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Sennheiser Offers Free Earbuds With Purchase Of HD 515

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 08:08 PM PDT

During the month of March, if you buy Sennheiser’s HD 515 headphones you’ll get a free pair of Sennheiser OMX 60 earbuds. Cool right? You can buy the cans almost anywhere, just don’t forget to send in the mail-in rebate.

The OMX 60 earbuds aren’t bad and they’re worth about $30.

Press Release

Sennheiser Presents Classic Audiophile Quality at a Low Price with March’s Headphone of the Month: the HD 515

During the month of March, Customers who Purchase an HD 515 Open Aire™ Headphone can get a Free Pair of Sennheiser OMX 60 Earbuds by Mail

The HD 515 is a high quality Open Aire™ headphone, and an affordable entry into the audiophile 500 series (click on image for hi-res).
OLD LYME, Conn. – March 16, 2011 – Audio specialist Sennheiser announced that its HD 515 is “Headphone of the Month” for March 2011. Sennheiser’s “Headphone of the Month” is a monthly promotion designed to encourage music lovers to experience the authentic sound of Sennheiser. During the promotion period, customers can purchase an HD515 headphone from an authorized Sennheiser dealer and receive a free pair of Sennheiser OMX 60 earbuds. For more information on the promotion, visit the Headphone of the Month website at http://www.sennheiserusa.com/hotm.

The HD 515 is a high quality Open Aire™ headphone, and an affordable entry into the audiophile 500 series. It is perfect for listening with virtually any source. The HD 515 is fitted with Sennheiser's innovative E.A.R. technology, plus special Duofol™ diaphragms that reduce unwanted resonances to an absolute minimum. Overall listening pleasure is combined with outstanding comfort.

HD 515 features:
Open-Aire™, around-the-ear, dynamic, stereo headphones
Ergonomic Acoustic Refinement (E.A.R.) enables ideal sound channeling for a new kind of listening experience.
State of the art, advanced Duofol diaphragms
Highly optimized, field-strengthened neodymium ferrous magnet systems
Outstanding comfort for long listening sessions
Longevity through exchangeable components
Lightweight aluminum voice coils for high efficiency and excellent dynamics
Built tough with a 2-year warranty

To learn more about Sennheiser’s headphone of the month program, please visit http://www.sennheiserusa.com/hotm

About Sennheiser
Sennheiser is a world-leading manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is now a global brand represented in 60 countries around the world with U.S. headquarters in Old Lyme, Conn. Sennheiser’s pioneering excellence in technology has rewarded the company with numerous awards and accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy, and the Scientific and Engineering Award of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.


Interview With Sony’s Head Of R&D, Dr. Richard Marks

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 08:00 PM PDT

Gamasutra had a good interview with Sony’s head of R&D, Dr. Richard Marks — it’s well worth the read. They talk about how he got his start in high school at a game shop his pop owned playing loads of old school games. He then moved on to study aerospace engineering in college where he found his love for robotics. Something he says is very similar to video gaming.

He goes on to talk about his day-to-day and how he tries to keep to a schedule, otherwise he’d end up playing games all day. He also has some interesting things to say about the Move and Kinect. And, being head of Sony’s R&D, one would think that he sees brain gaming as an end-game, but he doesn’t.

Fez: Check Out The Indie Game Everyone Will Be Talking About This Year

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 07:29 PM PDT


Guys, if you liked Braid and Cave Story and World of Goo and all the other great indie games that have made it through to XBLA, Wiiware, and so on, you owe it to yourself to check out this gameplay trailer (the teaser is here) for Fez, a space-bending platformer that might make you feel a bit of that old Portal disorientation.

I’ve been looking forward to this since it was announced ages ago, and the recent acquisition of Disasterpeace for the music is just icing on the cake. It’ll be out on XBLA later this year.

Rumor: Asus To Launch $200 Chrome Netbook

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 07:11 PM PDT

The netbook market has more or less dried up; the little things might still be useful for light computing, but they’ve been clobbered by tablets as the go-to device for quick email and web browsing. Could it be that they’re just not cheap enough? Asus might be looking to fix that.

