Intel launching cheaper SSDs with up to 320GB capacity in two weeks?

Rumor has it that Intel is prepped to launch its new SSDs in the next two weeks. According to sources speaking to the The Inquirer, the new solid state disks will feature that smaller 34nm NAND Flash developed by Intel and Micron. As usual, the smaller manufacturing processes should allow for higher density SSDs (as high as 320GB) at a reduced cost to manufacture. In fact, INQ says, "there will be drives big enough to replace the HDDs in most, if not all laptops." With Intel already cutting SSD prices we remain optimistic that this rumor is true.

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Kate's Cafe Serves Crocheted Food

Knitting and crocheting have become all the rage, with happy knitters meeting in pubs or creating monster coral reefs. Kate Jenkins has taken a different route and is crocheting culinary masterpieces. In her fantasy cafe she is serving full english breakfast, complete with tomatoes, sausages and eggs, or fish and chips, little sugar cupcakes and cups of tea with saucers.Crocheted works like sequin-adorned sardines on toast, knitted tomato ketchup bottles and a box of PG Tips teabags are pleasingly real-looking but still have en...

Warn PullzAll Is The Closest Thing You’ll Get To A Grappling Hook Without Wayne Enterprises

By Andrew LiszewskiI don’t know about you, but I don’t have a multi-billion dollar company at my disposal to cook up awesome crime fighting gadgets like Batman (warning! spoiler ahead!) aka Bruce Wayne does. So I have to rely on the tools available at my local Home Depot, which quite frankly, just aren’t as awesome.
By Andrew Liszewski

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a multi-billion dollar company at my disposal to cook up awesome crime fighting gadgets like Batman (warning! spoiler ahead!) aka Bruce Wayne does. So I have to rely on the tools available at my local Home Depot, which quite frankly, just aren’t as awesome. Take Batman’s grappling hook for example. His version is small, lightweight and easy to carry on his utility belt. But the best solution you’ll find at your local hardware store is the PullzAll from Warn.

It’s no where near as compact and subtle as Batman’s device, but it seems just as capable, if not more so. There are two versions available, an AC powered model and a DC powered model, and I suggest the latter with its rechargeable 24V battery if you’re looking to become a vigilante. At 18lbs you’ll want to make sure you’re wearing a reinforced belt if you intend to carry it that way, but the device is capable of pulling or lifting up to 1,000lbs with its variable speed motor, so you should easily be able to hoist yourself up to the rafters of a warehouse for a dramatic escape.

$479.99 from the Warn website for the DC model, and $279.99 for the AC model.

VIA

Microsoft Considers Shipping Windows 7 On USB Flash Drives

By Chris Scott BarrLets say that you purchased yourself a new netbook not long ago, and come this fall you decide to upgrade to Windows 7. How exactly are you planning on doing that without an optical drive? Sure, with you being the tech-savvy customer, you won’t have too much trouble doing this. Of course

By Chris Scott Barr

Lets say that you purchased yourself a new netbook not long ago, and come this fall you decide to upgrade to Windows 7. How exactly are you planning on doing that without an optical drive? Sure, with you being the tech-savvy customer, you won’t have too much trouble doing this. Of course not every person is going to have such an easy time, which is why Microsoft is considering releasing the next version of Windows on a USB flash drive.

I’m glad to hear that Microsoft is considering this alternative installation method. Granted, users can  download their copy of Windows, but not everyone wants to mess with it. The USB drive would be simple and straight-forward. My biggest question is whether or not Microsoft would charge more for a flash drive, since they do cost a few bucks more than a disc.

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Japan Is Slowly But Surely Being Taken Over By Giant Robot Statues

By Andrew LiszewskiBy now you’re probably well aware of the 1/1 scale Gundam statue that currently towers over Tokyo, Japan, but it seems the whole country is making a concerted effort to get its citizens used to the presence of giant robot overlords. Kobe’s Wakamatsu Park is next in line and will soon have their
By Andrew Liszewski

By now you’re probably well aware of the 1/1 scale Gundam statue that currently towers over Tokyo, Japan, but it seems the whole country is making a concerted effort to get its citizens used to the presence of giant robot overlords. Kobe’s Wakamatsu Park is next in line and will soon have their very own 60-foot tall, 50-ton statue of Tetsujin 28-go, aka Iron Man #28. But unlike the Gundam in Tokyo, Kobe’s statue won’t move or anything, but will remain stalwart in a ready-to-defend-the-country-against-Godzilla pose.

I’ve also included a video of the statue under construction after the jump.

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Carnivorous Clock eats bugs, begins doomsday countdown

It's not enough that humans gave robots a place to congregate to plan our demise, now we've adapted them with the ability to extract fuel from the very nectar of life. All that innocent experimentation with fuel cells that run on blood has led to this, a flesh-eating clock. This prototype time-piece from UK-based designers James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau traps insects on flypaper stretched across its roller system before depositing them into a vat of bacteria. The ensuing chemical reaction, or "digestion," is transformed into power that keeps the rollers rollin' and the LCD clock ablaze. The pair offers an alternative design fueled by mice, another contraption whose robotic arm plucks insect-fuel from spider webs with the help of a video camera, and a lamp powered by insects lured to their deaths with ultraviolet LEDs. Man, this is so wrong it has to be right.

