Category: News

Is flatulence ruining your love life? My friends, look no further than the Better Marriage Blanket, a fart-absorbing wünderspread that means you’ll never again have to blame it on the dog. This is a real thing! More »

The Bentley Continental Supersports sees custom modifications by the German tuning firm Wheelsandmore. As their name implies, Wheelsandmore installed sport wheels and tires in addition to new brake and suspension systems. Striking under-hood tweaks also grace this modification package. Already Bentley’s fastest and most powerful coupe, Wheelsandmore took the Bentley Continental Supersports from 630 HP to 702 bhp and 650 lb-ft torque via their in-house ECU tuning upgrade, custom stainless steel exhaust, and special sport catalysts.

Large (16.54 inch) carbon ceramic brakes stop the special 21” matte-black and red-racing striped lightweight wheels, while wrapped in Dunlop Sport Maxx tires. “LowMaXX” suspension automatically drops the car around 0.79 inches once it reaches 70 km/h. Buyers of the Wheelsandmore Bentley Continental Supersports will need these modifications. The company’s tweaks allow this improved package to reach a hair-straightening top speed of 336 km/h!

[Source: carsroute]

Source: Fancy Tuning – the latest car tuning news

With BenQ’s new E1260 HDR wide angle 12 megapixel compact, the company is offering snappers the opportunity to easily capture amazing images no matter the lighting conditions. The new model includes proprietary technology “designed bring out the finest details in the darkest and brightest parts of an image,” along with 720p HD movie recording and user interface simplicity…
Continue Reading BenQ announces 12 megapixel E1260 HDR Camera

Tags: BenQ,
Digital Cameras,
HDRI

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• 4-megapixel compact digital to join Pentax Optio range

Are you one of those super nerds that think its okay to have your device start up with a BIOS gif? Well I am too, and I found this CAB laying around XDA, that I though you might be interested in. The image is nothing more than an animated GIF that brings up something similar to a BIOS page, but thankfully has some accurate information that other nerds like us might find cool.

The post has a BIOS page for the basic European HD2, and then an image for the more advanced T-mobileUSA version, with more things(okay guys, just pulling your strings.)

Well if your in the mode to try out a new look/startup on your Windows Phones… Then follow this link, and head over to XDA for the lowdown.

Well hot diggity dawg.  According to Verizon, “high demand” has pushed the DROID Incredible back (online, at least) to May 7th availability.  That’s three additional days than earlier today, when the ship date was May 4th. From what I’ve gathered, most stores received a decent amount of the devices, so there’s always a possibility that you can find one in a retail store.  To recap, the Incredible offers a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI, an 8.0-megapixel camera, and an optical navigation pad.

Clearly, there’s incredible (pun intended) demand for the device, but a key question remains: will Verizon be able to hold at May 7th, or will the date continue to be pushed back?  Let’s hear your stories – have you received your Incredible?  Waiting for it to arrive?  Frustrated because the order date has been pushed back?  Sound off below!

Via Verizon, PhoneArena

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Performance, Europe, Videos, BMW, Luxury

The 2011 BMW M5 has been caught on video doing its thing around the ‘Ring, and by “doing its thing” we really mean shredding the life out of the rear tires. Judging from the quick video, the massive sedan seems to have no problem hustling through the banked curves of every automaker’s favorite test track.

BMW has kept its lips sealed when it comes to what exactly is under the hood of the next-generation M5 or when the lowly public will be able to get their greedy paws on the finished product. Rumor has it the German automaker has ditched the big, naturally-aspirated V10 we all know and love in favor of the same twin-turbocharged V8 found at the heart of X5 M and X6 M. If true, that means the car is packing somewhere around 578 horsepower in its arsenal.

As for when we’ll finally see this big beastie without its psychedelic camouflage, your guess is as good as ours. In the mean time, hit the jump to see the uber sedan tackle the ‘Ring.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Spy Video: 2011 BMW M5 undergoes ‘Ring Taxi practice

Spy Video: 2011 BMW M5 undergoes ‘Ring Taxi practice originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs fired the latest salvo in the ongoing Apple-Adobe spat today, with his “Thoughts on Flash” posted on the Apple site. In short, he says that Adobe looking out just for its own interests in drawing developers to its “100% proprietary” Flash ecosystem while Apple supports a great, open standards-based world. But just as we pointed out a couple of weeks ago when Apple moved to block cross-platform development tools, regardless of what Apple says, its interest is locking developers into its Apple-controlled and dominated ecosystem. Nearly every accusation Jobs levels at Adobe and its products can be made about Apple and the way it seeks to control iPhone app development. Jobs brings up Apple’s support for open Web standards, but that’s really little more than a red herring to distract attention from how Apple wants to lock down developers into its own ecosystem. Jobs makes it clear that he has no interest in developers using any platform apart from the iPhone, and any tool that helps them do so is worthy of his scorn. So for him to talk about supporting Web standards — with the point being that they’re standards, available across platforms — is disingenuous when Apple’s strategy for apps is guilty of pretty much everything he accuses Adobe of. None of this, on a strategic level, is particularly reprehensible, they’re just business decisions (even if we don’t agree with the approach). But Apple’s apparent insistence on playing by a different set of rules to everyone else, and the hot air that accompanies it, grates just a little bit.

