Gadgets Base

Vudu first began showing up in Best Buy locations back in late-March and at the time it was just 24 locations, all of which were located in California. The limited availability was thought to be a testing period to make sure the devices would be able to sell as expected.

Well, jump forward a little over a month and it looks like it must have been successful because Vudu and Best Buy have just announced a little more widespread availability, however it is still not nationwide.

They have remained in California, but also expanded to Arizona and Illinois, all in all it looks like they are now available in almost 70 Best Buy locations. In addition to the move into Best Buy locations in other states, Vudu has also recently added 35 new movies to own and 30 new movies to rent.

Via [CrunchGear]

http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/07/02/vudu-continues-to-infiltrate-best-buy/

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Just yesterday it was announced that the FreeRunner from OpenMoko would be ready for sale beginning on July 4, but it seems they just could not wait any longer, and have made the handset available today.

We would expect the original July 7 shipping date will however remain in effect, just due to the weekend. However if you were waiting, head on over and place you order today, after all that just means one less thing you will have to do tomorrow.

Product [OpenMoko Store]

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Vudu first began showing up in Best Buy locations back in late-March and at the time it was just 24 locations, all of which were located in California. The limited availability was thought to be a testing period to make sure the devices would be able to sell as expected.

Well, jump forward a little over a month and it looks like it must have been successful because Vudu and Best Buy have just announced a little more widespread availability, however it is still not nationwide.

They have remained in California, but also expanded to Arizona and Illinois, all in all it looks like they are now available in almost 70 Best Buy locations. In addition to the move into Best Buy locations in other states, Vudu has also recently added 35 new movies to own and 30 new movies to rent.

Via [CrunchGear]

http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/07/02/vudu-continues-to-infiltrate-best-buy/

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by Darren Murph, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 4:46PM
Given that Gateway just pushed out a round of updates including the relatively ginormous P Series, we reckon it was only logical to expect a review shortly. To be frank, the P-6831FX critiqued over at HotHardware is far from being the most potent machine with a 17-inch panel, but unlike many of its luxurious competitors, this one is actually affordable. So, how much gaming joy can $1,349.99 bring you? Quite a bit when the 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS and 3GB of RAM are included. Reviewers found gaming performance to be downright remarkable, though the 1.67GHz CPU did hamper it a bit in other areas. It should be noted that the unit now arrives with a slightly faster CPU among other minor extras, so if it was good then, we’re guessing it’s a runaway winner now.

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Filed under: Laptops

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 1:52PM
July 4 was the date, but hey, what’s the harm in opening up the floodgates just a handful of hours early? Get past the lack of 3G, EDGE, camera, and a rock-solid set of tested, commercialized apps, and open-source phoning nirvana can now be yours for $399 on the plastic.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 1:28PM
Ever walk through Times Square and wonder how much electricity all those flashy billboards are soaking up? No? Well, Ricoh has, and now they’re doing something about it. Ricoh Company Ltd. of Tokyo is erecting a 47 x 126-foot billboard at Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street that will be completely powered by the sun and wind. Fueled by 45 solar panels and four wind turbines, the billboard won’t even need a backup electric generator. On days that the sun and wind aren’t enough to power it, it will simply go dark. In the end, the billboard is said to reduce carbon dioxide usage by 18 tons a year. The billboard will go live in December, or just in time for the sun to go dark.

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

by Donald Melanson, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 12:58PM
While it’s not nearly exciting as their Space Cycle (but really, what is?), the National Space Biomedical Research Institute’s new brain scanner here looks to fill in a niche of its own nonetheless and, if the institute has its way, it could actually find its way into space. Described as a “brain breathalyzer,” the device promises to monitor astronauts for signs of brain injury, depression and mental fatigue, which could allow mission control to determine if they’re capable of carrying out a mission or not. That’s done with the use of an optical scanner that sends weak pulses of near-infrared light into the brain, which gets reflected back to determine the amount of oxygen in the blood. While NASA isn’t fully sold on the idea just yet, it apparently is interested enough to shell out $400,000 to further the development of the scanner, which it hopes will also eventually be able to monitor other vital signs like blood pressure and heart rate.

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

by Joshua Topolsky, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 2:29PM
Scientists may have discovered a new way to combat the global energy crisis — and they’re calling it the “Anaconda” (we’ll give you a moment to purge your mind of any J. Lo films). The system works by utilizing the power of the ocean and long, black rubber tubes (hence the name). The rubber “snakes” are laid just below the sea’s surface where they’re pounded by the ocean’s waves. That movement creates “bulge waves” inside the water-filled tubes, which are then carried up through the devices to a turbine, which in turn sends the energy it produces to shore via cables. So far scientists have only tested the system on a small scale, though they say the full-size devices could be 200 meters long and seven meters in diameter. That’s one giant, deadly snake.

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Filed under: Misc. gadgets

The first time my dad used a mouse, he held it like a remote control, waving it futilely at the screen. The folks at Kensington may have witnessed this, for they’ve created the Slimblade Presenter Media Mouse, a mouse that actually can be used as a remote—to control PowerPoint presentations and iTunes playlists.

A navigation pad on the flip side of the mouse allows the user to click through slides while pointing out important details with a laser pointer. For leisure time, a switch puts the remote in media mode, allowing it to operate basic functions in iTunes: play/pause, next/previous track and volume. The shape of the navigation pad resembles the scroll wheel of an ipod, but unfortunately it lacks that degree of functionality.

The mouse set up was easy. Plug in the USB dongle and you’re ready to go. And the range was as advertised. The remote worked 30 feet away, even through a wall. Whether you use that to impress your colleagues or startle your roommate, that’s up to you.

The device features:

• Up to 30ft. range
• Up to 6 mo. battery life
• 360 degree scroll ball
• 5-year limited warranty
• Supports Windows XP/Vista, Mac OSX 10.4

Package Contents:

• 2.4 GHz wireless laser mouse
• USB Receiver (stores inside battery compartment)
• 2 AAA batteries
• User’s manual
• Driver CD (Mac users must download the driver from the Kensington web site)

Get it now for $79.99 at Kensington.

This review written by Adam Hunter who can be found ranting and raving about all sorts of subjects at sokpuppet.blogspot.com

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by Chris Ziegler, posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 3:00PM
Though the Sprint version is the most well-scooped CDMA variant thus far, Telus is actually becoming the first carrier ’round these parts to announce the Touch Diamond imbued with a little EV-DO for your data-consumption pleasure. The phone will run $149.99 CAD (which is just about a wash in US dollars) on a three-year contract, accompanied by data plans ranging from $15 for email and instant messaging to $30 for email, IM, and web browsing. Sprint, Verizon, we anxiously await your press releases.

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds