CrunchGear |  |
- Palm Pixi Review: Not For Everyone, But It Fits A Niche
- Relive your misspent youth with these Transformers USB drives
- Modders hard at work circumventing Xbox banning
- AMD breaks 7GHz barrier with liquid helium and nu-metal
- Crysis & Crysis Warhead $15 each this weekend on Steam
- First screenshots of Fallout MMO (that may never be released)
- CrunchDeals: HP MediaSmart LX195 for $199
- Xbox Europe hits 10 million consoles in sales
- CrunchDeal: Wii for $99 at Toys “R” Us
- BrailleNote Apex makes it easier to take notes with Braille QWERTY keyboard
- Testing finds Windows XP better for netbook battery life than Windows 7
- Facebook Cufflinks Ask You To “F Me”
- Shock: Men are loathe to read instruction manuals, women have no such qualms
- XKCD on iPhone vs Droid
- The Qualcomm FLO TV is now available if anyone cares
- CrunchGear wants to kiss you this Holiday
- Eye-Fi goes FTP
- American Express to offer 50 $200 rebates on Best Buy purchases of $500 or more
- MPAA has entire town’s municipal Wi-Fi shut down over single piracy allegation
- So much for that PC version Modern Warfare 2 boycott
| Palm Pixi Review: Not For Everyone, But It Fits A Niche Posted: 13 Nov 2009 09:38 PM PST
Palm and Sprint have taken a very different approach to the launch of the Pixi than they did with its slightly older and slightly brawnier brother, the Palm Pre. In the days leading up to the Pre, both parties were on full attack mode; keynotes were held, massive tradeshow booths were built, full page newspaper ads were run, and countdowns ticked away. With the Pixi? They’ve got a commercial. Compared to Palm’s last run, the marketing campaign surrounding the Pixi is decidedly more average – and after spending a few days with the phone, I’d say they made the right decision there. Read the rest of this entry at MobileCrunch >>
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| Relive your misspent youth with these Transformers USB drives Posted: 13 Nov 2009 05:00 PM PST
It’s only a 2GB drive, and it’s pretty expensive at $45, but they certainly are cool. There are two models to choose from, Jaguar on the Decepticon side, and Tigerton from the Autobots. So is it just me, or were Transformers cooler in the 80’s? I was looking at one at the store the other day, and it just seemed cheap compared to how I remember them.
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| Modders hard at work circumventing Xbox banning Posted: 13 Nov 2009 05:00 PM PST
Much like the jailbreakers, the Xbox modders are nothing if not persistent. Yesterday, Microsoft went after the estimated 1 million Xbox owners that had tampered with their systems. The ban locked out the installation of games on the hard drive, stopped Windows Media Player from working, wrecked the gamertags stored on the Xboxen in question, and blocked the consoles from logging in to Xbox Live. There are two fixes currently being worked on, one from iXtreme LT, which isn’t ready yet, and one from Xbox-Scene which works, but is extremely complex. And you need to know your CPU key, which can be difficult to obtain, particularly if you’re already banned. [via Daily Tech]
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| AMD breaks 7GHz barrier with liquid helium and nu-metal Posted: 13 Nov 2009 04:30 PM PST
Their video, far from the lighthearted hijinx and sloppy editing of my own, is a professional affair, dominated by some nu-metal that perfectly embodies the concept of overclocking. Well, that’s not really true. But it’s better than the constant hissing noise that is the soundtrack to mine.
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| Crysis & Crysis Warhead $15 each this weekend on Steam Posted: 13 Nov 2009 04:00 PM PST
You may have missed the game the first time around because of its insane graphic requirements. But chances are that you’ve updated your PC, or bought a new one, it should have no issues running the epic game. Buy at least the original if you’re don’t want to invest $30 total. It’s just a good ol’ running and shooting game. You’ll love it.
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| First screenshots of Fallout MMO (that may never be released) Posted: 13 Nov 2009 03:30 PM PST
Long before Fallout 3 there was Fallout 2. And before that, Fallout. Interplay made the two first games, while Bethesda made the third one under some sort of licensing deal that would allow Interplay to create new Fallout games not connected to Fallout 3. Then Bethesda sued Interplay, which puts a game it was working on, a Fallout MMO, in jeopardy. These are screenshots of that game, to be used as evidence during the legal proceedings. I’d hate to be a cynic and call it Fallout 3 With Grinding, but it certainly is reminiscent of Fallout 3, no? Granted, the Super Mutant looks a little different, a little more pastel, but yeah.
I’d play it. A Wasteland MMO could be a nice change of pace from Night Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs.
