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CrunchDeals: $5/Month Usenet For Life

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 04:14 PM PST

The folks at ThunderNews are offering CG users $5/month Usenet access for the life of the account. The price includes unlimited bandwidth and they’ll be running the offer until Monday.

If you’re unsure about Usenet, let’s just say it’s pretty great.

You can sign up here and if there’s enough demand they’ll continue the deal for a few more days.

1mm Thick Ceramic Speaker Will Blow Your Mind, But Probably Not Your Eardrums

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 03:44 PM PST


Wow, this thing is cool. I’m not really even sure what’s going on here, but I’m told this is a speaker that is essentially printed onto this millimeter-thick ceramic substrate. I reviewed some ceramic speakers a while back, and saw some glass ones the other day, but this is a whole other world. How does it even vibrate?!

[via Gizmag]

AAXA Puts Out A New Laser-Based Pico Projector

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 03:36 PM PST


‘Tis the season for pico projectors with laser-based light sources. Microvision updated its ShowWX line just the other day, and now here’s AAXA’s, traditionally a lower-cost option. And depending on your needs, it might actually be a better fit.

The AAXA L1 has 20 lumens to the ShowWX+’s 15, and an 800×600 resolution versus 848×480. Microvision claims a higher contrast ratio… but the AAXA costs $50 less. So there’s a lot to decide between. I’d say if you’re planning to do games or media, go with the ShowWX, since it’s naturally widescreen, but if you’re doing pictures or presentations, the L1 is better.

And for the record, I’ve got the ShowWX+ right here next to me, and it’s tiny, so there’s that as well. Fun times for the pico projector fan.

[via MacNN]

Microsoft Working On Displays That Grow Physical Keyboards?

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 03:05 PM PST


File this one under “future toys.” A patent by Microsoft, filed last year and recently made public, describes a system by which a texture or shape could be created by activating micro-tiles built into a display. These tiny things are light-activated, and could conceivably be used to create a physical keyboard built into the display… but more likely would be used to provide simple haptic feedback or at most braille lettering.

The idea of a keyboard growing out of your touchscreen is enchanting, but as weird as it sounds to say it, there’s more of a difference between a virtual keyboard and a physical one than just the keys. There’s a whole different style of typing, mainly based on the fact that physical keys require a certain amount of pressure. If Microsoft could somehow determine pressure, and relax the “topography layer” accordingly, that would be straight up magic.

I mean hey, I’m rooting for them, and this would be an absolutely killer feature, but filing a patent like this usually means they’ve just had the idea, and have heard of the technology. So I wouldn’t expect in next year’s Windows 7 tablets or anything.

The image, by the way, isn’t from the Microsoft patent, which has nine blank pages of pictures (thanks, USPTO), but from a Sony one for another haptic feedback system. Just FYI.

[via New Scientist and Dvice]

Alienware M11X On Sale For Black Friday

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 01:30 PM PST

Oh Alienware, how could you do this to me? My favorite Alienware sub-compact laptop (the M11x) comes out on sale just when my wife expects me to spend money on gifts for the family. That’s right, the 1GB Nividia driven 335M 15″ gaming laptop that Devin wasn’t a complete fan of, but that was before they fixed the video chipset. The M11x starts at a quite reasonable $599, and then goes up depending on the additional goodies you want to add (like that that Alienware branded backpack). Now how to find $599 without telling the wife.

Roku XD Black Friday Deal

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 12:46 PM PST

Get a jump of Cyber Monday kids, the Roku XD is going on sale today for a quite reasonable $79.99 $63.99. The sale started this morning as 12:00am, and is good though the end of Cyber Monday (11:59 on 11/29). Go pick one up now from the Roku website, and keep in mind that the XD is the model that offers 1080p streaming, enhanced remote, and the addition of WiFi N. Oh, and you can stream content from Netflix, Hulu Plus, NHL, MLB, Pandora, and all of the other custom channels you can get through Roku XD.

Note: Due to an overload of cranberry sauce, my math was a bit off of on exactly what the deal was. This has been corrected. Apologies to those who were confused.

Impending Wikileaks Release Could Be ‘Embarrassing’ To Foreign Governments

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 09:00 AM PST

It looks like we can expect some more leaks from Wikileaks in the next few days. The site, which has had quite the year, is expected to release information that could "embarrass" certain foreign governments by exposing their less-than-noble actions. Turkey aiding al Qeada in Iraq? The US supporting the PKK in its efforts against Turkey? It's a diplomatic nightmare!

And to think: all of this caused by a Web site that, until this year, hardly anyone ever knew, let alone talked/threatened at Pentagon press conferences.

