Battlefield Heroes pushed back to late 2008
July 30, 2008
Filed under: Personal computer, Casual
Visually appealing, free-to-play shooter news now, with EA’s post-results conference call revealing a delay for Battlefield Heroes. EA CEO John Riccitiello announced that the game would now launch at the end of 2008, with the developers shifting focus to implementing better “social networking features.” Since we won’t have to pay for the game’s maps, we’ll probably be using stated “social networking features” to figure out how to complain about something else — possibly Burger King ads.
BlackBerry Bold Delayed In The US
July 30, 2008
Eager future-users of the BlackBerry Bold will be disappointed to find out that they have to wait a little bit longer for its release, as the Bold has just been delayed on both Rogers and AT&T. The delay probably won’t be too much of an issue for Rogers’ customers, as it has just been pushed back from July 25th to July 29th. Unfortunately AT&T has pushed the date from mid-July to mid-August, meaning it probably won’t hit the retail stores until about September 1st. The latest update from Engadget Mobile also states that Telstra has announced that the Bold will be released in Australia near the end of September, and will be available free to its business customers.
To Attract Guests, Hotels Splurge on Hi-Tech and Bling for Pools
July 30, 2008
Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, iPod, Summer Fun
Hotels are spending large bucks on new pools, and we’re not talking about fluffier lounge towels and free slippers. Okay, we know, most nice hotels already give people free slippers, but we were trying to make a point. Anyway…
Basically, competition for the type of people who can still afford to travel is intense. Hotels know that having bells and whistles bigger and shinier than the competition’s bells and whistles can give them an edge. You want examples We got examples (which we got from a current USA Today article).
For all things tech, visit Puerto Rico’s El San Juan Hotel and Casino where people can rent poolside cabanas with flat screen TVs and mini bars. The ideal part While on break from spinning, the resident DJ will come around and customize iPods with some of his/her favorite music. Nice touch eh
The Gaansevort South’s pool (pictured above) in South Beach is infused with underwater lights and music. Bar patrons can watch the aquatic debauchery unfold from a dry spot near the bar courtesy of a huge window in the pool.
The new Thompson Beverly Hills boasts a pool lined with Swarovski Crystals. Jason Pomeranc, Thompson Hotels Chief, calls the pool “very Hollywood.” We call his description of the pool “very unoriginal.”
The Joule, a new hotel in Dallas has a pool on the 10th floor that has one end sticking out over the street. Not only is this cool, but it is open to the public, which makes us care about it a lot more, because we can’t actually afford to stay there.
Get the picture Now go have fun. If you can afford it. [Source: USA Today]
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Super Efficient Material Converts Automobile Exhaust to Energy
July 30, 2008
Filed under: Automobile Tech, Green Tech
Your vehicle engine wastes up to 75-percent of the power it generates — but a team of Ohio State University researchers thinks it has found a way to capture a lot of that wasted energy and convert it into electricity.
The promise is in a new material they’ve developed, called thallium-doped lead telluride. (Isn’t that a black diamond trail at a Colorado ski resort) This is twice as efficient at converting heat to electricity as any previously developed material.
The research team’s lead, Joseph Heremans, says the thallium-doped lead telluride can convert a car’s wasted heat into energy without causing pollution. “The material does all the work. It produces electrical power just like conventional heat engines — steam engines, gas or diesel engines — that are coupled to electrical generators, but it uses electrons as the working fluids instead of water or gases, and makes electricity directly.”
Some experts argue that only about 25-percent of the energy produced by a typical gasoline engine is used to move a automobile or power its accessories, and nearly 60-percent is lost through waste heat — much of which escapes in engine exhaust. A thermoelectric (TE) device can capture some of that waste heat, Heremans stated, and it would also make a practical addition to an car, because it has no moving parts to wear out or break down.
Heremans’ team didn’t just try random new types of metals or coatings for their research — the team is also working on the nanotechnology and quantum level. “We hope to go much further. I think it should be quite possible to apply other lessons learned from thermoelectric nanotechnology to boost the rating by another factor of two — that’s what we’re shooting for now,” he said.
If Hereman’s next announcement is for a flux capacitor (1.21 gigawatts!), we’ll know we’ve crossed over from science advancement to science fiction. Either way, with rising fuel costs, we hope automobile makers take notice of Hereman’s breakthrough. [Source: BetaNews]
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Video: Five minutes of Mirror’s Edge
July 30, 2008
[Via NeoGAF]
Continue reading Video: Five minutes of Mirror’s Edge
iPhone 3G Accidentally Snaps Pic of iPhone Factory
July 30, 2008
Unless you hit the jackpot at an Apple Store, you aren’t apt to see this many iPhone 3Gs in one place without planning a meetup. As the story goes, one particular lady picked up one of Apple’s latest handsets, took it home and began checking things out. Curiously, a trio of images were already on the Camera Roll. Upon viewing them, she noticed two snaps overcome with blur and the one you see above — likely a rare look into an iPhone 3G factory. Not that we haven’t see Apple products give away their place of origin before, but still interesting nonetheless. Now, scurry along and check out your own roll to see if any hidden treasures are waiting. [Source: Remove the Labels via TUAW]
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iPhone 3G Accidentally Snaps Pic of iPhone Factory
July 30, 2008
Unless you hit the jackpot at an Apple Store, you aren’t likely to see this many iPhone 3Gs in one place without planning a meetup. As the story goes, one particular lady picked up one of Apple’s latest handsets, took it home and began checking things out. Curiously, a trio of images were already on the Camera Roll. Upon viewing them, she noticed two snaps overcome with blur and the one you see above — likely a rare look into an iPhone 3G factory. Not that we haven’t see Apple products give away their place of origin before, but still interesting nonetheless. Now, scurry along and check out your own roll to see if any hidden treasures are waiting. [Source: Remove the Labels via TUAW]
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Five Things to Consider Before Buying a GPS System
July 30, 2008
Filed under: Car Tech, Back to School Guide 2008
GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation devices — those talking screens with maps that give you real-time directions to wherever you’re going (as you’re going there) — used to be the province of the well-to-do with high-end vehicles. But nowadays, real-time navigation technology is available for all budgets in all sorts of shapes, sizes and feature packages. So which type of GPS is for you Should you spend a mere $2.99 to get directions on your cell phone or splurge up to $500 for a high-end portable Are factory-installed navigation systems you get with a new vehicle superior than a standalone portable Do you really need an MP3 player with your traffic directions For answers to these questions and more, check out the five things to consider before you purchase a GPS, which we’ve organized by the most commonly asked questions on the following pages (click below to get to tip number 1).
Patched SSFIITHDR beta extended into Sept
July 29, 2008
Filed under: News, Xbox Live Arcade
Samsung intros two new Q1 Ultra UMPCs: one with Vista Business, one with HSDPA
July 29, 2008
Filed under: Handhelds, Wireless
The next-generation Q1 Ultra may be due next year, but Sammy’s trying to squeeze every bit of life it can out of the current iteration with two new flavors. Announced this day, the Q1U-CMXP boasts an integrated HSDPA 3G cellular modem, while the Q1UP-V is a Q1 Ultra Premium featuring Vista Business. As for the former, it includes just about each connectivity option you could wish for: 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Ethernet and a WWAN modem that connects to the AT&T Broadband Connect network; outside of the one new feature, however, the specifications are the same as the standard Q1 Ultra XP model that was launched in May of 2007. Both newcomers (if you can call ‘em that) are available as we speak for $1,499 and $1,449 in order of mention.
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