Galaxy Tab (photos)

But Android's success on smartphones that compete with the iPhone has revealed that it's possible to at least compete effectively against Apple, if not hurt the company in its iOS device domain.

Android, though it lags iOS devices in gaming titles, does have a wide range of applications. Samsung pointed out that the Galaxy Tab will run Adobe Systems' Flash Player 10.1, which opens the doors to more games available over the Web.

But Apple has often won out against rivals with a stronger list of individual features. It's not clear yet if the Galaxy Tab or a host of other tablets based on Android, WebOS, or Windows 7 will be able to match the iPad's overall experience.

"Apple's complete integration of hardware, software, operating system and applications is a major piece of what makes the device a standout," said iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander.

Regarding battery life, the Galaxy Tab looks at least competitive, though Samsung didn't call it out specifically as an advantage. The device will be able to play high-definition video for at least 7 hours on a single charge and perform less strenuous tasks for much more than 10, said Thomas Richter, head of Samsung's product portfolio for the European telecommunications division. Apple says the iPad can last 10 hours running a combination of video, Web surfing, and book reading; reviewers were generally impressed by its longevity.

The Galaxy Tab will include Android 2.2, called Froyo, but will be upgradable to 3.0, called Gingerbread, Hong said.

Read the full article at CNET

In Japan, Walkman Outruns iPod

By Kenneth Maxwell

From: http://blogs.wsj.com/

Nobutoshi Kihara might be forgiven for getting a little kick out research firm BCN Inc.’s latest monthly survey on sales of portable audio players in Japan (in Japanese).

AFP/Getty Images

Taking a bite out of Apple: Sony’s “Walkman S-series” on display in March.

Back in 1978, the now-retired Sony Corp. engineer who came up with the original cassette Walkman as a device to allow then Sony co-chairman Akio Morita to listen to opera during lengthy flights back and forth across the Pacific. More than 30 years on, sales of the MP3-playing version of the Walkman topped Apple Inc.’s ubiquitous iPod here in August for the first time since BCN began compiling the survey in November 2001. The Walkman had a 47.8% market share, the iPod 44%, BCN reckons.

The Walkman boost comes just after Sony unveiled a new digital music service that will allow consumers to stream millions of songs over the Internet to their devices. The survey results may bring a brief sense of respite to Sony. The company’s loss of dominance in portable music players — the very category they created — is often cited as a sign of the company’s decline in delivering must-have products for the digital age.

But before Sony fans get too excited at the prospect of iPod users deserting Apple in favor of the Walkman, there’s some devil in the detail of the BCN survey. The firm says that many iPod users have been buying iPhones instead, listening to their tunes that way. Also, some have been delaying iPod purchases pending the release of new models.

Sure enough, Apple guru Steve Jobs Wednesday launched a revamp of the company’s lineup of iPods — incorporating many of the features that have made the iPhone a roaring success, including cameras, high-quality displays and the ability to video chat on some models.

But while it seems likely that the sleek Apple machine will reclaim top spot in BCN’s rankings pretty soon, there’s a burning question for JRT’s hipster readers: which has fonder memories for you, your first Walkman, or your first iPod?

Hannspree pairs Android 2.2 with Tegra 2 for a 10.1-inch multitouch tablet

By Vlad Savov
From: http://www.engadget.com/

Yearning for a bit of dual-core action on the move? Who isn't. Hannspree will soon try to quell that 1080p-sized hunger in all of us with its freshly announced €399 ($507) Froyo tablet. There's no lack of spec sheet ambition here: a 1GHz Tegra 2 SOC is surrounded by 16GB of internal storage (expandable via MicroSD), an accelerometer, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, a 1,024 x 600-pixel capacitive touchscreen, and mini versions of HDMI and USB ports. Flash 10.1 is also proudly supported, while the 3,500mAh battery is said to last up to 8 hours when playing 1080p movies. We'd be getting real excited right about now, but we've learnt to be cautious with such lofty promises -- remember the Gemini?

Microsoft shows off new controller, with transforming D-pad

By Ben Kuchera
From http://arstechnica.com/

The D-pad on the existing 360 controllers is, to put it mildly, utter garbage. If you want to play any games relying on precise movements, such as fighting games, buying a third-party controller is a requirement. Microsoft hopes it has this problem licked, however, and is releasing a controller with a new, updated D-pad on November 9. The catch? You won't be able to buy the controller alone; you'll need to grab the Play and Charge Kit to get it, and the final cost will be $64.99.