Wikileaks' Twitter has seen much activity in the past few hours, noting that this and that country had been briefed by the US over the expected leak.

I think I'm right in saying that this would be the first big Wikileaks release that deals with diplomatic matters. The previous big leaks were more on the military side of things.

And now we play the waiting game.

Black Friday Is Almost Over: What Will You Be Spending Your Money On Next Year?

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 07:49 AM PST

To quote Dwight Hansen, I do know a thing or two about a thing or two and as such I'm allowed, sometimes, to prognosticate. Even as we thrust our fists into the air triumphantly when we snag the last tattered box containing a Kung Zhu hamster value bundle, the IT industry never sleeps and, like a shark, it must keep moving to survive. Based on what we've seen this year, let's take a look at what we can expect to see next year when we once again fall into the Black Friday Breech.


RFID: Scaring Holiday Shoppers For Years & Years

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 07:45 AM PST

Well here’s something to freak you out as you brave the Black Friday crowds today. (Remember: Matt wrote a nifty little survival guide for today’s insanity.) A local TV station in Florida has warned its viewers to be on the lookout for so-called electronic pickpockets. Using "a credit card scanner attached to a battery pack," an evildoer can quite easily obtain sensitive credit and debit card information—without you even knowing! Yes: it’s yet another warning about the dangers of RFID.

The story says that many of today’s credit and debit cards have RFID chips built into them (as do new passports here in the US), and that a person so inclined could be able to rig together a simple device that scans for these chips. The implied threat is that some nefarious individual could be walking around the local Wal-Mart or Best Buy, device in hand, and steal your credit card information. The worst case scenario would be for someone to take this information and then use it to clone your credit card.

Now, the actual odds of this happening at your local Middle America Wal-Mart probably aren’t too great, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a few steps to keep yourself safe.

You could ask your bank for a non-RFID card, for one. You can also buy a specialized wallet (the one mentioned in the story is here) that shields the cards from scanning devices.

Or, most fun, you can destroy the RFID chip while it’s still inside the card. See YouTube for fun videos to that effect.

Video And Picture Gallery: Japan’s Top Robots Of 2010

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 07:22 AM PST

Every year, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) releases a hit list of the best robots the country has produced and gives their makers an award. And yesterday, the METI announced who will get the Robot Awards in 2010 [JP]. What follows is a list of all the robots that made the list.

Grand Prize

Toyota’s eco-friendly 80W industrial robot, which places spare tires in trunks

Runners-up

Pork ham deboning machine HAMDAS-R

Panasonic’s new range of health care robots

Power line exploration robot Expliner

Robotic arm Kibo (used in outer space)

Best service and industrial robots

Cell cultivation robot from Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Strawberry harvesting robot

Cybernetic human HRP-4C

Fanuc’s 3-axis parallel link industrial robot with six joints

Mitsubishi’s emergency robot FRIGO-M

Joystick-controlled robot system for mobile vehicles

Here is our Robot Awards coverage from 2008 (there were no robot awards in 2009).

DIY Black Friday

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 06:58 AM PST


CAT IS NOT FOR SALE

Our good friend Phil Torrone sent us this list of cool homebrew deals on Chumby devices, Adafruit boards, and other goodness.

Fist, you’ve got some Chumby-powered devices that are actually little Linux PCs. The Infocast, for example, is $129 on Best Buy. This thing has an 800MHz processor and small screen and can be used either as a little info monitor or as a fully-fledged Linux device.

Our friends at Adafruit are offering 10% off of everything including their excellent testing boards. Just check out with the code BLACK.

Finally, Seeed is offering 20% off of everything including PCB manufacturing with coupon code TG2010. Most of the stuff they sell there baffles me.

Apple’s Black Friday Deals: Sufficiently Interesting

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 06:45 AM PST


Get thee to the Applery! Apple’s Black Friday deals are now up and you can grab:

  • $101 off Macs including the iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook
  • $41 off of the iPad and the iPod Touch
  • $21 off of the iPod Nano
  • Free shipping on all Apple goodness

A few more deals after the jump.

Plus:

  • $6.95 off of Civ V
  • $21.95 off of Parallels
  • $5 off the Magic Mouse
  • $51.95 off of the Blue Yeti Microphone

You’re also going to see some nice discounts on other accessories and cases. The Apple items seem like the biggest deal this Black Friday, especially considering you rarely see a real sale on MacBooks except when they introduce new models and drop the price very slightly. We’d also recommend not getting Civ V because it causes a zombie-like trance in most players ages 12-46.