Existing netbooks generally cost somewhere north of $300, though of course they can be found cheaper. Suppliers have informed Digitimes that Asus/Asustek is looking to aim lower, with a $200-$250 price point and a lightweight OS, possibly Android or Chrome. The laptop itself would be likely be 10″ or 11″. That could easily be subsidized down to zero dollars with a six-month 3G contract, though that particular “$0 laptop” ship may have sailed in 2009.

A $200 Chromebook? Hey, I might be down for that. It’s something I might actually be able to work from, unlike my iPad, and at $200 it’s such a small investment that I could have one sitting around the house for emergencies and not feel like I ripped myself off.

We’ll soon see whether these reports have any salt to them. We haven’t heard anything about Chrome OS since the Cr-48, really, but I still have hopes.

Beautiful Little Short Film Showing An 8mm To Canon 5D Transfer Setup

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 07:00 PM PDT


You wouldn’t think that a how-to for rigging up a 5D mk II to an old 8mm projector would stand much of an artistic treatment, but James Miller’s little piece has charm to spare. By switching out the projection lens for an element of a Canon 35mm photographic lens (as well as some other stuff, obviously), he’s made a real-time capture tool for 8mm film using common photographer’s tools and a little elbow grease.

And of course it’s a joy to watch. You can see some of the conversions he’s done with this setup over at Miller’s Vimeo page.

The music is Ennio Morricone’s theme to “Cinema Paradiso,” if you’re wondering.

[via Planet 5D and PetaPixel]

Boeing Patents Quiet Cabin Technology With Unconventional Design

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 06:30 PM PDT

There hasn’t been a radical change in commercial jet design since the first De Havilland Comet flew in 1949. It has always been wing-on-tube in favor of the integrated wing/tube like the B-2 bomber.However, Boeing was recently granted some patents on a number of radical design changes that look to quiet the skies for both passengers and listeners on the ground, creating a different looking aircraft.

The main concept comes from the need to shield an aircraft’s engines by placing them above the wing or even higher above the fuselage. By mounting the engines either on top of the wings or fuselage allows for a sound buffer between the engine and ground. The design also uses vertical stabilizers placed on both sides of the engines to further reduce noise.

It all looks exciting, but let’s not forget that a patent filing doesn’t necessarily mean anything, at least not soon. Boeing could just be creating patents as a way to own the idea should increasing noise restrictions be applied at airports.

Review: Klipsch Image One Headphones

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 06:00 PM PDT


Short version: Klipsch’s first on-ear headphones aren’t much to look at, but they’re surprisingly powerful, almost too much so. If you like booming bass and don’t care for surround sound and all that jazz, these could be good for you.

Features:

  • 40mm moving coil drivers
  • Leather-topped foam headband and ear cups
  • Apple-compatible volume, playback, and mic controls
  • Fold-flat ear cups
  • MSRP: $149.99

Pros:

  • Powerful sound, lots of bass
  • Fairly comfortable and lightweight
  • On-cord controls handy, unobtrusive

Cons:

  • Cord could be longer
  • Slightly clunky design
  • Folding doesn’t really save much space

http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/products/image-one-overview/

Full review:

Klipsch was originally known for their speakers, and then for their excellent in-ear headphones (we’ve pronounced the S4, X5, and X10i all good), but at CES they were introducing their new One series on-ear headphones, their first “traditional” style cans. So how are they?

In a word, powerful. I review headphones now and then, and I’ve come to expect certain sounds from certain sizes, you know? It’s just a matter of the size of the ear cup, the driver, and so on. The Image Ones sound significantly bigger than they look. Not necessarily better or clearer, mind you, but certainly bigger. That’s not to say they aren’t good or clear, but the first thing that struck me about their sound was that it felt big and booming, unlike other perfectly good headphones of this size.