Here is the controller, complete with transforming D-pad.

Major Nelson will be giving away a few of these controllers at PAX this Sunday, and we'll be bugging Microsoft for one to report on how much better the D-pad works in this new design. Once thing we do know, it certainly can't be worse.

Further reading

• New Xbox 360 Wireless controller featuring a transforming D-Pad (majornelson.com)

The Keg ‘n’ Casket

BY H.L. Parker
From: http://providencedailydose.com/

According The Providence Journal the City of Providence Board of Licenses has heard a proposal for a new pub in the Wayland Square area,

. . . the proprietors of Monahan Drabble & Sherman Funeral Home propose to open a pub in an old garage space attached to their business at Wayland and Waterman avenues.

The license board began a public hearing on the application last week and then tabled the request temporarily while the proprietors, brothers Mark E. Russell and Robert Russell, both of Country Club Drive, Warwick, consult with Stephen Lewinstein, who has extensive real estate investments in the vicinity.

The plan is for a 60-seat eatery to be called McBride’s Pub, complete with an outdoor patio where the cars now park. They’ll need a bouncer with a velvet rope — people are already dying to get in. (More pix after the jump.)

Perfect Plant? 7 Great Uses For Industrial Hemp

by: Matthew McDermott

from: http://www.treehugger.com/

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Not to overly play into the stereotype of the TreeHugger moniker, but today is 4/20 so a quick review of all the great uses for industrial hemp--you know, that non-psychoactive relative of marijuana that for myriad moronic reasons is more or less illegal* to cultivate in the United States but not work with and sell--seemed apropos. From clothing, to food, to fuel, to a whole host of consumer and building products, not to mention helping in cleaning up soil pollution, it's only slightly hyperbole to call hemp a wonder crop:

photo: Janet via flickr.

1. Clothing

Hemp's been used for textiles since time immemorial--samples of hemp fabric in China date back to 8,000 BC--though it has certainly had a renaissance of late. Shedding the slightly rough and tough image it once had hemp has broken into the realms of high fashion, has been mixed with silk for lingerie, as well as being applied to more obvious applications where it's durability is used to best advantage: Providing material for shoes, jeans, and other tough sport clothing.

photo: Sarah McD via flickr.

2. Food & Beverages

About one third of hemp seed's weight comes from hemp oil, which is both edible but highly nutritious, containing essential fatty acids. The whole seed is about 25% protein, and is a a good source of calcium and iron, as well as having more omega-3 than walnuts--all of which point to hemp's potential for food and as a dietary supplement. But hemp also can be put to good use in iced tea and brewed into beer, fermented into wine, and distilled into other alcoholic beverages. Oh, and there's hemp milk too.

3. Paper

Hemp has been used for paper for at least 2,000 years, even though today hemp paper accounts for about only 0.05% of world paper production. Even though hemp is a far more quickly renewable and sustainable source of pulp for paper, because of the small number and relatively old age of processing equipment for hemp paper, help pulp ends up being several times more expensive than wood pulp.

4. Building Supplies

Of all the uses for hemp, even if you only have a cursory knowledge of the subject you're probably away of hemp fabric, clothing and paper, but here's one that's an eye-opener: Hemp provides all sorts of good building materials. You can make it into insulation as companies in the Netherlands and fiberboard and pressboard, and even be used to make 'hempcrete', a stronger, lighter, and more environmentally friendly version of concrete.

5. Plastics

Hemp is also a viable feedstock for plastics production. Indeed Ford famously produced a prototype car made out of hemp & soy plastic in the early 1940s. Though it never went into production, with undue influence from chemical giant DuPont playing at least a part, as the photo above, of Henry Ford taking an axe to the car to prove its durability, shows hemp plastic can be strong stuff. More recently hemp has been made into shower curtain liners, CD & DVD cases, and all sorts of other products.

6. Fuel

Yes, you can make biofuel from hemp! Like pretty much any vegetable oil you can take hemp oil and process it into biodiesel. You still have all the concerns about conversion of land that could be used for food production into land used to fuel vehicles, but the biodiesel process is certainly solid. As cellulosic ethanol technology becomes more commercial viable--something seemingly just over the horizon for a couple of years now--there's no reason why you couldn't utilize hemp stalks or other leftovers as a feedstock. Considering all that, it stands to reason that hemp could also be utilized to make liquid fuels that are chemically identical to petroleum-based gasoline or diesel as well. But since the US doesn't want anyone cultivating hemp, the potential of hemp for fuel remains untapped.

photo: Martin Abegglen via flickr.

7. Chemical Cleanup

One of the most intriguing uses for hemp is in cleaning up soil contamination. In the late 1990s industrial hemp was tested at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine to help heal the soil. Because of its fast rate of growing each season, up to 250-400 plants per square meter each up to 15 feet tall, hemp shows goof potential in cleaning up land contaminated with fly ash, sewage sludge, or other heavy metals--though hemp's use in phytoremediation on any scale is in its infancy.

*

On to that asterisk above: As Vote Hemp points out, it's technically not illegal to grow industrial hemp in the United States, it's just that you need a permit from the DEA and they're not eager to give them out.

Growing hemp is kind of like driving, you can't drive without a license and you can't grow hemp without a permit. The difference is that it is almost impossible to get a permit from DEA to grow hemp.

New Apple TV: $99, Netflix streaming, $0.99 TV rentals

by Matthew Moskovciak

From: http://news.cnet.com/

The second-generation Apple TV.

(Credit: Apple)

After a flurry of last-minute rumors, Apple announced its completely revamped Apple TV at its keynote Wednesday, featuring a much smaller design, 99-cent TV rentals from ABC and Fox, and Netflix streaming capabilities. The new Apple TV will come out in late September and will cost $99, which is a large decrease from the current $230 price of the old Apple TV.

The new design is about a quarter the size of the original Apple TV, and its connectivity has been stripped to just four ports: HDMI, optical digital audio output, Ethernet, and power. There's also built-in Wi-Fi, so you won't need to drag an Ethernet cord into the living room. Unlike the old model, the new Apple TV doesn't have onboard storage, instead it streams all content either directing from the Internet or other devices on your home network. The capability to switch from watching a video on your iPad to your Apple TV was shown during the keynote, but as of now it's unclear what content--iTunes rentals, YouTube, and so on--you can use with that functionality. Apple is also including an updated aluminum remote control.

The 99-cent TV rentals, even for HD content, from Disney and Fox represent a significant break from current online TV streaming prices. Services such as iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand currently offer you the capability to purchase TV episodes for $2 ($3 for HD episodes) and don't have rental options. While the selection of TV shows is limited to just ABC and Fox for now, the availability of cheap TV rentals that can be watched on your Apple TV, iPhone or iPad, is an attractive package, especially for those looking to ditch their monthly cable subscription. Apple also announced that they're doing away with the capability to purchase movies, moving to a rental-only pricing plan for movies on the Apple TV as well.

The Apple TV's Netflix interface.

(Credit: Apple)

The addition of Netflix streaming is also a big change for Apple TV, which was previously limited to iTunes and YouTube streaming video content. Apple TV has lagged behind its competitors with Netflix streaming capabilities, as it's widely available on Blu-ray players, game consoles, HDTVs and set-top boxes like the Roku Digital Video Player. Even other Apple products, including both the iPad and iPhone, have been capable of streaming Netflix before the Apple TV.

New iPods abound—including multitouch nano—at Apple event

By: Chris Foresman
From: http://arstechnica.com

Apple held its annual fall media event Wednesday. During the event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a new line of iPods, as has become tradition, including a new shuffle, a multitouch-enabled nano, and an A4-powered, FaceTime-compatible iPod touch. The company also revealed details of iOS 4.1 for iPhone and iPod touch, as well as iOS 4.2 for iPad.

iOS updates

Jobs kicked off the event by announcing iOS 4.1. The update addresses a number of bugs that have affected the proximity sensor of the iPhone 4, as well as issues connecting some Bluetooth devices. Jobs said that the update speeds up iOS 4 running on the iPhone 3G, which suffered from sluggish performance for many users.

The update also brings a few new features for iOS 4-compatible devices. Apple added a high dynamic range option to the camera app, which helps address inherent tonal range limitations in the tiny image sensors used in mobile devices. In typical Apple fashion, there's nothing to tweak or adjust; just tap the HDR button in Camera to turn it on. When taking an image, three exposures will automatically be taken and combined to reveal more detail in shadow and highlight areas.

iOS 4.1 also brings the official launch of Apple's Game Center. Game Center is a built-in, systemwide social network for games. Like OpenFeint and Plus+ before it, it offers a centralized place to view achievements and compare scores with other users. It also includes a system to challenge other players in head-to-head competitions.

iOS 4.1 will be a free update made available to all iOS 4 users next week.

Jobs then gave a sneak peek of iOS 4.2, slated for release in November. This version will be the first version of iOS 4.x for the iPad, and will bring all the features that iPhone and iPod touch users have been using since June, as well as the new features of 4.1. It will also bring a couple of long-requested features to the iPad: wireless printing capabilities and AirPlay—wireless streaming of audio, video, and photos.

iPods

After discussing iOS, Jobs moved on to new iPod hardware. First up was a new iPod shuffle. Changing the controversial design of the third-generation shuffle, which removed the physical controls from the device itself, the fourth generation device brings back those original button controls. The new device looks like a smaller second-gen shuffle. Like the third-gen, though, it still has VoiceOver control.

The new iPod shuffle comes in five colors with a 2GB capacity, and sells for $49.

Jobs then unveiled a radically different iPod nano. The company removed the famous click-wheel that has practically defined the iPod since the very first version. Instead, the tiny device is now dominated by a multitouch-enabled screen.

The hardware itself resembles what might happen if an iPod touch and an iPod shuffle made a baby. Like the shuffle, it has an aluminum case and a clip along with hardware buttons for volume and hold buttons.

The screen features iOS-like icons for all the available features, such as playing music or videos, and makes use of multitouch. One feature uses a two-finger rotate to change the orientation of the screen, useful for when the device is clipped in an awkward orientation.

The new seventh-generation iPod nano comes in seven different colors, including a Product (RED) version. The 8GB model is $149, and a 16GB version goes for $179.

Jobs bragged that the iPod touch outsells portable Nintendo and Sony gaming devices combined, making it the most popular portable gaming device in the world. To "make it even better," said Jobs, Apple made it thinner than the previous version. Despite shaving off size and weight, it also comes equipped with the same high-resolution Retina Display that debuted in the iPhone 4, the same A4 processor in the iPad and iPhone, the gyroscope motion control, and a front-facing camera for FaceTime chatting.

The new iPods are all available next week, though preorders begin today.

iOS 4.1 and iOS 4.2 On the Way: HDR, Game Center and iPad Support

At Apple’s special event today, the company announced its next two iOS releases: iOS 4.1 and iOS 4.2.

Apple will be releasing iOS 4.1 next week as a free update for the iPhone and iPod touch, fixing some bugs and adding new features like HDR photos, Game Center, TV show rentals and the ability to upload HD video over Wi-Fi.

For original iPhone 3G owners, you’ll be excited to learn that the performance bugs that made using iOS 4 on those devices, well, unfun, have been fixed. For iPhone 4 owners, Apple promises that the proximity sensor issues are now fixed, meaning I will no longer accidentally call my mom while on a conference call or send a text message of gibberish to a friend (true story).

Apple is also introducing the ability to take HDR photographs in iOS 4.1, a feature that photo fans should really enjoy. Game Center will also be formally launching and if the demo from the Epic Games guys was anything to go by, it’s going to be a lot of fun.

---

iOS 4.2

---

In November, the iOS family will finally be unified on the same version of iOS with the release of iOS 4.2 (also a free update via iTunes). This will introduce all of the iOS 4 features to the iPad, including multi-tasking, Game Center, folders and threaded e-mail. iOS 4.2 will also include wireless printing, a feature my mother is going to love.

iTunes 10 Features New Logo And Social Media Sharing Service, Ping

by John Biggs
from: http://www.crunchgear.com/

Like Siamese twins, the iPod and iTunes go hand-in-hand. This week’s iPod update, then brought a whole new version of iTunes, v10, with a new logo and a few new features.

The new icon abandons the old CD imagery and replaces it with a bulbous double-clef note in a blue circle. The features include music clean-up – select five or so songs from the same album and it automatically finds art and titles – and there is a new discovery feature with social aspects called Ping.

Ping allows you to share with your friends what you’re listening to and even share information on concerts and events. It includes a custom “Top 10″ list and artists and listeners each have “profiles” that consist of interesting news and selections from that user’s library. It is true social music discovery.

Profiles can be public or private and you can limit access to a certain “circle of friends.” Ping is available now to all iTunes users and allows for multiple forms of sharing including image and link posting.