Product Page


Videos: Darth Vader Promotes The Galaxy S In Japan

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 05:27 AM PST

Back in April, Japan's largest cell phone carrier, NTT DoComo, began running a bizarre promotion campaign in Tokyo (which prompted me to go out and post this photo report on MobileCrunch). Docomo used Darth Vader in a number of weird posters and viral video clips, without saying why and what Vader was supposed to promote. Read the rest on MobileCrunch.


The Black Friday Survival Guide

Posted: 26 Nov 2010 05:00 AM PST

It wasn’t easy accumulating the research data displayed in the following guide. I saw horrific sights working retail for seven long years in both a big box electronic store and a major shopping center. I saw things that will haunt me the rest of my days. I watched two kids get trampled by what I call Double-Wides because Circuit City clearanced-out Dreamcasts for $80 on Black Friday. I once hid behind a massive video display just for a few moments to myself during the chaos. I’ve seen people fight, bite, and trample other members of our human race just to save a few dollars.

What follows is perhaps the most comprehensive Black Friday guide ever assembled. There are shopping tactics, buying guides, survival tips, and a thorough rundown of the different types of Black Friday shoppers you will encounter. Please, if you’re considering shopping on Black Friday, think about your family, your dog, your livelihood and reconsider. If you’re still convinced that it’s the right thing to do, be sure to click through to The Black Friday Survival Guide. Your life literally depends on it.

Know Thy Enemy

The Double-Wide

This type of Black Friday shopper is becoming more and more common, almost as if there’s an epidemic sweeping the nation causing more of these types. These shoppers are nearly impossible to avoid, so use their sheer size for your own gain. Think more NASCAR than football. You’re going to draft behind of them as they plow through Smokers and Big Papis (see below). Once the target is within sight, a quick bump should cause them to stumble just long enough for you to shoot ahead and snatch the last Kinect holiday bundle before they can get their sausage fingers on it — just watch out for a Big Papi if you perform this maneuver. A simple “Look, it’s cheaper on that endcap.” might be all it takes for a half-second distraction.

  • Strengths: Size, weight, and Medusa-like eyes
  • Weakness: Top heavy, simple minded
  • Primary Attack: A massive forearm
  • Secondary Attack: A series of racial and off-color slurs
  • Primary Targets: Kid’s toys, Lane Bryant sales, hunting equipment

The Smoker

Smokers are generally of the female orientation, but don’t be surprised to see some from the male gender either. This shopper generally spends 3AM to 4AM clam baking in their minivan, with the primary goal of creating a vile personal safety bubble that most will not dare enter. Be careful, these are wiry folks; hunched over from years of smoking three packs a day, they come prepped for Black Friday with at least one whole pot of Folgers Coffee in their gut. While they may be quick off the line, they also get winded quickly. It’s best to give them plenty of room to run with the goal of outlasting them.

  • Strengths: Small stature, initially quick, stinky
  • Weakness: Tires quickly
  • Primary Attack: The vile smell of loosies seeping from their pores
  • Secondary Attack: Fake fingernails
  • Primary Targets: Makeup, house-brand clothing, diamond chip jewelry

Big Papi

Big Papis generally sport either NFL jerseys or Real Tree hunting appeal. Both make them easy to spot. The best course of action is to simply avoid these beasts at all cost. They might seem mild-mannered from a distance, but they generally accompany a Double-Wide during her hunting spree and will protect their property at all costs. If you topple a Double-Wide, duck into the crowd immediately, because a Big Papi would like nothing more than to justify getting up at 3AM by making the local news after pounding your face.

These dudes might also be shopping by themselves; this is where the NFL jerseys and camo come into play. It’s their way of maintaining a bit of manhood while participating in a generally female ritual. If spotted alone, use the same tactics for the Double-Wides as they are generally in the same mental state.

  • Strengths: Height, longer arms, the natural ability to be a hunter
  • Weakness: Verbal emasculation
  • Primary Attack: Linebacker-size shoulders
  • Secondary Attack: A nearly impenetrable beer gut
  • Primary Targets: Cooking equipment, cheap electronics, ladies nightwear

The Mothership

This is by far the most deadly of all Black Friday shoppers. A Mothership’s primary goal is to hit multiple stores one after another by utilizing her teenage offspring and friends. These children will do anything to impress their mother and their small frame makes them perfect for ducking and diving through crowds while the Mothership waits outside the stores front door with the engine running. The teenagers are fine shoppers, it’s the Mothership that will kill wondering Old Timers when traveling between stores. She’ll peel out from a store with her eyes buried in her bags, inspecting each one to ensure the entire list was purchased. Scary stuff.