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WowWee FlyTech Skyhopper: More Mothra than a Star Wars Airspeeder [Robots]

Digging around on the FCC site can uncover some truly weird things. Exhibit A this morning: WowWee's FlyTech Skyhopper (no, not that Skyhopper). The remote-controlled 'hybrid insect' toy has the...

High Speed Camera Captures Electromagnetic Quarter Shrinkage

By Evan AckermanElectromagnets can be used by people with too much time and electrical knowledge to crush cans, but the truly ambitious can (briefly) harness a magnetic field to shrink a quarter to about half its original size. The principle is kinda simple, really… A big capacitor sends a surge of electricity into a coil

By Evan Ackerman

Electromagnets can be used by people with too much time and electrical knowledge to crush cans, but the truly ambitious can (briefly) harness a magnetic field to shrink a quarter to about half its original size. The principle is kinda simple, really… A big capacitor sends a surge of electricity into a coil around a quarter. This creates a magnetic field in the coil, and also in the quarter, but the field in the quarter has the opposite polarity. The quarter tries to get away from the coil, but having nowhere to go, shrinks inward as the magnetic field strength exceeds the strength of the metal. The coil, on the other hand, explodes outward at mach 2. The process takes between 30 and 40 microseconds, meaning that the edges of the quarter shrink inward at about 400 mph.

This particular experiment was done by Hackerbot Labs, and Intellectual Ventures has more pics and video at the link below.

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Silverlit Heli-Mission RC SWAT Truck Hides An RC Helicopter In The Back

By Andrew LiszewskiSince the dawn of time man has had to make the difficult and agonizing choice of playing with an RC car or an RC helicopter. And while many great minds from philosophers to engineers have racked their brains trying to find a resolution to this problem, it was a toy company that seems
By Andrew Liszewski

Since the dawn of time man has had to make the difficult and agonizing choice of playing with an RC car or an RC helicopter. And while many great minds from philosophers to engineers have racked their brains trying to find a resolution to this problem, it was a toy company that seems to have come up with a happy medium allowing us to finally enjoy both at the same time.

The Silverlit Heli-Mission SWAT Truck is a fully functional RC car that includes sirens and flashing lights, but the real star of the show is the cargo bay which opens to reveal one of the company’s micro helicopters hidden inside. The launch platform even rises allowing the whirlybird to take off so you can continue your imaginary police pursuit from the air.



The Heli-Mission SWAT Truck should be available sometime in July for about $100, and I have to assume the included remote does double-duty for controlling both the helicopter and the truck.

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Air Jordan 1 (I) High Ostrich - Black / Black

2009 has been dubbed as the year of the Air Jordan 1, and Jordan Brand continues to release new colorways of their first numbered model. This time around, the AJ 1 comes in a clean black on black style. To accent the simplicity of the colorway, Jordan Brand has incorporated various materials into this sneaker.

2009 has been dubbed as the year of the Air Jordan 1, and Jordan Brand continues to release new colorways of their first numbered model. This time around, the AJ 1 comes in a clean black on black style. To accent the simplicity of the colorway, Jordan Brand has incorporated various materials into this sneaker. The upper is coated in leather, ostrich (textured) leather, and synthetic mesh, while the sole comes in rubber. Unfortunately, there is no concrete release information regarding the Black/Black Air Jordan 1 (I) High Ostrich, but there are rumors floating around that the sneaker will release in the first week of July ‘09.



Via RMK.

Tel Aviv Cyclists Out in "Thongs" To Protest Lack of Bike Legislation

(Screenshot of the YouTube video showing the protest in "thongs" in Tel Aviv).Hot bodies alert! You heard it right. Clothing was optional as Tel Aviv cyclists and roller bladers protested against lack of bike legislation in thongs, and other combinations of underwear (or lack of underwear). Protesting a helmet law, the cyclists used the forum to balk about the lack of government support for cycling as a form of transportation. The streets of cities like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are blocked with congestion and stuffed up with pollution. Putting their bodies in front of the l...

Windows 7 pre-orders sell-out in Japan

Often companies will claim a "sellout" in order to hype incredible demand for its product. However, these claims are pointless without any firm numbers -- after all, there's a big difference between moving 100 and 100,000 units. Now we're getting word from Japan that the heavily discounted Windows 7 upgrades that went up for pre-order on Friday are sold-out. While no numbers are given, the 17 retailers involved in the pre-order sales who presumably have no vested interest in trying to inflate perceptions on behalf of Microsoft, report sales as "considerable" and taking only 1.5 days (of the 10 days planned) to burn though the alloted inventory. A quick check on Amazon US and Canada shows the same pre-order prices we saw Friday. Still, it might be wise to take notice of the "while supplies last" disclaimer if you haven't already.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Nike Air Trainer 1 - Beautiful Ones - Talib Kweli Hyperstrike