Brazilian MP candidate pledges a strip club in every town

From: http://arbroath.blogspot.com/

It's an unusual campaign pledge: a strip club in every town. That, however, is what Adriely Fatal, a stripper and "erotic actress" from north-eastern Brazil, is promising voters as she hits the campaign trail in search of a place in parliament. With general elections taking place in October, four adult entertainers are preparing to battle it out for a seat in Ceara state's local assembly, aiming to rock the political establishment by forming a powerful "sex lobby" within government.

Leading Ceara's campanha erótica is 23-year-old Fatal, who also promises to focus on hospitals and education and is campaigning outside the local football stadium, where she dances on an open-backed truck dressed in skin-tight shorts. "My campaign is different to the others. I'm using sensuality to attract votes – I'm trying to attract young people and men," Fatal, a former stripper in Boate Tropical, one of the state capital Fortaleza's most popular erotic clubs, said.



"I campaign outside football stadiums, in squares and bars, in car garages, on the beach. I'm going to concentrate on healthcare and on showing people that just because I use tight clothes it doesn't mean that I can't do a proper job," added Fatal, a member of the Christian Workers party, who also counts waiters and taxi drivers among her support base and cites the leftist presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff as one of her political idols. Fatal, whose real name is Maria Isabel Gomes Cardoso, claims that the latest opinion polls show she already has around 10,000 votes in the bag.

If she can increase that to 12,000, her campaign manager, who was inspired by the Hungarian porn star La Cicciolina, elected to Italy's parliament in 1987, believes Fatal will soon become Fatal MP. Fatal is joined on the campaign trail by the Democrats party candidate Maria Adelina Nascimento, AKA Katia Heffner. Named after Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy, she runs a popular swingers club in Fortaleza. Another adult entertainer, nicknamed Deborah Soft, is running for office with the slogan "Vote with pleasure".

New Skateboard Design: The Strongest and Lightest In The Market

By Cheryl Roelofsz
From http://www.walyou.com/

The new carbon fiber skateboards from RollsRolls incorporate a new deck concept, provisioning for better riding and making them the lightest and strongest longboards currently available in the market.

The deck lowers the center of gravity which provides better riding and ease of movement. Each model is priced differently and the prizes range from EUR138 to EUR410, and one article even mentions $350.

The Woody 97 and Woody 85 both come with Randall Trucks 180mm; The Woody 97 sports 97mm ABEC11 Flywheels and the Woody 85 sports 85mm Seismic Speed Vents in Clear Blue. The dropped standing position of the beech deck also offers additional stability. The clever arch and concave designs provide a comfy match for any rider’s foot, minimizing the pains and cramps while maximizing control and movement, even when wearing shoes designed for barefooting. Even though the deck may be slightly smaller than with other boards, the “dropped” deck has superior flexing properties specifically manufactured to soak up the impact. Your feet will really love you for this. All of these factors make the Woody perfect for skating long distances. When you order, each board can be made to your specific requirements, so be sure to mention additional weight to ensure the flex would be perfect for you.

The Sportster – the unbeaten board of world records in long distance skateboarding since 2003 – has a similar design, although a tad less curvy. It’s fitted with a carbon deck either with a black, red, or beige surface. The underside is Carbon/Aramid. Just like the Woody, it sports Randall Trucks (alternatively get Holey) and ABEC11 97mm Flywheels. The lower dropped deck comes in handy with pushing, pedal, and foot breaking. As mentioned before, the low standing platform is not only an energy saver, but also controls speed. A superb feature in the Sportster is the highest stiffness around the longitudinal axis for guaranteed precision steering. The Carbon board will literally last you a lifetime as carbon does not “fatigue” – a common problem with wooden boards; making it the strongest and lightest longboard, at a mere 3.4 kg. The Aramid on the underside also ensures obstacles in the road won’t catch you unaware.

You can be sure that with a Woody or Sportster Rolls Rolls Skateboard, the whole experience will be just as the site promised: skating on a cushion of air. You would never want to walk again… If these designs made you grab for your checkbook in an hysteric fashion, you would most certainly also enjoy reading FlowBoards Reinvent SkateBoarding and How To Build A Self-Balancing Segway Skateboard.

Via: Cool Material

DIY Zipper-Case Earbuds Are the Ultimate Tangle-Free Headphone Solution

By Adam Pash

At this point, we've all found our favorite headphone-wrapping method, and even if yours works, I can promise you it's not as clever or inventive as DIYer Papydom's earbud zipper case.