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| CrunchDeals: HP MediaSmart LX195 for $199 Posted: 13 Nov 2009 03:00 PM PST
You better act quick. This deal ends today. But if you really need a smaller WHS for, lets say, backup purchases only, the HP MediaSmart LX195 is perfect and Newegg has it on sale just for you. For only $199, you can get a 640GB HP MediaSmart LX195 server. Sure, the hard drive is little on the small side, but it’s easy enough to upgrade. You can either swap out the hard drive later or plug in an external hard drive for more storage. Windows Home Server makes it easy to add even an external drive to the cluster. For $199, it even could make a great gift to some technology-fluent parents. The backup and restore feature would be worth it alone. But act fast, the sale ends today.
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| Xbox Europe hits 10 million consoles in sales Posted: 13 Nov 2009 02:30 PM PST
No word on how many of those consoles were sold to replace units that had died due to the RROD, but it’s impressive nonetheless. The Xbox 360 is also the only console to show year to year growth in the EU this year. Love it or hate it, the Xbox 360 has turned into the quite the home entertainment appliance. You can read the whole press release here. Which is just what Microsoft wants.
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| CrunchDeal: Wii for $99 at Toys “R” Us Posted: 13 Nov 2009 02:00 PM PST
The Ready for Play pack includes a 20-pack of AA batteries, a copy of Mario & Sonic at the Olympics game, an Ultimate Gaming Ottoman, and your choice of any four Gear Monkey video game accessories. Sounds like a screaming deal to me. Go get one at your local store, or online.
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| BrailleNote Apex makes it easier to take notes with Braille QWERTY keyboard Posted: 13 Nov 2009 01:30 PM PST
This is the BrailleNote Apex. It’s a device that the blind/visually impaired (I’m not sure which term is the more acceptable one) can use to, as the name and photo implies, take notes. It runs Windows CE 6, which this type of device usually runs, and, is aimed at students and the like. Like so many netbooks, it’s powered by an Intel Atom processor, and comes with a bit of flash storage—8GB, to be exact. Of course, you can add extra storage with a handy SDHC card. An internal application suite, named Keysoft, can let users browse the Web, send and read e-mail, record audio notes, etc. There’s even an instant message client. Yes, this is something that I’d have to see in person to fully appreciate how it works, and how positive an impact it makes on people’s lives. via SlashGear
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| Testing finds Windows XP better for netbook battery life than Windows 7 Posted: 13 Nov 2009 01:00 PM PST
Somebody should tell Doug "netbook" Aamoth that Windows 7 seems to be a battery hog. The fine folks at Laptop magazine have put three different netbooks to the test, determining their respective battery life under both Windows XP and Windows 7. Looks like Windows XP is the winner. The netbooks test include the Toshiba mini NB205, ASUS Eee PC 1008HA, and HP Mini 311. They were all subjected to Laptop’s standardized test, which consist of Web browsing over Wi-Fi. You know, like you do in real life. Any and all "power-saving" features were turned off, so as not to give one netbook an unfair advantage over another. The winner? It seems Windows XP is more energy efficient than Windows 7, with the older operating system lasting, on average, 47 minutes longer than the new kid on the block. Of course, now you’d have to give up all the improvements that are present in Windows 7. Then again, you are using a netbook, so you’re already walking in with a loss.
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| Facebook Cufflinks Ask You To “F Me” Posted: 13 Nov 2009 12:59 PM PST  There's a certain type of man that wears cufflinks. Don Draper, for example, wears cufflinks. But he's also a fictional character set in the 1960s. In the real world, these days, it's usually the well-off that wear them. Basically, you need to have enough money to not care about spending hundreds of dollars on buttons. But CuffLinks.com appears to be going for a new crowd with its latest design. The "Facebook Me" cufflinks are $50 and feature yes, the Facebook logo on them. They are approximately 3/4″ by 3/4″, are "Rhodium plated" and feature a "Bullet back closure." One cufflink features the Facebook "f," the other reads "me." Classy.
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| Shock: Men are loathe to read instruction manuals, women have no such qualms Posted: 13 Nov 2009 12:30 PM PST
So I was browsing Pravda, as I do from time to time, when I stumbled upon this fascinating story. It seems that women are far more likely to read a gadget’s instruction manual than men. It’s the old, "men never ask for directions" bit, yes. Research shows that men are usually more confident in their ability to fix things, so why bother reading an instruction manual? Women, more likely to look for help, have no problem consulting an instruction manual. I think I’m somewhere in the middle: I don’t consult an instruction manual (or Google, as it were) unless I run into a serious situation. I don’t read a manual as soon as I open something, but I’m not going to pretend that I can fix something without reading up on the situation. The ironic thing is that because men tend to think that they can fix anything, they’re more likely to call tech support because they’ve totally borked the situation. Why am I reading Pravda? Because I’m bored, and am teaching myself to read Russian. Oh, if only I were joking. КРУНЧГИР! (Eh, close enough.)