Back in ‘04, Nike prepared this exclusive “Beautiful Ones” Nike Air Trainer 1 for Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli. The shoe features a black/khaki premium leather upper contrasted by white stitching and a fabric-padded heel. “Beautiful Ones”, a nod to Kwe’s 2004 release, The Beautiful Struggle, is stitched onto the Trainer 1’s heel panel. All

Back in ‘04, Nike prepared this exclusive “Beautiful Ones” Nike Air Trainer 1 for Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli. The shoe features a black/khaki premium leather upper contrasted by white stitching and a fabric-padded heel. “Beautiful Ones”, a nod to Kwe’s 2004 release, The Beautiful Struggle, is stitched onto the Trainer 1’s heel panel. All told, 25 pairs were given to Talib’s closest friends and some extremely lucky employees in Beaverton, making this promotional shoe truly rare Air. However inexplicable it may seem, one pair has found its way to eBay and is selling now at a BIN price of $1,588.99.

Click to Purchase on eBay!

Nike Alpholution - Now Available

We previewed the Nike Alpholution back in May, and we are now receiving word that Nike’s newest hybrid basketball sneaker has begun to arrive at select retailers. The Alpholution is a combination of two classic Nike Basketball sneakers: the Nike Alpha Force and the Nike Air Revolution. Currently, the sneaker is available in three styles:

We previewed the Nike Alpholution back in May, and we are now receiving word that Nike’s newest hybrid basketball sneaker has begun to arrive at select retailers. The Alpholution is a combination of two classic Nike Basketball sneakers: the Nike Alpha Force and the Nike Air Revolution. Currently, the sneaker is available in three styles: white/emerald, white/royal blue, and black/red. All three pairs host a forefoot strap and “AIR FRESH” on the tongue. The Nike Alpholution is now available for $99.99. Click to Purchase at Finishline.com

Acer poised to beat Dell, become number two PC maker

Interesting piece in the New York Times today about Acer -- the company is about to ride the tidal wave of netbooks and other el-cheapo computers straight to the number two spot on the PC sales chart. That's a big deal -- no non-US company has ever made it so high -- and it's interesting that the strategies Acer took to get there are the same things Dell's been trying to do lately: it's heavy on low-cost, stylish laptops and netbooks, it keep inventory extremely lean, and it relies on an extensive set of retail partnerships in Europe. What's more, the Aspire One has been the best-selling netbook for a while now, and we'd say Acer's way out in front of the CULV thin-and-light race with the Timeline -- in fact, we'd say the only open question here is whether the company can take all this computing success and translate it to something worthwhile in the smartphone space. Based on what we've seen so far, we've got our doubts, but we'll see what those super-secret Android sets look like before we place our bets.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iPhone 3GS Jailbreak Is Ready, You Just Can't Have It Yet (That's a Good Thing) [Iphone 3gs]

The Dev Team has cracked the iPhone 3GS (as if there was any doubt). Trouble is, if they released it now it would do far more harm than good. You see, a firmware update, version 3.0.1, is...

Bob the Apple guided tour guy leaves for greener pastures

Apple's guided tour videos have featured an endless variety of creepy-android perfect "Apple Store employees" in the recent past, but we'd just like to take a moment and pour one out for OG Bob Borchers, who kicked off the entire series in 2007 with the original iPhone tours and followed 'em up with the iPhone 3G tour. Bob's leaving his post as Apple's senior director of worldwide iPhone product marketing to join VC group Opus Capital -- yeah, it's not hard gadget news, but we're getting a little misty on Sunday evening remembering how closely we all watched those initial demos looking for any tiny nuggets of information about the then-mysterious platform. Peace out, Bob -- it's been a ride. Video after the break.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Xbox Live and Zune Marketplace both acting flaky right now

We don't know exactly what's going on, but both Xbox Live and Zune Marketplace are apparently acting up right now -- we've gotten reports that the entire Zune user database is more or less MIA, while Xbox Live seems unable to process purchases reliably. If we had to guess, we'd say that Microsoft's free Thriller video giveaway is causing some pretty massive server strain, but that's just a shot in the dark. Keep us posted on how you're doing, and we'll let you know if we hear anything official.

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Women Should Sing to Their Tomatoes. Guys Should Shut Up.

Photo: The Ewan via FlickrWe may live in society that stresses equality between the genders, but when it comes to gardening, women seem to have an upper larynx. According to a recent experiment by the Royal Horticultural Society in England, tomato plants grow faster when they are crooned at. The sung-to tomatoes grew two inches higher than their unserenaded counterparts. Female voices worked especially well for hasty tomato growth. Male voices, on the ...

Ozarka's New Little Eco-Label Requires 60,000 Trees Every Year

The math is simple. According to Ozarka's own claim, their tiny new label uses a third less paper than the old one, or a whopping 30,000 less trees. The new advertising campaign, intended to lessen the guilt of their customers, entice new customers, and win back customers who have moved on to less wasteful methods of hydration, inadvertently reveals the devastating scope of destruction that even the most benign piece of their product generates. ...