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I still can’t believe my eyes after reading this news article over and over again, which is why I want to share this tech-related story with you guys. It is more of a science than anything else, featuring a penguin in a wetsuit. First of all, why would a penguin be wearing a wetsuit in the first place? Apparently, this is no laughing matter as biologists at the California Academy of Sciences had developed a wetsuit created for an African penguin in order to assist him get back in the swim of things. The penguin’s name is Pierre, ageing along pretty well at 25 years of age and is losing plenty of hair, rendering him the social embarrassment of an exposed, pale pink derierre.

While marine mammals boast a layer of blubber to help them keep warm, penguins lack this vital biological “ingredient” so to speak, relying instead on their waterproof feathers to keep them warm and toasty under blizzard conditions. Needless to say, without these feathers Pierre wouldn’t jump into the academy’s penguin tank as he surely doesn’t want to end up shivering on the sidelines while his peers have a field time moving about in the water. Staff at Oceanic Worldwide, a supplier of dive gear based in San Leandro, were approached to develop an actual penguin suit for Pierre, and managed to come up with a successful working model. Pierre’s wetsuit uses Velcro to fasten itself, covering Pierre’s torso while providing ample openings for his flippers. Pierre has managed to gain weight, grow feathers on his hind parts and regained his swagger and confidence after six weeks of wearing the wetsuit.

I guess Pierre will be weaned off the wetsuit very soon, as he learns to integrate himself with the rest of his community. This is truly a case where necessity is the mother of all invention.

Source: USA Today

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Impress the heck out of your friends in the car pool with the Aura Mobile BT, a Bluetooth enabled product that turns your mobile phone, PC or Mac (for VoIP calls), or cordless home phone into a conference phone. It easily picks up conversation in the backseat (so be careful) and has surprisingly good sound quality. The 3 watt amp and dual speakers ensure enough volume to fill a car or conference room. (With hands-free law in effect, I’m keeping mine in my car.)

There’s no software to install and everything you’ll need is included in the package, even the car charger. Echo and noise cancellation help keep the calls clear — even better than on my cell phone. My only quibble is that it’s clunky; even though it comes with a visor clip, it kept sliding off, so now I have it balanced in the cupholder.

Sells for $129 at Spracht, and is also available at Amazon..

Fortune.com is reporting that sources close to both AT&T and RIM are saying the much anticipated 3G blackberry, named Meteor, will have it’s previously scheduled June release pushed back until as late as August due to concerns about call quality. However some are speculating that the real reason is because AT&T is trying to avoid competing with the new iPhone, which is also rumored to have a June release date. It’s expected to be released on the first anniversary of the original iPhone. RIM is expected to release a touchscreen 3G Blackberry later this year that is intended as a direct competitor to the iphone.

The delay is not good news for RIM as demand for it’s current offerings, including the Pearl and Curve is slowing. Users and the market in general are ready for some fresh new products. AT&T offered up no comment, and a spokeswoman from RIM also declined to discuss the matter when contacted by email, citing that they will not discuss “rumors and speculation.”

Read [Fortune]

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by Ryan Block, posted Apr 27th 2008 at 7:26PM
Ben (aka Benjamin Linus), leader of the Others and all around creepy manipulator, doesn’t just shoot guns all the time — as we find out in a flashforward to 2005, he also apparently shoots Nikon as well. Now, there’s certainly nothing wrong with a D100, but Ben does kind of strike us as the calculating, discerning type that would probably prefer a full-frame Canon though, you know?

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Here’s an excerpt of the product description for the A-Data Theme Series T703 Disney flash drive - grammatically corrected, warts and all.

The super light and handy Mickey flash drive weighs only 15 grams, and has a gorgeous Mickey hanging ornament. You can either wear it or use it to decorate your cell phone or bag. No matter how you use it, you will always attract people’s attention. The T703, authorized by Disney, not only provides you with a classic Mickey Mouse image, but also presents a creative design for the flash drive. After removing Mickey’s ear, you can easily save your files to the flash drive. In addition to being a useful office tool, its unique mirror design can help you check your appearance anytime your want. It can also be used as a mini photo frame. Let Mickey Mouse’s lovely smile accompany you around the marvelous digital world!

The 2GB model will come in white, red and purple colors, while the 4GB model has only white and purple, retailing for $33 and $49, respectively.

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by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Apr 27th 2008 at 10:43AM
Back in the day, integrated GPS units were the stuff of luxury cars, gargantuan SUV cruisers, and lost old ladies. Suzuki is looking to change all of that by including the Garmin T.R.I.P. on all 2009 SX4 Sport and SX4 Crossover vehicles — at no extra charge. As Suzuki gleefully points out, this marks the first time a sub-$16,000 car has included a GPS unit as standard equipment. The T.R.I.P. (Travel, Real-time traffic, Information and Play) sports a flip-up 4.3-inch screen and Bluetooth connectivity. As for software, it will include real-time traffic, weather forecasts, local event listings, community-based recommendations, and a gas station finder that can filter based on fuel prices. We’re still fans of portable GPS units, but there is something elegant about those big-screened integrated monsters.

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Apr 27th 2008 at 6:33PMWaiting for a price drop on the Nintendo Wii or DS? Don’t hold your breath. Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata told analysts on Friday that there are no price drop plans for the hot-selling units. Iwata insisted this is because Nintendo doesn’t want to annoy those who already paid full price, but it’s pretty clear that there’s also just no need to drop the price on something that’s already selling like mad.

[Via Joystiq]

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Filed under: Gaming

by Nilay Patel, posted Apr 25th 2008 at 9:21PM NVIDIA’s been on a hyper-competitive tear lately, and while the latest rumor isn’t quite on par with Roy Taylor saying that the Intel CPU is “dead,” it reinforces the company’s new win-at-all-costs attitude. Seems ATI’s upcoming RV770-based Radeon HD 4800 might threaten NVIDIA’s dominance of the high-end graphics market, and that’s just not acceptable — so the company is planning on pushing up the release of the GeForce 9900 to July. That’s one billion transistors and GDDR3 memory, if you haven’t been memorizing rumored graphic card specs — we’re guessing that blue screen of death will render mighty fast on that rig.

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets