Original post by AFP and software by Elliott Back

Original post by Reuters and software by Elliott Back

Art school student Freddie Yauner’s CO2-powered Highest Popping Toaster in the World concept is great and all (it’s even supposedly Guinness World Record-certified), but a clock that aims to tell time to one millionth of a second is what it takes to turn our geeky, schedule-obsessed hearts to mush. Since no display can refresh a million times a second (and no eye can comprehend that kind of data), Yauner’s concept lets you peer into the moment by hitting pause. Just note that by the time you let go the clock will have already advanced by another several million microseconds, prompting an almost Heisenbergian cycle of observation in its owner. Videos of the toaster and clock after the break.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Continue reading Fastest Clock in the World tells time to the microsecond

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Original post by Ryan Block and software by Elliott Back

Who would’ve thought that rumored iControl app would not only turn out to be real, but survive the inevitable internal politics, delays, and feature cutbacks to make it all the way through to a summer release? Sure enough, iTunes 7.7 has been pushed out to developers in the past several hours, and the installer encourages iPhone and iPod touch owners to “use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home — a free download from the App Store.” No further details are given — and it’s not clear whether the “iControl” name seen earlier has been scrapped altogether — but we can guess that it’ll use WiFi to hook up with your mainframe, which really makes the idea of an AirPort Express appealing all over again.

On another note, Apple has released Beta 8 of the iPhone SDK and is using the occasion to kick off acceptances of applications to the real, live App Store in preparation for its July 11 launch. It appears that Beta 8 is actually required to complete the process, so don’t go jumping the gun now — goodness knows the rest of the iPhone-toting world doesn’t want your half-baked apps in a couple weeks, you shady developer, you.

Read - iPhone / iTunes Remote app
Read - Applications to App Store now being accepted

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Original post by Chris Ziegler and software by Elliott Back

Original post by AP and software by Elliott Back

We’ve gotten just about as much info on the Eee PC 901 and 1000 as we can handle, but we’ve been missing that most important piece of data until now: a US release date. That might be about to change, though, as ASUS’s pre-sales department has apparently been telling people that the 901 and 1000 will ship on July 8th. Of course, that’s not a firm commitment, and ship dates have been known to slip, but if you’ve been waiting to cold-cock that piggy bank, well, let the countdown begin.

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Original post by Nilay Patel and software by Elliott Back

The end of an era; a fresh beginning; good riddance — whatever you think of Bill’s final day at Microsoft, it’s impossible to deny that his tenure there helped forever re-shape not just technology, but the world as we know it. So we’re declaring June 27th Bill Gates Day here at Engadget and hopefully you’ll forgive us for, like, totally tearing up now that he’s finally stepping out of his role as nerd-baron and into the shoes of full-blown immortal philanthropist. Hey, it’s Sir William Henry Gates III’s world, we just live in it — that means you, too, Steve.

We’ll miss you big guy.

P.S. -Keep this on the DL, but we heard this rumor he’s thinking of returning to uni for his post-post-post-doc, and it won’t even be honorary. We’ll keep you posted. In the mean time today, expect plenty more Bill.

Continue reading Celebrate Bill Gates Day with us here at Engadget

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Original post by Ryan Block and software by Elliott Back

Original post by Bloomberg and software by Elliott Back

So we’ve asked you which HD media streamer you prefer. And we’ve done the same for NAS drives. But what if you’re the type that’s looking for the best of both worlds? Take it away, Stuart:

“We have a laptop and a desktop, with plans to add another computer in the near future. I’d like something that can primarily provide a large (1TB+) storage repository that can be accessed via our network, as well as have space for data backups and media streaming capabilities. I’ve read articles on Drobo and Windows Home Server-based devices, but after a certain point my brain just starts to get overloaded. Which solution out there would be best for me? I’m trying to stay below $700 if possible.”

We think your task is pretty clear cut here, reader. Which home server out there is a notch above the rest? Would you recommend a pre-built device or a homegrown solution? After giving this one a whirl, toss your own inquiry over to ask at engadget dawt com - your very words may grace this space next week.

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Original post by Darren Murph and software by Elliott Back

We’ve been wondering where the MSI Wind’s been hiding, and it turns out it’s been kicking back with Uncle Sam — the 10-inch netbook just popped up in the FCC. Nothing here we didn’t know, really, but if you’re into shots of the internals or those oh-so-riveting RF reports, nirvana awaits you at the read link.