The sound is great for movies and games, though with music they tended to show the low end past the point where it should have been — not clipping or anything, but just as if the EQ was on a bottom-heavy setting. For some music, of course, it worked — but in complicated music with lots of smaller melodies packed into the mid range, the sound seemed a little overpowering. That kind of balance is great in games, however, and they really shook my head when rockets went off or guns fired nearby. Same for movies: big bass rarely gets in the way of dialogue, and often just enhances the best and biggest scenes without effecting the rest.

The headphones themselves aren’t particularly inspiring — perhaps that contributed to my expectations. They’re tasteful, I guess, but rather plain-looking, and the design seems a bit clunky. That the cords go to both earpieces doesn’t help; you feel a little dated wearing them. They fold for travel, but it really only saves you like a half an inch of vertical space.

Wearing them is comfortable enough; they’re pretty light and the earcups are soft, though I personally prefer a more breathable material. They produce a decent seal, though, and outside noise is reduced significantly, while little escapes.

There’s a little control stick and microphone at the Y juncture of the headphones that’s compatible with Apple devices, and it appeared to work just fine, although I wasn’t able to test the microphone.

The cord could also be longer: it’s about four feet from earpiece to tip, enough for walking around with your mp3 player but kind of a stretch at the desk when you’re leaning back.

Conclusion

I’d say these headphones are a good deal for people with roommates who want to watch movies and play games on their computer with lots of bass, but don’t really want to go the USB/surround route or don’t want to have a separate pair for their iPhone or iPad. The sound really is nice and big, and you probably know if that kind of thing is for you. $150 isn’t too bad of a price if you ask me, though personally I’ll be looking forward to whatever they follow this up with.

Product page: Klipsch Image One headphones

klipsch (1) klipsch (2) klipsch (3)


Sony To Subpoena Two Years Of PS3 Hacker’s PayPal Records

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 05:15 PM PDT

Query: If I donated $10 to Geohot’s legal defense fund, does that make me liable for his actions, and do I have no right to keeping that donation private? It was, after all (if I made it), a perfectly legal transaction between two private citizens. Well, according to Sony and Federal Magistrate Spero (who just a short time ago approved Sony’s request for all IPs visiting the hacker’s site), I’m going to be on the record whether you like it or not.

A new request from Sony has been granted that is, well, not quite as heinous as the last one, but is still troubling and overreaching. They want his PayPal records for all of 2009, 2010, and January of 2011. Because that whole period is relevant to a hack he worked out less than three months ago, right?

Yes, apparently Sony needs records reaching back a full two years — and remember, all this is to determine whether George Hotz should be tried in his home state, where the alleged crimes occurred, or in San Francisco, near Sony’s US headquarters.

Again, the inability of this judge to form any kind of criticism of these ridiculous requests by Sony is alarming in the extreme. Here is a man who, on the flimsy pretext of a trumpery jurisdictional dispute, is handing over years’ worth of data that personally identifies thousands of people who have nothing to do with this case. It’s as if Sony lost a dollar at the beach, and has now asked the judge to authorize dredging the harbor. The EFF objected to the last order, and will surely object to this one, but the damage is essentially done unless PayPal and friends decline to provide this information, in solidarity with Hotz, and countersue Sony.

—I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Sony is completely out of touch here and can only damage its image further. The judge, a few years will show, has shown himself incapable of discharging his duty, and furthermore is failing the citizens he serves by not even attempting to mitigate a major corporation’s efforts to crush a 21-year-old kid who, let us remember, is presumed innocent. I apologize for editorializing here, but this really appears to me to be a serious breach of justice.

More info can of course be found at Geohot’s site, the case docket (frequently updated), or here on CrunchGear, where we take a serious interest in this kind of chicanery.

Kinect Hack: Head-Mounted Kinect Makes For Rudimentary Artificial Vision

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 05:00 PM PDT


Many of the hacks we’ve seen for the Kinect, interesting as they are, are aimed at entertainment or just plain coolness. There are plenty of exceptions, though, like the medical monitor we heard about yesterday, or the several telepresence robots we’ve seen that have a multitude of uses.