Papydom details how he combined a long zipper (in his case, from a clothing cover, but nearly any long enough zipper should do), head earbuds, and a little bit of sewing know-how to create this extremely clever earbud zipper case. The video above says it all. Head over to DIY site Instructables for the full walkthrough. And someone get this brilliant man a job doing this always.

Zip your earbuds [Instructables]

Wii Balance Board-controlled robot a hit with toddlers in Ithaca

Wii Balance Board-controlled robot a hit with toddlers in Ithaca (video)

By Joseph L. Flatley

From: http://www.engadget.com/

How could we resist a story involving robot-powered babies? The Ithaca College Tots on Bots project aims to mobilize infants with physical disabilities by setting them atop a "mobile robot" equipped with a Wii Balance Board to let the young operator steer by leaning -- which, it turns out, works pretty well. Additionally, the vehicle uses sonar to avoid nasty crashes and a remote control that an adult can use to take control. Further study has to be made before any long term developmental benefits can be ascertained, but in the meantime it does look like a lot of fun. See it in action after the break.

Switched Cornell University

See The World's Tallest Teenager

By: Allie Townsend
From: http://newsfeed.time.com/

Meet Elisany Silva, who at 6'9'', is the world's tallest teenager.

The 14-year-old Brazilian teen who is so tall, she was kicked out of school because she had trouble fitting into the school bus. A news report tells Elisany's story and talks a medical specialist who speculates that the teen has a rare disease called "gigantismo" – a condition that causes the brain to over produce growth hormones. Elisany tells the camera of her wish to be a model, which at her height, would maker her the tallest model in the world.

(via Buzzfeed)

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/08/27/see-the-worlds-tallest-teenager/#ixzz0yIAmAzk2

Zotac's Zboxes are small, Ion-fueled, and cheap

By Joshua Topolsky
From http://www.engadget.com/

If you're like us, you're constantly on the hunt for the perfect small computer. Now, we're not saying we've found it in this new set of Zotac Zboxes... but we do like where they're coming from. The minimal slivers pack Ion chipsets along with Intel CULV CPUs, making for a power-sipping experience that can actually push a couple of pixels (a couple, not many more). The company is dishing out a few varieties of the mini PCs, all loaded with some variation of Intel's Celeron processors. The HD series (the NS21 and ND22) pack a Celeron 743 or SU2300 CULV (respectively), DDR3 RAM slots, a 2.5-inch hard drive slot, HDMI and DVI-I ports, along with NVIDIA's Ion GPU. There's also an ITX series, all sporting those same CPUs, a single PCI Express x16 slot, a handful of SATA / eSATA hookups, and HDMI, DVI-D, and VGA connections. All the systems have a slew of USB ports, the boxes can be mounted in four different positions (including on the back of a monitor), and though retail pricing hasn't been announced, it looks like at least the ND22 should list for around $270. Hit the source link for all the details, and More Coverage for a review.

GadgetMix

Zotac

Blueberry Pie Cupcakes...Yum!!

48 Killer Female Soldiers From Various Countries

Pakistani Female Soldier

Well, from my point of view if these girls participate in any beauty contest obviously these can easily win any beauty contest but on the other hand these military girls seem absolutely ready to protect their respective countries. Just take a look at all pictures and discuss! which country’s military has most beautiful and brave girls? Feel free to share your views in comments!

Note: We will add more pictures from remaining countries as well we find time to time in future.

48 Photos

Israeli Female Soldiers

South Korean Female Soldier

Italian Female Soldier

Russian Female Soldier

Click here for the Full Gallery: http://thewondrous.com/48-killer-female-soldiers-from-various-countries/

Netherlands to Close Prisons: Not Enough Criminals

by Bruce Mirken
from: http://blog.mpp.org/

For years prohibitionists, including our own Drug Enforcement Administration, have claimed — falsely — that the tolerant marijuana policies of the Netherlands have made that nation a nest of crime and drug abuse. They may have trouble wrapping their little brains around this:

The Dutch government is getting ready to close eight prisons because they don’t have enough criminals to fill them. Officials attribute the shortage of prisoners to a declining crime rate.

Just for fun, let’s compare the Netherlands to California. With a population of 16.6 million, the Dutch prison population is about 12,000. With its population of 36.7 million, California should have a bit more than double the Dutch prison population. California’s actual prison population is 171,000.

So, whose drug policies are keeping the streets safer?