[Via jkkmobile]

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Original post by Nilay Patel and software by Elliott Back

The future of Helio is still up in the air — one minute it’s about to be sold to Virgin, the next the Ocean 2 is popping up in videos — and it looks like this week will end with some equally ambiguous news: Helio stores appear to be shutting down. That’s the word according to Fierce Wireless, which took this shot of a Helio store in Denver with a sign in the window that reads “The Helio Store is closed. Contact their customer support.” Hmm, that sounds like some part of Helio is going to keep running — hopefully we’ll find out how this soap opera ends sometime soon.

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Original post by Nilay Patel and software by Elliott Back

Never heard of Everex? They’re the smallish, low-end PC maker owned by FIC (who we’d guess also might not know) that makes the Cloudbook (among other things). We only mention them because a third, even more unfamiliar company, a systems integrator named NewMarket Technology, is buying out 75% of Everex to flesh out their mobile hardware presence in certain developing nations. The sum’s undisclosed, the transaction’s due for completion this September, and you might still be wondering what it all means to you. Well, unless you live in Asia or Latin America, probably not a whole lot.

[Via PC World]

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Original post by Ryan Block and software by Elliott Back

According to Next-Gen, PlayStation boss and Kaz Hirai claims that PlayStation 3s have done the same with Cell chips since last holiday season, and that Sony intends to finish the process of shrinking its major chips to 65nm with the RSX graphics processor this fall. Die shrinkage will mean a lot less to PlayStation buyers than it did to 360 owners suffering from the red ring of death on Microsoft’s less-reliable 90nm parts, but it still means Sony can save some cash on producing and cooling PS3s — and you shave a bit off your power bill.

[Via Joystiq]

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Original post by Ryan Block and software by Elliott Back

Original post by AP and software by Elliott Back

Original post by AP and software by Elliott Back

Since 2005, just about everyone that’s ever had a RRoD or upgraded Xbox 360 asked for it, and strangely enough, our requests have been answered: Microsoft’s pushing out its new web-based DRM tool in lieu of the usual spring Dashboard update. The intention is simple — make your life a little easier when it comes to managing the worthless, arcane, irritating DRM that wraps the various bits of content (namely games and shows) one downloads from Xbox Live. If you have no idea what we’re talking about, no need to worry yourself; but those familiar with the acute pain of being unable to manage content licenses across your Xboxen will be mighty relieved to see this light at the end of the tunnel.

Read - Joystiq interview with Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten
Read - The official home of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 license transfer tool

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Original post by Ryan Block and software by Elliott Back

Kaz Hirai took to a Tokyo stage today to give us a peek at the Playstation’s future, and he let slip a couple of interesting tidbits. First, Sony will be launching a new program called “Life with Playstation” that will give users real time news and weather, using a globe metaphor reminiscent of the Wii’s News Channel. Of course, since the PS3 has considerably more horsepower under the hood, the globe is a rendered weather satellite image showing cloud patterns, and it also supports geo-tagged photos and other content. Kaz also previewed the video-download service set to launch next month at E3, which will allow you to download or stream video to the PS3 and PSP. The store looks a lot like the current PlayStation Store, and it looks like HD rentals will run around $6 while SD purchases will clock in around $13 when it launches in the States this summer. We’ll learn a lot more at E3, presumably, but for now we’ll just settle for a decent screen shot of that globe interface.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

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Original post by Nilay Patel and software by Elliott Back

What’s this? Could it be? An Xbox 360 price drop on July 6? According to this image, the Xbox 360 Pro will drop to $299.99, at least at K-Mart. The little image circulating shows the “Xbox 360 20GB console” with a $299.99 price, but no word on pricing on the Arcade and Elite versions of the console. We had a feeling price cuts would be coming at E3, but it’s entirely possible Microsoft waned to get pricing out of the way before the gaming conference to concentrate on other goodness.

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Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger and software by Elliott Back

Uh oh, DXG’s creeping its way up into luxury territory. Earlier this year, we saw the outfit dish out a craptacular $149 HD camcorder, and just a few months back we were introduced to the $169 DXG-569V. Now, it’ll take another Hamilton in order to rightfully claim its newest unit, the DXG-567V. The pocket-friendly cam is available in four different hues, ships with rechargeable AA batteries and uploads directly to YouTube and other video sharing sites without much hassle at all. DXG claims that this bugger captures video at 1,280 x 720 (30fps), but even at $179, we have our doubts about the overall quality. Better watch out though, by this time next year you’ll see DXG perched up beside Sony, Panasonic and the rest of the respected gang.