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2009 12:03 PM PST  It's a rare day when we post a web comic on MobileCrunch. To my knowledge, we've only done it once before. But you know what? This one's just too good -- and too topical -- to pass up.
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| The Qualcomm FLO TV is now available if anyone cares Posted: 13 Nov 2009 12:00 PM PST
Six months of the service is included with the purchase, and after that, you’re out $8.99 to continue watching TV on the go. But if you must have live TV and not pre-recorded content downloaded onto your smartphone, Amazon, Best Buy and Radio Shack will be pimping the FLO TV starting today.
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| CrunchGear wants to kiss you this Holiday Posted: 13 Nov 2009 11:46 AM PST
We’re going to post and Tweet comment contests from November 15 until just before the holidays. The prizes will include but won’t be limited to watches, cameras, strange things I find in my ear, and calculators. What do you have to do? Watch this space for more instructions on Monday and start following us on Twitter. Good luck!
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| Posted: 13 Nov 2009 11:30 AM PST
Here are the instructions. Happy uploading and be sure to make those images public! This also, admittedly, allows you to run your own photo sharing service and to keep your photos completely private.
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| American Express to offer 50 $200 rebates on Best Buy purchases of $500 or more Posted: 13 Nov 2009 11:10 AM PST
I’m apprehensive to even post this since I, myself, have an American Express card and will absolutely be fighting against the rest of you barbarians for this very deal, but my commitment to reporting the news is just barely stronger than the urge to get $200 back on a $500 electronics purchase. Just barely.
So the deal is that at some unknown, magical point of the day on Wednesday, November 18th, registration will open up for American Express card holders. There will be 50 slots available and the first 50 people who register their card will get $200 credited back to their statement when a $500 or more purchase is made at Best Buy using the card. Purchases must be made between November 18th and December 31st, and the $200 credit will apparently show up on your statement "within 3 to 5 days of the date you completed your qualifying purchase." There will also be another similar deal going on the same day: $40 back when you spend $100 or more. There are 125 registration slots for that deal. Daily Wish [AmexNetwork.com]
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| MPAA has entire town’s municipal Wi-Fi shut down over single piracy allegation Posted: 13 Nov 2009 11:00 AM PST
It’s getting harder and harder to be surprised about the MPAA’s silly tactics. So, surprise! The MPAA has successfully shut down an Ohio town’s municipal Wi-Fi network because one person was caught illegally downloading a movie. You know, peers and seeders and all that. The Wi-Fi network was set up around the Coshocton County Courthouse located in central-ish Ohio. The network has been up and running for about five yeas now, and serves up to 100 people on a busy day. (Not that I have any idea of what would cause such a commotion in the town!) The town’s commissioner said: "It's unfortunate that one person ruins it for those who use the service legitimately." Yes, and when some maniac stabs another person we confiscate everyone’s kitchen knives. Or when a drunk driver kills an innocent motorist the government comes around and takes away everyone’s car. Collective punishment, anyone? The MPAA’s nonsense really isn’t going to be challenged until our elected officials have an understanding of basic technology, which I don’t think will happen any time soon.
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| So much for that PC version Modern Warfare 2 boycott Posted: 13 Nov 2009 10:30 AM PST
How’s that Modern Warfare 2 boycott going? Well, judging by this screenshot, it seems that many of y’all were either bluffing, or simply couldn’t resist the temptation to, as Rock Paper Scissor put it the other day, Put The Cursor Over the Man’s Face. Boycotts only work when, you know, you follow through with your threats…
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Were you one of the 1 million Xbox live users that got banned yesterday? Well, you might not want to go buy that new Xbox quite yet. Some of the modders (you know, the ones who got you banned in the first place) are working on a solution that returns the firmware to an almost stock configuration, which would allow you to actually use your console again.
You’ve got to admit, Microsoft is having a good month. First, 
You might not want to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to pick up that Wii. Toys “R” Us is running a deal this coming weekend where you can pick up a Wii system and a Ready for Play Wii Pack for $249.
The Eye-Fi card is famous for being a cool, fun way to upload, inadvertently, images of you and your friends naked or on the toilet. Now, however, you can upload those naked photos to your local FTP/FTPS server. This service allows you to bypass standard photo-sharing sites like Flickr and dump your stuff up unfettered by the limitations placed upon us by photo sites.
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