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Dieter, Derek, and Keith discuss Palm’s Developer Day (recorded before all the crazy HP / Palm news).

• Download it directly with this link
• Subscribe via iTunes
• Subscribe directly to the Podcast feed with your favorite Podcatcher here
• Listen to it here with the player above

Thanks to everybody for writing and calling in!

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Zi Ye and Hammad Khalid from the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University in Canada have created a truly flexible, portable gaming interface where users interact with the images projected onto a handheld board by physically bending and twisting sections or applying pressure to areas containing sensors…
Continue Reading Gaming flexibility takes on new twist with Project Cobra

Tags: Flexible,
Input Device,
Pico projector,
Portable Gaming,
Sensors

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Might We Suggest…

• Motorola Sells 2.3 Million Android Handsets in Quarter 1
  
  Motorola announced it’s Q1 earnings today, with the technology company pulling in more than $5 billion dollars! That’s right, $5 billion dollars!  Its mobile arm brought in $1.6 billion, shipping 8…

The teasers got us riled up, but April’s almost over and we still haven’t seen Steam on Mac. Oh, wait! Valve says the magic date is actually May 12. Ok, back to twiddling our thumbs again. [Joystiq via Engadget] More »

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., ranking member of the House oversight and Government Reform Committee stated in a letter to GM CEO Ed Whitacre, Jr. that GM “has come dangerously close to committing fraud and that you might have colluded with the U.S. Treasury to deceive the American public.” What the letter refers to is the recent television ad campaign launched by GM whereby Whitacre is seen announcing the repayment in full, by GM, of their government loans.

While this is not a flat out deception, it understates the case as perceived by the public. In reality, GM received bailout funding of about $50 billion; $43 billion would be converted to a government stake in GM, and $17.4 billion of those funds were put into an escrow account, which was tapped by GM to repay the loan portion.

“Our work is not finished, but repaying our loans with interest is a clear sign that our plan is working, and a critical step toward returning GM to profitability and public ownership,” GM spokesman Greg Martin said. “It’s hard to see how GM’s loan repayment could not be seen as a positive milestone for the company and taxpayers.”

Despite being a critic of GM, Sen. Chuck Grassley acknowledged in a speech on the Senate floor that GM was ‘technically correct’ in their statements.

You can check out the commercial after the jump.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News

This may not be the most glowing endorsement a product’s ever gotten, but I think it’s clear that the best part about an office in an aluminum box is that you can eventually be buried in it. More »

State Farm® Insurance has launched Pocket Agent™ when in need of submitting a claim if in an accident including tools for documentation and photo taking. Or use it for quick access to your policy and insurance card info, check State Farm Bank balances, search locations, or even find hotels, gas stations, car rentals, etc.

Key Features of State Farm Pocket Agent:

• Submit a Claim – fill out a claims checklist with the push of a button.
• Take and submit pictures using your camera and record accident details and vehicle damage.
• My Insurance Card** – Can’t find your insurance card? Now your policy information is at your fingertips!
• Check the balances of State Farm Bank® and Mutual Fund accounts
• My Agent – Contact your State Farm agent or find one close-by.
• On The Road – Search for hotels, gas stations, tow trucks, taxis, locksmiths, and rental cars by current location or zip code
• Locate a State Farm® Select Service® Repair Facility*
• Search for State Farm agents by current location or zip code
• Other claimants and other vehicles – This feature adds sections on the claim form for the other parties involved in the accident, including name, insurance information and vehicle information.
• Describe the scene – This feature allows users the ability to make free-form notes in addition to filling out the claim form information

Download the app via QR Code we provided above and tell us what you think! Of course our Android App Review is forthcoming.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 7:32 p.m.

Cook County commissioners took steps today to limit the authority of Board President Todd Stroger in the wake of the latest hiring scandal in the final months of his administration.

Most hiring and transfers would be frozen and Stroger would have three business days to report all allowed personnel changes and raises under a trio of measures introduced by five Democrats, including influential Finance Committee Chairman John Daley, D-Chicago.

Stroger also would have to report within three days nearly all spending on supplies, materials, equipment and professional services not already approved by commissioners.



Fellow Democrats were reacting in part to recent reports that Stroger hired Carla Oglesby, the manager of his failed re-election campaign, at $116,000 a year and then days later paid her public relations firm nearly $25,000 to promote federal relief funding for 2008 flooding.