This hack definitely belongs in the latter category; helping blind people see? I don’t think Microsoft imagined their family-friendly controller would end up like this. But they better be proud.


It’s a project by grad students Michael Zollner and Stephan Huber at the Universität Konstanz in Germany; they used everything from duct tape to Sugru to Arduino and put together this human-mountable system that looks where you look and looks for relevant data. That could be anything from upcoming obstacles to optically-accessible information like QR codes.

You can read more over at the Human-Computer Interactions blog entry. It’s really amazing what can be done with off-the-shelf components these days. I don’t think I’d believe it if I was told five years ago what we’d have available.

[via SlashGear]

Gamestaq’s Peer-To-Peer Game Sales Are The Love Child Of GameStop And Craigslist

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 04:00 PM PDT


The biggest business in the world right now is cutting out the middle man. One way or another, that’s what many of the most promising start-ups and services are providing. It’s not so good for the middle man, of course, but some are more secure in their jobs than others. Taking advantage of the long tail and stocking or listing every item on earth is something Amazon will likely be doing for some time. But what about, say, a predatory business like GameStop, which is essentially a clearing-house for other people’s used property? It is, as we might say at one of our conferences, a prime target for disruption.

Gamestaq is a service that allows gamers to sell their used games directly to other gamers, for an automatically-generated standard price based on eBay and Amazon listings — so you know you’re not getting ripped off, though of course it’s also impossible to find a bargain. It’s intended to combine the best DNA from Craigslist and GameStop, and operate as transparently as possible.

The trouble with GameStop is that it’s taking advantage of its pole position in the $2 billion used-games market to push insane margins: buy a brand-new game from some kid for $20, and as soon as they leave the store, put it on the shelf with a $45 price tag. Kind of an arbitrary and malicious valuation, don’t you think? Yet it’s the standard, since GameStops are everywhere and the average gamer doesn’t really want to bother with the fraud risk and hassle of selling online via Craigslist or Amazon. Gamestaq’s service lets the game be transferred between the two end parties for a fair market value (no more, no less), and they stick a smallish fee in there ($1-2). So it’s still a middle man, but more of a matchmaker for buyer and seller. The prices end up being competitive for both parties, though of course since the buying and selling price are the same, it’s a delicate balance to maintain.

As for Amazon and Craigslist, they’re legitimate competitors but have their weaknesses. Amazon isn’t set up for someone who just wants to turn Bioshock 2 and Black Ops into cash, it’s made for people who want to be a small, very specific online store with low overhead. And Craigslist, well, we all know the risks there. I could buy Homefront today for $35 (it’s $60 new, $45-50 used, so that’s a bargain) but there’s no guarantee when I log on there that I’ll find what I want, and of course unless I do my research, there’s a good risk of over-paying — just saw $200 for a “practically brand new Wii” when actually brand new is well below that, for instance. Gamestaq hasn’t moved into selling consoles yet, but it should.

There are two interesting aspects to the system that make it viable. It didn’t occur to me until I looked at their FAQ, but if you don’t “buy” from a specific seller, how does a specific seller actually sell the game? Well, there’s a queue: first offered, first bought. It’s really the only solution, but it’s not ideal: no one wants to wait. So the second little innovation, which I think is very clever, is simply that when you submit a game for sale, you get a unique URL that you can spread on your own, which is linked to your specific copy of the game. So you can do legwork if you want, or just let it ride (you have to confirm it’s still available each week). It adds a competitive aspect (not to say gameification) so you don’t feel like you’re just submitting to the whim of some game-selling machine (again, an issue many have with GameStop).

And of course there’s nothing stopping you from offering it on Craigslist for the same price (or more), and removing the Gamestaq listing if it sells, or vice versa. It’s just another path for you to take, one that’s a little more regulated but still mainly a peer-to-peer sale.

