Photos: BoomCase There’s more than meets the eye with an old-school, hardcover suitcase. This certainly rings true for the BoomCase — customized boom boxes by self-confessed “audio-nut” and designer Dominic “Mr. SiMo”, who upcycles these stylish, street-worthy vintage suitcases that are bound to make some heads turn. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Photo: No Trick Treats For the health conscious like me, Halloween candy that can lend to ill health is as spooky as un-fairly traded choco treats. I hate sounding like the grim reaper and all, but it’s science — not this blogger — linking childhood obesity, diabetes and cancer to refined sugars . Unless you want to be the “granny” on the block handing out… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Interview with Vijay Vaitheeswaran ‘Improbable breakthroughs’ is one of the primary themes at this year’s Poptech conference . Fitting then, that Toyota has its plug-in hybrid Prius on hand for attendees to test drive — with fast-improving tech and still-rising gas prices, electric cars are more than overdue a mass market breakthrough. Interestingly, when I caught up with Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, the co-author of
Continue reading …When CEO Reed Hastings called Netflix “primarily a streaming company that also offers DVD-by-mail,” he wasn’t messing around, as the company’s quietly made streaming-only plans a reality on US shores. Strangely enough, however, it seems the firm hasn’t quite decided how much the new plan should cost, as depending on which computer and web browser you use to navigate Netflix’s website you’ll see a different result. Our Windows desktop running Chrome was invited to sign up for the same $7.99 disc-less plan as our Canadian counterparts , while Firefox asked us to pay $8.99 for the same privilege, and in either case it’d cost us $9.99 in total if we wanted physical discs as well — while a MacBook Pro on the other side of the country was given the choice between $8.99 for streaming-only or Netflix’s previous plan of $8.99 for both. In short, there’s a chance you might get a $1 discount if you only use the company’s online service now, but if you like DVDs delivered to your door you may find yourself subsidizing those who don’t. See a picture illustrating the discrepancy right after the break. [Thanks, Michael S.] Continue reading Netflix testing $7.99 and $8.99 streaming-only plans in US right now, one is not a discount Netflix testing $7.99 and $8.99 streaming-only plans in US right now, one is not a discount originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Oct 2010 15:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …What will they think of next ? Police discovered a methamphetamine lab inside a freshman residence hall on the Georgetown University campus early Saturday. Four hundred residents of Harbin Hall were evacuated and two freshmen were detained for questioning. Students and administrators at the prestigious private university were startled by the find. “For this campus, this is very out of the norm,” said Kayla Bostwick, 18, a freshman rousted from her room at 6 Saturday morning. “This should not happen.” A caller to campus police reported strange odors from a 9th-floor room about 5 a.m., said Julie Green Bataille, university spokeswoman. Officers entered the double-occupancy room and found the lab. Students were evacuated because of the potential for meth labs to explode. They were sent to a nearby dining hall and to the student center. “We needed to make sure the building was safe,” Bataille said. Just wait, some Democrat will blame this on high tuition costs and will call for more federal funding for student grants. In 1976 I did a choir tour to Washington D.C. and we stayed in the dorms at Georgetown. I don’t recall any meth labs at that time.
Continue reading …Ah, ha! There it is! Way back in March, we had a sit-down with folks from Seven45 Studios about their plans for Power Gig: Rise of the SixString (for PS3 and Xbox 360), focusing mainly on how they intended to rival the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises from a peripheral standpoint. The six string guitar accessory that ships with the game bundle today is already leaps and bounds better than what RB3 is packin’ , but an instrument we were keenly interested in at GDC was also one we couldn’t photograph at the time. The company made clear that it was looking at releasing a real-deal, bona fide guitar in the future — a full-size First Act axe that could be used with the game or with a legitimate amplifier. Now, that limited edition piece is on sale for both of the aforesaid consoles, boasting a single cutaway basswood body, humbucking pickup, and a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. Each one is available for $249.99, but there’s no telling how many will be produced. We’d also prefer to see these in larger music shops in order to give consumers an idea of the fit, finish, feel and sound, but those into taking chances can get one headed their way as we speak. Gallery: Power Gig’s full-size, handmade guitar from First Act Continue reading Power Gig’s full-size, handmade guitar / controller now on sale for $250 Power Gig’s full-size, handmade guitar / controller now on sale for $250 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Oct 2010 15:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …“Why is it okay for Nina to express opinions, as she has tartly, sharply, unashamedly and openly” while serving as “an honored correspondent” for NPR, while Juan Williams, “because he expresses his opinions, gets canned from NPR?” So Charles Krauthammer demanded while sitting Friday with Totenberg on the same Inside Washington set. “In fact, the standard ought to be lower in the case of Juan because he’s an analyst, whereas Nina is a correspondent.” Krauthammer had picked up on NPR CEO Vivian Schiller’s contention that the network had canned Williams because he violated the policy that “news analysts may not take personal public positions on controversial issues; doing so undermines their credibility as analysts, and that's what's happened in this situation.” An uncomfortable Totenberg asserted “it’s a very, very difficult line to draw. And NPR tries to draw it, in my view, using rules that don’t exist anymore.” To which, Krauthammer wondered: “But what’s the difference between you and Juan expressing opinions? You on this show, and him on Fox?” He condemned NPR: “It’s completely illogical and hypocritical.” (Audio: MP3 clip ) read more