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Original post by Darren Murph and software by Elliott Back

We already told you about Vizio’s new cheap plasmas, but we recently had a chance to witness the 32-inch VP322 in person. The set’s case design is very tasteful, and a welcome departure from the flashy, uber-lit displays we’ve come to expect from Vizio. As for picture quality, the set exhibited the deep blacks one would expect from a plasma display, but the snowy feed of a basketball game — which we assume was coming form the set’s internal ATSC tuner — wasn’t good enough to tell how the VP322 scales and processes to its native 768 lines. The promised three HDMI and component inputs were all there, confirming that this TV is a decent choice for those making the digital transition. For $550 at Wal-Mart, though, we’re not about to complain.

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Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger and software by Elliott Back

If you’ve managed to blink over the past few weeks, you may have missed it. Missed what, you ask? The war between no name HDD racks, that’s what. After numerous evolutions of the HDD Stage Rack managed to capture the hearts of at least a few storage junkies out there, we’ve seen a barrage of competitors surface over at Brando. The latest is Unitek’s SATA HDD Multi-Function Dock with One Touch Backup, which — to be totally frank — does a phenomenal job of explaining itself. For those a touch slow on the uptake, this unit enables any internal 2.5- / 3.5-inch SATA drive to be accessed externally, and furthermore, it packs a couple of USB 2.0 ports and supports a whole slew of memory cards. You could grab this one now for $53, but then again, you never know what will leapfrog it next week.

[Via The Red Ferret Journal]

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Original post by Darren Murph and software by Elliott Back

We got a look at some engineering prototype versions of Dell’s new Studio 17 and Studio 15 laptops, so while they might be lacking a minor bit of polish here or there compared to the real versions, Dell certainly had these up and running a good couple months ago. We’re not totally blown away by the design, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction for Dell, and a few elements (like the hinge) even seem to be taking some cues from Lenovo’s ultra-designed IdeaPad line. There’s no denying that the Studio 15, with its flush-to-the-edges keyboard strikes a more stunning figure than the slightly bleh Studio 17 version, but neither one is quite as thin as we’d like, and the material doesn’t quite shake off the cheap plastic feel of Dell’s Inspiron series. But hey, color (and graphic) lid customization is fun, and you’re still going to be hard pressed to beat Dell’s prices. Pics are below, and we apologize for the blurring: a few unannounced products snuck into the shots, but hopefully we’ll be hearing more about those shortly.

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Original post by Paul Miller and software by Elliott Back

Even though the Justice Department has approved the XM / Sirius merger and the FCC’s approval is all but sure to follow, those pesky fools at NAB just won’t go down without a fight — the organization is demanding that FCC’s approval be postponed until certain documents are turned over by the agency. NAB says the paperwork shows “apparent wrongdoing” by Sirius and XM officials in including FM transmitters in radios and terrestrial repeaters, and it met with FCC officials on Tuesday to make its claim. There’s no word on how effective any of this is going to be, but we’ll give it to NAB for being tenacious, at least — now please, go away.

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Original post by Nilay Patel and software by Elliott Back

While most folks are understandably a little hesitant to pop anything more than the battery cover off of their phone, there are thankfully a brave few like those at Rapid Repair who are willing to throw caution (and their warranty) to the wind and tear things down to the bare essentials. As you may or may not be able to make out from the image above, their latest dissection involved the fast-selling Samsung Instinct and, as is their nature, they’ve included some step-by-step instructions in case you want to have a go at it yourself. Hit up the read link below for those, and plenty more pics.

[Thanks, Aaron]

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Original post by Donald Melanson and software by Elliott Back

With E3 fast approaching the rumor mill is unsurprisingly already in full swing, and this latest possibility to crop up is certainly one of the more tantalizing of the season, even it is a tad unlikely. If EGM’s Quarterman is to be believed, however, it seems that Microsoft may be about to take a cue from the late, lamented 3D0 and begin allowing third-party manufacturers to build their own Xbox 360 hardware, which could conceivably include something as previously far fetched as a Blu-ray player with a built-in 360. Lending a smidgen of credence to that rumor is a recent quote by Microsoft’s David Gosen, who told MCV that the company is working on things that he says will be “game changing.” Of course, it would hardly be the first time that something touted to be game changing turned out to be anything but, but we only have a few more weeks to wait until we know for sure.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

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Original post by Donald Melanson and software by Elliott Back

Looks like there’s only room for one mobile Linux standards body in these here parts, and LiMo’s recent momentum and partnership deals have apparently swept up the members of the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) — the two groups just announced that as of July, LiPS will be folded into LiMo. That’ll give the Foundation even more ammunition as it gears up to do open-source battle with Android and that fruit-flavored mobile whose name we keep forgetting. There’s no word on what’s going to happen to LiPS’s 1.0 specs, but we’d guess they’ll be folded into the LiMo platform — now all we need are some actual phones.