The games market is unique in this “recycling” aspect. Gadgets, laptops, and other electronics tend to molder in closets since they depreciate so much, and movies and TV are so easy to rent or stream now that the second-hand market isn’t really practical. Digital downloads (of both media and games) are a threat to physical game reselling, but console games haven’t hit the tipping point yet for that, and I expect disc-based games will stick around for at least four or five more years as a standard method of protecting content. And money from selling games tends to go back into games — which is why GameStop has long offered a slight advantage to selling for in-store credit. They know it’s a good bet, and so does Gamestaq.

It’s long past time that GameStop’s stranglehold on the used game business was disrupted, and Gamestaq offers a way to sell which, for your average gamer, is simpler than Amazon and more reliable than Craigslist. It’s a no-lose situation for game sellers, and it can’t hurt to check for buyers, so with luck the service will take a bite out of the current market leaders and strike yet another blow against the middle man.

Tesla Model S Will Support Third-Party Apps On Its Massive 17-inch Touchscreen

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 03:30 PM PDT

The Model S, is the most hyped electric car due to come out soon. Everyone is waiting to see what the Model S will feature and whether or not it’ll be worth the wait. Today, at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the Model S will support third-party apps and text-to-speech, pretty much confirming many rumors.

"We want people to develop car-specific applications," Musk told the audience during his keynote. "And text-to-speech technology can address some of the issues with driver distraction."

I remember when word got out that the Model S would have a 17-inch touchscreen; I couldn’t help dreaming up third-party app ideas. Now that everyone is planning third-party apps of some sort, it’s logical that Tesla follows. This makes the Model S look even more convincing.

Get You Some New Tiny Camera Bags From Acme Made

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 03:00 PM PDT


It’s easy to confuse a camera bag with a man-purse. Not that murses are a bad thing — but not all of us can pull them off, so we must be wary in our camera bag choices. I’m sorry to say I wouldn’t be able to rock these Acme Made bags, though they do look very nice. I can’t really do the euro look.

The Union Kit Messenger (top) is like a tiny messenger bag made just for your DSLR, with a sexy, soft red interior. Its “Bombshell Technical Fabric” is “water, stain, and abrasion resistant.” Sounds complicated! Costs $30, very reasonable.

And here (above) we have the Union Ultra-Zoom. It’s meant for a slightly smaller camera: an ultra-zoom, obviously, or maybe a micro four-thirds device. It looks like this too includes the Bombshell fabric, though perhaps not as much? It’s got more room for accessories, it looks like to me, but it’s hard to tell. It costs $45, which indicates largeness.

The Messenger will be available on April 1st, and the Ultra-Zoom is available now, over at Acme Made’s site.

Lacie’s Wuala Online Storage Gets An iPhone App

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 02:30 PM PDT

Lacie’s Wuala online storage site offers users a great way to securely save and share encrypted files. Today, they announced an iPhone app to take advantage of the service on-the-go. The app allows users to access and share files with others right on the iDevice. Wuala encrypts and decrypts on the client side so none of the private data can ever be accessed by Wuala. They won’t ask, as long as you don’t tell, what it is that you’re hiding.

Press Release

For Immediate Release | March 16, 2011 

Wuala Online Storage Releases Fully-Encrypted iPhone App

Wuala, the secure online storage, announced today the launch of its Wuala iPhone and iPod touch application, which allows users to access their personal files on-the-go and share them with friends and colleagues. Aimed at users who demand secure mobile applications, the Wuala iPhone app encrypts and decrypts files directly on the phone. Unlike other online storage services, Wuala uses client-side encryption. This means Wuala cannot access user files because the password never leaves the device – ensuring user data is always secure.

Wuala for iPhone offers the ability to browse and view files directly. Files can be opened with selected applications, making it easy to flip through a presentation or listen to music while on the move. Selected files can also be saved for offline access.

The new app for iPhone and iPod touch brings mobility to Wuala’s diverse portfolio of cloud storage features. With automatic backup, sync and file encryption, Wuala is bound to fit all online storage needs. Wuala for iPhone and iPod touch is now available at no cost from the Apple App store. To learn more about Wuala for iPhone go to www.wuala.com/iphoneapp.