Continue reading …Election year pranks are not uncommon (as is voter fraud), and this year the Obama for America organization has conveniently provided some Tea Party activists with a way to contact loyal Democrats for phone bank fun : If you happen to receive a call from someone who says they’re phoning on behalf of Organizing for America (OFA)—the successor group to Barack Obama’s campaign machine—don’t be surprised if he or she implores you to vote for tea party favorites like Sharron Angle, Christine O’Donnell, or Rand Paul, or merely lambasts health care reform. The caller won’t actually be a member of Obama’s 13-million strong legion of campaign supporters, but rather a tea party prankster who has access to your personal information, thanks to OFA’s privacy-challenged get-out-the-vote (GOTV) campaign. Ahead of the midterms, OFA, which was folded into the Democratic National Committee following Obama’s election, has created an online “virtual” phone bank ostensibly for use by Democratic volunteers. As of Monday, the web page provided the names of Democrats who voted in 2008 but who aren’t always regular voters, plus their phone numbers, ages, locations, and party affiliations. OFA also includes a script to use to encourage those voters to vote (and for the right candidates) on Election Day: “Will you help the president by committing to vote in your local elections in 2010, including the midterm elections on November 2nd?” Anyone can access the information without so much as logging in. And as it turns out, some conservative activists are doing just that. Entrepreneurial tea partiers have seized on the Democrats’ GOTV tool to lobby for their own candidates, and sometimes just to annoy Democratic voters while posing as members of Obama’s campaign machine. Last week, news of the open phone bank circulated on a tea party Google group and quickly got activists scheming about how to make the best use of it. One Florida activist, Robin Stublen, says he’s called at least 40 Obama supporters using the OFA list. “Whenever I want a couple of giggles, I call the Democrats. Why not? If they’re really that stupid, you gotta have fun,” he says with a hearty laugh. “You can be rude—hell, you’re calling Democrats!” In his calls to Obama supporters, Stublen has asked Nevadans to vote for Angle, the tea party candidate running against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He’s berated people for not giving enough money to the Democratic Party. He even called one household and pretended to be taking a poll about their love of Sarah Palin. (“They hung up on me,” he admits.) He had been hoping to wake some people up by calling at 2 a.m., but sadly for him, the site shuts down after 9 p.m. Read the rest of it here . I enjoy a creative prank, and this is creative.
Continue reading …Raul Grijalva is a four-term congressman in southern Arizona. Yet given the recent SB1070 anti-immigrant legislation, the historically shoe-in Democrat is awkwardly engaged in a tight race with his Republican counterpart after Grijalva had the gall to back a national boycott campaign against his state. The 62 year-old Grijalva is pitted against Republican Ruth McClung, 28. —JCL The LA Times: The contrast between the two candidates couldn’t have been starker. On one side of the stage slouched Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, 62, a four-term congressman and local Democratic icon, sporting a bushy moustache and wearing an open-collared shirt that he had changed into an hour earlier but already looked rumpled. On the other end sat Republican nominee Ruth McClung, 28, her yellow jacket matching her sensibly styled blond hair, carefully smiling at the crowd gathered here this week at a candidate forum about 15 miles from the Mexico border. Grijalva has represented southern Arizona for decades and his daughter sits on the Tucson School Board, as he did in the 1970s. McClung’s only other experience running for office was her campaign to become captain of her high school swim team. Read more Related Entries October 20, 2010 From ‘Sons of Confederate Veterans’ to Children’s Ears October 17, 2010 Merkel: Multiculturalism Has Failed
Continue reading …Otto Bock’s mind-controlled bionic arms let Austria’s Christian Kandlbauer work, play and even drive, but it seems the latter passion may have lead to the 22-year-old’s untimely demise. Two days after a road accident where the young man’s specially-modified Subaru crashed into a tree, Kandlbauer was pronounced brain-dead and taken off life support late last week. It’s not known whether the prosthetic arms themselves had anything to do with the crash — one was found ripped from his body at the scene — but both he and his vehicle were cleared to drive by local authorities after passing a number of tests. Honestly, it’s a tragedy for science and humanity either way. Man with bionic arms dies after car crash originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Oct 2010 14:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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