The county inspector general’s office recently pulled Oglesby’s personnel file and asked for details about the payment to her public relations firm, which was in an amount just $25 below the threshold for board approval, a source said.



Commissioner Bridget Gainer, D-Chicago, said board members already were worried that Stroger would make detrimental changes before his term expires in December, when the winner of the general election for board president will be sworn in.



“It is a concern that has been magnified by what we’ve learned over the past couple of days,” Gainer said, who added that a veto-proof majority of commissioners back the restrictions on Stroger. “We are in a time of budget constraints, and we need to make sure there isn’t any additional hiring.”



Stroger spokeswoman Chris Geovanis said the administration had yet to see the measures and therefore had no comment.



Stroger, politically bruised by his hiring of a former steakhouse busboy with a criminal history, placed fourth in the February primary. The “hiring of friends and family” has become a mantra of his critics.



There would be exceptions to the hiring freeze, so court-ordered hiring at the jail and juvenile detention center would not be interrupted, and the independent public health system would maintain its authority. Stroger also could hire to fill vacancies in “essential” posts.



All hiring would have to be reported to the board, like the other spending, and commissioners could reverse spending decisions they deemed commissioners inappropriate, said Commissioner Larry Suffredin, D-Evanston.



Stroger “has, I think, abused the public trust again,” Suffredin said.

Found under: BlackBerry, Games, Apps, ,

Sure the BlackBerry smartphones are great productivity tools for professionals but they also happen to offer lots of support for various apps that are made to entertain you if and when you do decide to take a break from work. Such an app is Druglord Wars 2 which appears to be the follower of the best game of 2009.Druglord Wars 2 is now available for just 2.23 Euros but the price will go back up to 3.72 Euros on May 1 so better act quickly and get it now. The phone will work on both to

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Read more in mobile format

Filed under: Motorsports, Safety, Motorcycle

We traveled out to Alpinestars’ U.S. headquarters near Los Angeles, California today so that the giant manufacturer of automotive and motorcycle safety gear could show us its latest high-tech hardware. The most important aspect of the visit was a closely held trade secret, but it’s now out in the open: the Tech Air Race motorcycle suit.

Airbags in motorcycle suits aren’t necessarily anything new, but the big breakthrough here is that the system is small enough to be integrated directly into the Electronic Airbag Protection Suit and is controlled by a high-tech electronic brain. As Alpinestars says, a motorcycle crash isn’t all that difficult to describe in words, but in mathematical terms, things get much more difficult.

As such, there is a very complicated set of algorithms that are constantly monitoring the rider’s movements, and there are five levels of programing that ensures the airbag doesn’t deploy when it’s not necessary. First and foremost, though, the system does not arm unless it senses the rider is moving and the engine is running. Interestingly, it’s been tested on machines powered by both internal combustion engines and electric motors.

It takes a total of about eight milliseconds for the electronic brain to determine whether a crash is imminent. Once the seven sensors placed all over the suit trigger the airbag system, it takes just 50 milliseconds to fully inflate and stays fully inflated for about five seconds. After 25 seconds or so, the bag completely deflates. After the event, a GPS system is used to help determine exactly where the accident took place.

Alpinestars’ airbag system includes two separate cylinders that set off a cold charge of nitrogen. It takes roughly one minute for the system to rearm itself after the initial firing. Currently, Ben Spies, Mika Kallio and Dani Pedrosa are running the data logging suits at MotoGP races.

So, what does the future hold for the Tech Air technology? Alpinestars promises that there will be applications for racing, street and even off-road riding. Currently, the initial consumer-ready suits are targeted for June of 2011, and other applications will follow in the coming years.

Time will tell how effective such active safety technologies prove, but Alpinestars’ data certainly looks compelling. At present, the technology is expected to add roughly $2,500 to the cost of a standard suit. A hefty tag for sure, but it’s tough to put a price on safety.

Click past the break to watch a video of the airbag being deployed on a rider.

Continue reading Airbags on motorcycles: Alpinestars introduces Tech Air Race motorcycle suit [w/video]

Airbags on motorcycles: Alpinestars introduces Tech Air Race motorcycle suit [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve read even a little bit about potential sources of biofuel, you’ll know that algae is one of the big ones. During photosynthesis, the unicellular aquatic plant turns sunlight and carbon dioxide into oil. It’s grown in ponds, where it’s not taking land away from food production, and yields much more oil than other biofuel crops, such as corn or soybeans. Researchers at the University of Michigan have recently come up with a method of getting algae to give up its oil more quickly and efficiently than has previously been possible – they pressure cook it…
Continue Reading Putting the pressure on algae to create biofuel

Tags: Algae,
Biofuel

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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 4.29.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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