ABOUT WUALA
Wuala is a great way to get secure online storage. Users can automatically backup, sync, store, share, and access files online. Wuala has a unique security concept: unlike other online storage services all files are encrypted directly on the user’s computer, and the password is never transmitted. No one unauthorized – not even Wuala – can access the user’s files. Wuala is based on novel technology that was researched at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) in Switzerland. In 2009, Wuala was acquired by LaCie. For more information, visit www.wuala.com.

ABOUT LACIE
With operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia, LaCie is a leading manufacturer of storage devices for PC, Apple, and Linux. LaCie has differentiated itself through sleek design and remarkable technical performance. Find out more about our products at www.lacie.com.

Two More Motorola Android Handsets Get Pictured: The Targa and Droid X2

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 02:07 PM PDT

You know, it’s just not a good day for Motorola. After JUST having what seems to be the DROID 3 get caught on camera, photos of two other devices — the Targa and Droid X2, both presumably for Verizon — have leaked out.

Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>

Motorola DROID 3 Gets Caught On Camera

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 02:04 PM PDT

Just as another year always seems to bring another iPhone, it’s starting to look like Motorola plans on churning out an annual DROID. A trio of spy shots of this year’s entry have just leaked out (two more shots after the jump). There’s not much to say that you can’t see for yourself from the photo, but a few highlights:
Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>

Wii 2 Announcement At E3 Hinted At Within Industry

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 02:00 PM PDT


Nintendo hasn’t announced anything, nor have there been any leaks or even indications that Nintendo is doing anything but stay the course. That said, Wii sales have dropped quite a bit since last year, and the Kinect has replaced it as the must-have family-friendly gaming device. Some would have said that Nintendo should have preempted this decline by announcing a successor last year, but others seem to think that this year will be the one, and rightly so.

Analysts and industry people alike (most recently EA’s label head Frank Gibeau) are suggesting that this may be the time for Nintendo to strike. The Sony Move is more or less vanquished (as a major competitor; it’s still a viable platform), and if Nintendo announces a new and improved console, it might check the momentum of the Kinect, rather then (if they’d done so last year) competing with it on equal terms in a cutthroat battle for holiday consumers.

What do we think? Honestly, I’ve stopped trying to predict the big N. They’ve got so much money and such a totally different sense of business and gaming that I wouldn’t want to go out on a limb in any direction. But an announcement at E3 really is a distinct possibility, whereas last year it was really only a distant hope. At any rate, we’ll be there whether they announce or not, so we’ll have the news as it breaks.

Video: Loopt’s Sam Altman Gives “One Year Update” At SXSW 2011

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PDT

While there may not have been a cohesive theme to this year’s SXSW Interactive Conference in the way Location Based Services seemed to dominate SXSWi 2010, it’s important to note that many of these location-oriented apps and services are still around and flourishing. I took the opportunity to reach out to Sam Altman, founder of Loopt, and pick his brain about how things have changed for his company since we last spoke in 2010. Video below.

Samsung’s Sexy 9-Series Hits Tomorrow

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 01:07 PM PDT


Remember that beautiful little laptop Samsung showed off at CES that’s thinner than a MacBook Air, weighs less than three pounds, but still rocks the Sandy Bridge i5 and has 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM? Yes, the Series 9, that’s the one. It’s coming out tomorrow.

Well, the 13-inch version is, anyway. There’s an 11-inch version with an i3, less RAM, and a few other downgrades (but also only weighs 2.3 lb) that will be available in April. The 13-inch starts at $1649. They do look mighty sexy, I have to say.

Here’s the press release:

UST IN TIME TO “LIGHTEN UP” FOR SPRING, LIGHTWEIGHT Samsung SERIES 9 BECOMES AVAILABLE IN THE U.S.

Samsung’s new ultra premium laptop goes on sale March 17

What:
Samsung Electronics America Inc. today announced that the highly anticipated 13-inch, Series 9 laptop featuring Windows® 7 Home Premium will be available in the U.S. through Best Buy and other select retailers and e-tailers beginning tomorrow, March 17.