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Original post by Nilay Patel and software by Elliott Back

It may not speak with the voice of KITT, but Mio’s new Moov 380 GPS unit looks like it’ll pack some pretty desirable features nonetheless, not the least of which is a built-in SIM card for some Dash-like two-way communication. That’ll of course also let you make and receive calls and text messages straight from the device without having to jump through the usual Bluetooth hoops, although there’s no word as to what carrier Mio might be teaming up with or what the rates will be. Otherwise, it seems you can expect the usual array of GPS and non-GPS-related functions, along with the requisite microSD card slot and Mio’s trademark MioMore Desktop software for some PC connectivity. No word on a price or release date just yet, but its recent trip through the FCC would seem to indicate that those details should be cropping up sooner rather than later.

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Original post by Donald Melanson and software by Elliott Back

Original post by AP and software by Elliott Back

Say hello to this year’s warmed-over line of Sony’s ES 7.1 channel audio/video receivers. Now-standard features in the line include a PS3/PSP-style xross media bar interface, 1080p Faroudja DCDi upconversion, a slew of audio codec support (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, dts High Resolution Audio and dts HD Master Audio) plus Digital Media Port connectivity to hook up iPod or Bluetooth adapters or satellite radio. The higher end STR-DA4400ES (above) packs a 120-watt amplifier, six HDMI inputs, HD video output to two zones and audio to three zones for $1,500 when it debuts this August. The STR-DA3400ES and STR-DA2400ES both include a 100-watt amp, four HDMI jacks, the 3400 includes an IR repeater and support for a second video zone with its $1,000 price tag, while the 2400 drops those features and includes a basic interface for $800 next month. Take a peek at both after the break, then check your wallet to see where you fit in.

Continue reading Sony unveils 2008 ES receiver lineup

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Original post by Richard Lawler and software by Elliott Back

Say hello to this year’s warmed-over line of Sony’s ES 7.1 channel audio/video receivers. Now-standard features in the line include a PS3/PSP-style xross media bar interface, 1080p Faroudja DCDi upconversion, a slew of audio codec support (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, dts High Resolution Audio and dts HD Master Audio) plus Digital Media Port connectivity to hook up iPod or Bluetooth adapters or satellite radio. The higher end STR-DA4400ES (above) packs a 120-watt amplifier, six HDMI inputs, HD video output to two zones and audio to three zones for $1,500 when it debuts this August. The STR-DA3400ES and STR-DA2400ES both include a 100-watt amp, four HDMI jacks, the 3400 includes an IR repeater and support for a second video zone with its $1,000 price tag, while the 2400 drops those features and includes a basic interface for $800 next month. Take a peek at both after the break, then check your wallet to see where you fit in.

Continue reading Sony unveils 2008 ES receiver lineup

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Original post by Richard Lawler and software by Elliott Back

Original post by Reuters and software by Elliott Back

We’d heard that AMD was working on another competitor to Intel’s Atom chips, but yet another set of insanely boring leaked slides indicates that the company is planning on using a version of its next-gen Fusion CPU / GPU hybrid chip to power a new mobile platform codenamed “Shrike.” The new ultra-low-voltage platform is aimed at machines like the Fujitsu U810 and Dell Latitude XT, so it’s not quite a direct competitor for Atom and VIA’s Isaiah — that’s what Puma is for — but there’s bound to be some overlap, and the appeal of a real GPU in a mobile device is pretty obvious. Rumor is that Shrike could beat the planned “Swift” chips off the line as the first Fusion chips — that is, if any of this stuff actually ever ships, since we’ve been hearing about it since 2006. Let’s see some chips instead of slides next time, alright AMD?

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Original post by Nilay Patel and software by Elliott Back

We’d heard that AMD was working on another competitor to Intel’s Atom chips, but yet another set of insanely boring leaked slides indicates that the company is planning on using a version of its next-gen Fusion CPU / GPU hybrid chip to power a new mobile platform codenamed “Shrike.” The new ultra-low-voltage platform is aimed at machines like the Fujitsu U810 and Dell Latitude XT, so it’s not quite a direct competitor for Atom and VIA’s Isaiah — that’s what Puma is for — but there’s bound to be some overlap, and the appeal of a real GPU in a mobile device is pretty obvious. Rumor is that Shrike could beat the planned “Swift” chips off the line as the first Fusion chips — that is, if any of this stuff actually ever ships, since we’ve been hearing about it since 2006. Let’s see some chips instead of slides next time, alright AMD?

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Original post by Nilay Patel and software by Elliott Back

Original post by AP and software by Elliott Back

Original post by McClatchy Newspapers and software by Elliott Back