Computer Information - myOddPc
Shark Shield experiences epic fail, gets chomped by great white in test
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
As we're certain you know by now, there are
fails, and then there are
epic fails. This case most definitely falls into the latter category, as Sea Change's
shark-deterrent system (affectionately dubbed Shark Shield) was actually bit into by a great white when tested off the coast of South Africa. Reportedly, the device sends out electronic fields that are meant to deter sharks from coming near surfers, but according to the company's CEO, the botched trial was "due to a problem with the electrode's configuration." Furthermore, he noted that the thing is only "guaranteed to work when it's stationary, not when it's surfing in the wave or paddling." Needless to say, the effectiveness of these type devices have now been called into question, and regardless of whether this thing actually works as advertised, the lack of total protection -- you know, while
actually surfing -- is enough to make us steer clear.
[Via
UberReview]
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MobileDemand lets loose rugged xTablet T8700 tablet PC
Filed under: Tablet PCs
It may not look all that different from its previous
xTablet T8600, but MobileDemand still seems to have found plenty to brag about its new xTablet T8700 rugged tablet PC, which it says offers the "industry's highest performance" in addition to "superior ruggedness." That performance is centered around a 1.2GHz Core Duo processor and a standard 2GB of RAM, which certainly isn't much compared to consumer laptops and tablet PCs, but is pretty uncommon in a rugged tablet of this class, which are usually
saddled with a Celeron or the like. On that other, even more important matter (at least for anyone in the market for one of these), you can expect an MIL-STD 810F rating for ruggedness and an IP 65 rating for sealing, which you can see put to the test in video form on MobileDemand's website. Needless to say, none of this exactly comes cheap, with a hefty $3,795 required to call this one your own.
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Best Buy customer purchases $300 hard drive, receives oodles of dried beans
Filed under: Storage
No, this isn't the
first time we've heard of innocent consumers snagging some new kit only to find random bits of unwanted garbage in place of the actual product, and unfortunately, we've all ideas it's not the last. This go 'round, a couple waltzed into Best Buy, snagged a "brand new" $300 hard drive and zoomed home to start packin' those platters. Much to their dismay, no HDD was found inside the box -- rather, three bags of dried beans weighed it down enough to not seem suspicious. As expected, Best Buy wasn't about to refund any money for fear that the actual purchasers could be the culprits, and while that's certainly understandable, we're quite relieved to know that a little outside intervention netted the two a $300 gift card to the retailer. We bet they'll inspect that package a bit more closely before taking it home next time (sad though that may be).
[Image courtesy of
DKImages, thanks Craig]
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VUDU XL starts shipping, v1.3 software gets detailed
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
Lots of news on the VUDU front today, starting with the announcement that the grossly overpriced
VUDU XL is finally shipping to all three people who forked out for one. Moving on to more important matters, the forthcoming v1.3 software -- which is hitting barely a month after
v1.2 was loosed -- will open up the VUDU Vault. Put simply, this feature will "enable consumer to move owned titles from the VUDU hard drive to a secure area on VUDU servers to free up space for additional purchases." As expected, the feature will only be available on "select titles," but hey, we suppose we'll take what we can get. Moving on, VUDU is also announcing the $39 IR receiver kit for both the original STB and the XL, which will "allow for the operation of the service using approved programmable remotes." Lastly, v1.3 will bring about a numerically listed Most Watched overlay as well as improved searching for TV episodes. No word on when the update will start being pushed out, but we'd guess it'll be sooner rather than later.
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Lenovo's ThinkCentre M57 / M57P desktops are kings of green
Filed under: Desktops
Last September, Lenovo tooted its horn quite loudly with the introduction of the environmentally-friendly
ThinkCentre A61e. Fast forward a few months, and it's the same song and dance once more -- with even
more
green this time, though. The ThinkCentre M57 / M57p machines won't blow anyone away in terms of raw horsepower, but they are the first desktops from any PC maker to garner GREENGUARD certification. Additionally, these power-sipping rigs are EPEAT Gold rated, Energy Star 4.0 rated, and the first ThinkCentres with recycled material from consumer plastics. Internally, you'll get to choose from a range of Intel Celeron / Core 2 Duo CPU options, up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, integrated graphics, an 80GB / 160GB hard drive and not much else. 'Course, with prices on the M57 starting at $699 and an understandable focus on energy-efficient components, we wouldn't expect much different.
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ASUS' 11-inch U2E laptop gets reviewed
Filed under: Laptops
You already knew those lucky souls over at
PC Perspective had a U2E of
their very own, but now that you're done gawking at the unboxing shots, how's about a bona fide review? Thankfully, ASUS' 11-inch ultraportable is indeed the latest lappie to be put through the proverbial paces, and as expected, it performed like a champ -- considering it's wee size, of course. The machine didn't blow by any benchmarking sessions or anything, but again, it was never meant to be your primary gaming rig when heading off to a LAN party. All in all, reviewers found very (and we stress
very) little to complain about, and even went so far as to call it "one of the best notebooks to hit the ultra-mobile market, ever." Not at all enthused about the
MacBook Air or
Lenovo X300? Then by all means, give that read link some love -- chances are the U2E is just what the doctor ordered.
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TomTom announces GO 530 navigator for Europe
Filed under: GPS
Thought TomTom was done after introducing the
GO 930 and 730 at CeBIT? Think again, as the company is also unveiling the GO 530, which is the reported successor the
GO 520. For starters, this one is slated to arrive and stay in Europe, and its map content will depend largely on what region it is purchased in. As with its higher-numbered siblings, this bugger will also boast IQ Routes and the Advanced Lane Guidance, and it'll also feature a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution display, a 400MHz CPU, 1GB of internal memory, an SD expansion slot, built-in Bluetooth and a Li-ion cell good for around 5 hours. If all that's good enough for you, it'll be ready to grab this April for around £235 ($466).
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Bungie to bring justice to Xbox 360 repair mishap
Filed under: Gaming
After Nathaniel's nostalgic Xbox 360 was quite literally
wiped clean when sent in for repair, we had a sneaking suspicion the powers that be would make sure things were rectified. Thankfully, the bigwigs at Bungie are already conjuring up a solution that it hopes will "come very close" to acting as a replacement. According to Bungie community director Brian Jarrard, his team is "rallying to help fix this unfortunate situation," and while no details beyond that have been divulged, we can't help but suspect that the resolution to all of this will be more than satisfactory.
[Thanks, Steve]
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Domains Blocked By US Treasury 'Blacklist'
yuna49 writes "Adam Liptak of the New York Times reports today about the plight of a Spanish tour operator whose domain names have been embargoed by his domain name registrar (eNom). They pulled his domains after they discovered the tour operator's name on a US Treasury blacklist. It turns out he packages tours to Cuba largely for European tourists who can legally travel there, unlike Americans. The article cites 'a press release issued in December 2004, almost three years before eNom acted. It said Mr. Marshall's company had helped Americans evade restrictions on travel to Cuba and was 'a generator of resources that the Cuban regime uses to oppress its people.' It added that American companies must not only stop doing business with the company but also freeze its assets, meaning that eNom did exactly what it was legally required to do.' The only part of the operator's business in the United States is his domain name registration; all other aspects of his business lie outside the United States."
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Psychologist Beating Math Nerds in Race to Netflix Prize
s1d writes "An almost-anonymous British psychologist named Gavin Potter has suddenly risen to the top of the Netflix prize charts. With his very first attempt, he got a score which took the BellKor team seven months to reach. Currently at a score of 8.07, he has only five teams ahead of him now in the race for the ultimate Netflix algorithm. 'Potter says his anonymity is mostly accidental. He started that way and didn't come out into the open until after Wired found him. "I guess I didn't think it was worth putting up a link until I had got somewhere," he says, adding that he'd been seriously posting under the name of his venture capital and consulting firm, Mathematical Capital, for two months before launching "Just a guy." When he started competing, he posted to his blog: "Decided to take the Netflix Prize seriously. Looks kind of fun. Not sure where I will get to as I am not an academic or a mathematician. However, being an unemployed psychologist I do have a bit of time."'"
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