The 13-inch Series 9 laptop equipped with Windows® 7 Professional will become available at retail/e-tail and through select channel partners in mid-April.

Additionally, an 11-inch Series 9 laptop featuring Windows® 7 Home Premium and 64 GB of HDD storage will also be made available in mid-April.

Where:
Series 9 laptops will be available through a variety of retail and reseller channels including Best Buy, Amazon and Tiger. For a full list of local Samsung resellers and distributors call 1-800-SAMSUNG or visit www.samsung.com.
MSRP:
Series 9 13-inch, Windows® 7 Home Premium: $1,649 MSRP.
Series 9 13-inch, Windows® 7 Professional: $1,699 MSRP

Series 9 Specs:
CPU:
13″ – Intel® CoreTM i5 Processor 2537M (1.4 GHz, 3MB)
11″ – Intel® Core™ i3 Processor 380UM (1.33 GHz, 3MB)
Operating System:
13″ – Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 bit) or Windows® 7 Professional (64 bit)
11″ – Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
Memory: (should include if it’s upgradable?)
13″ – 4GB DDR3
11″ – 2GB DDR3
Storage (max):
13″ – 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
11″ – 64GB SSD
Screen:
13.3-inch HD LED-backlit SuperBright Plus display (400 nit)
11.1-inch HD LED-backlit SuperBright Plus display (340 nit)
Resolution:
13″/11″ – 1366×768
Graphics:
13″ – Intel HD GT
11″ – Intel GMA HD (Integrated)
Speakers
13″/11″ – 3 watt (1.5W x 2) stereo speakers
Battery: Lithium Polymer; up to 7 hours
Wireless: 802.11b/g/n; WiMaxi
Weight:
13″ – 2.89 lbs.
11″ – 2.31 lbs.

Geek Run Shows New And Interesting Way To Use The Kinect

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 01:00 PM PDT


While the Kinect’s biggest selling point is, of course, the “you are the controller” thing, it’s obvious that a depth-sensing color video camera like this has plenty of applications we haven’t thought of. The variety of hacks for it are testament enough, but this interesting-looking game/hack Geek Run brings in a new one to me.

Ironically, it shares a lot of DNA with the Kinect’s major competitor, the Sony Move. You have these blocks of different colors, which place on the floor (or a table or whatnot), and which correspond to different gameplay elements: a guy has to get from here to there, and needs stairs, bridges, and so on placed in his way. It’s like Lemmings crossed with… Gyromite, maybe? I don’t know. But it looks fun and frantic and hey, it involves big colored blocks.

Right now it’s just a prototype, but it’s entirely possible we’ll see this as an XBLA release sooner or later. Here’s hoping they get a little funding and make it into a proper game.

[via Make]

TSA Blames High Radiation Scanner Machine Results On Flawed Testing Method

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 12:30 PM PDT

It looks like the TSA has found itself at the center of another storm. In other news, I understand that stars are hot sometimes. New tests show that the scanners the TSA has deployed around the country at "at least" 78 airports show radiation levels way beyond what was expected. We’re talking 10 times higher. But don’t fret: the TSA says the test results are flawed, and that the machines truly are safe as can be. Honest.

A TSA spokesperson told Wired that technicians made a mistake in measuring radiation levels. Technicians are supposed to take 10 separate readings, then divide this sum by 10 in order to get an average reading.

It seems that the readings that have caused all the commotion weren’t divided by 10, leading to the false impression that the machines have been exposing people to much more radiation than originally advertised.

That hasn’t stopped one consumer rights group, the Association for Airline Passage Rights, from pleading with the TSA to temporarily stop using the machines until the next round of tests are carried out in May.

It should also be pointed out that Wired found that the machines, which costs $180,000 a pop, were never tested on biological tissue—you know, mice and the like.

That Photoshop took at least an hour to put together—the fence was particularly rough—so I hope some of you at least get the joke.
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