  • Strengths: Dispenses a pack of shoppers
  • Weakness: None
  • Primary Attack: 6,000lb SUV
  • Secondary Attack: A swarm of Red Bull-powered teenage girls
  • Primary Targets: Doorbusters

Old Timers

These folks are more cute than they are dangerous. Old Timers can be either male or female; it doesn’t matter. Their Members Only jackets or London Fog overcoats generally give them away. The male Old Timers are generally found with their hands in their pockets, waiting patiently by the front door for their female counterpart. Women Old Timers might put up an angry front, but most of the time they’ll unknowingly handover a doorbuster to a teary-eyed Mothership offspring. Do the right thing, and side with the Old Timer.

  • Strengths: Honesty and kindness
  • Weakness: Honesty and kindness
  • Primary Attack: The old lady look
  • Secondary Attack: None
  • Primary Targets: Kids toys, space heaters, and coffee makers

The Buddy System, Always

Black Friday is serious business; potential for danger is very real. Please, always travel in packs of two. You’ll have each others backs. Double-Wides tend to rush product displays like $7.99 food buffets, but remember, a nonchalant shove in their upper half will likely cause them to lose balance and could save the life of your partner — or at least net you the last half-priced Hannah Montana Dream Star Acoustic guitar.

Another potentially risky maneuver: the “Blind Checkout”. This calls for sending one shopper into the fray while another immediately gets in line upon entering a store. It’s best performed if you’re getting to a store shortly after the doors open. Rude Smokers will generally cause a stink if this is noticed, but a person waiting in line can counter this by grabbing a random product to hold while waiting. Simply give this unwanted item to the clerk while checking out. Your timing needs to be spot-on though. If the line waiter gets in line too early, they’ll be left awkwardly empty-handed if the shopper doesn’t return with the items quickly. (Pro-tip: if you’re next in line and product-less, pretend to answer an important phone call, step out of line, and just jump right back to the end 30 seconds later.)

Communication Is Vital

Watches need to be synced and there should always be an open line of communication. Get Bluetooth headsets, learn how to use the conference call on your cell phones, even using two-way radios are worth the cost of your pride to ensure team members can communicate — for both safety and efficiency reasons.

People die on Black Friday. If a team gets split up (intentionally or not), being able to locate other members dramatically reduces the chance of death by Double-Wides or Motherships. It instills a sense of security and clears a shoppers mind if they’re not frantically racing through the aisles. Those attempting the Blind Checkout can generally achieve success with a constant open line.

Know Your Route

The best doorbusters are at the largest stores. It’s best to scout out these locations the day before Thanksgiving as most of the time the stores are already prepped. Doorbusters are generally piled up on endcaps or in the middle of the aisles. Make a mental note of these locations and the best way to circumvent the hoard of Double-Wides and Smokers.

If abiding by the Buddy System rules, take your partner with you. The worst thing that could happen is to scout the locations by yourself on Wednesday, only to suffer an early injury on Black Friday pushing you to the role of Line Waiting. If both members of the shopping party know the layout, each member becomes virtually identical and able to perform multiple roles.

Bring Extra Supplies

If shopping in the ‘burbs, pack your car with extra solid and liquid foods. It’s best to stay away from fiber-rich energy bars or greasy fast food breakfast sandwiches. Instead, pack lunch-type foods: ham roll-ups, peanut butter sandwiches, even your kid’s Lunchables will work. You need good protein from a substance that your body is more likely to hold on to rather than want to evacuate quickly.

Don’t fall into the trap of coffee either. That is, of course, unless you’re well away of its effects on your bladder and can work a potty break into the shopping schedule. The same applies for large energy drinks. Don’t fuel up on an unknown drink as it may cause unknown consonances. Instead, drink plenty of water and let your bodies natural adrenaline provide the extra rush of energy. Plan for a nap the day before by ensuring your home is in the proper state post-Thanksgiving to allow such an activity.

Plan, Plan, Plan

There’s no reason to get taken advantage of on Black Friday. Utilize online Black Friday sites now to make sure the deals are really worth it. Is saving $10 on a $100 item really worth getting plowed over by a Mothership? No. But saving $300 on a $1000 HDTV probably is.

The most important thing to remember about Black Friday is that stores are out to make money, not save you money. Only buy doorbusters items. Retailers capitalize on the notion of a perceived sale and gently inflate the prices of other items in the weeks preceding the biggest shopping day of the year. Don’t wander into Best Buy on Black Friday’s afternoon with the goal of buying any ol’ HDTV. That’s playing into their hands. Wait until the following weeks when the entire selection goes on sale for real. If the Doorbusters aren’t your thing, save some stress and stay in on Black Friday with your Turkey Day leftovers. Then you can prepare for Cyber Monday.

images from The Zombie Survival Guide
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