Smithsonian's super squeaky clean meteorite lab makes your room look like a pig sty (video)

Smithsonian's super squeaky clean meteorite lab makes your room look like a pig sty
If you think you're a clean freak, then you obviously haven't been to the Smithsonian Antarctic meteorite storage facility. See, when it isn't kicking up the video-games-as-art debate or showing off our future overlords, the Smithsonian also dabbles in the study of fallen rocks from space. So just exactly how clean is the Smithsonian's Meteorite Clean Room? Well, let's just say it's highly unlikely that you'll find microscopic traces of that peanut butter and jelly sandwich that the intern had for breakfast on any of the facility's 15,000 Antarctic meteorites. As shown in the behind-the-scenes video after the break, the research facility goes to great lengths to prevent sample contamination, from the surgical-looking staff prep to dry nitrogen storage. After all, no researcher would like to be the poor sap who studies a contaminated meteorite and mistakenly announces to the world that Mars not only had peanut butter but jelly as well.

Continue reading Smithsonian's super squeaky clean meteorite lab makes your room look like a pig sty (video)

Smithsonian's super squeaky clean meteorite lab makes your room look like a pig sty (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 23:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/02/smithsonian-antarctic-meteorite-storage-facility-clean-room/

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Handle Bar-Mounted Tallboys Are the Best Thing Since Fixed Gears [Bikes]

Look, it doesn't matter how tight your pants are or how ironic your mustache is—you simply can't be crowned King of the Hipsters sporting a frame-mounted wine rack. To carry the King's 22 oz scepter, your ride needs a Bicycle Can Cage. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/c7bqP8j-8YU/handle-bar+mounted-tallboys-are-the-best-thing-since-fixed-gears

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ICS reaches 2.9 percent of active Android devices, 63.7 percent still on Gingerbread

ICS reaches 2.9 percent of active Android devices, 63.7 percent still on Gingerbread
As we check back in on Android's Platform Versions dashboard for the first time since January, we can finally see notable growth in the percentage of devices running some flavor of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, up for 0.6 percent then to 2.9 percent. That's likely fueled by the release of updates for the Samsung Galaxy S II and HTC Sensation family of devices, and is a sharp uptick from last month when it registered on 1.6 percent. Gingerbread (2.3) still reigns supreme, running 63.7 percent of the Android hardware that accessed the Play market in the last two weeks, but its growth seems to finally be slowing. Last year at this time that position was filled by Android 2.2, with 2.3 on just one percent of the hardware and Android 3.0 barely registering at all, a point which highlights the long cycle of upgrades. Call it fragmentation or flexibility, app developers can use these stats to plan their releases going forward, although it may be a little while still before the majority of the crowd can access any Ice Cream Sandwich-specific features.

ICS reaches 2.9 percent of active Android devices, 63.7 percent still on Gingerbread originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/02/ics-reaches-2-9-percent-of-active-android-devices-63-7-percent/

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Intel 330 SSD leakage hints at bargain price tag, perhaps just $149 for 120GB

Intel 330 SSD leakage hints at bargain price tag, perhaps just $149 for 120GB
A number of online retailers listed an Intel 330 SSD over the weekend, which would have been cool except that the drive was supposed to remain in the shadows until given a proper announcement. Some sellers pulled their listings pronto, but not before giving us a good glimpse at the drive's likely specs. These include the arrival of the SATAIII 6Gbps interface in this budget line, the same 25nm NAND fabrication process used for last year's 320, and promised sequential read / write speeds of up to 500MB/s and 450MB/s. None of this is especially thrilling, perhaps, when you recall that a similarly-specced SSD, the SanDisk Extreme, topped even the premium Intel 520 in recent benchmarks, but it all starts to make sense when you look at the pricing. SabrePC lists $149 for the 120GB variant, which is a full $40 cheaper than SanDisk's rival, $60 cheaper than the Intel 320, and only enough to pick up 60GB-worth of Intel 520. There are also 60GB and 180GB flavors, listed at $89 and $234 respectively. Assuming these prices hold tight, and that there's no repeat of the 320's firmware issues, this could be a bargain drive worth waiting for.

Update: Amazon UK helpfully lists April 13th as launch day.

Intel 330 SSD leakage hints at bargain price tag, perhaps just $149 for 120GB originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink LaptopReviews  |  sourceSabrePC, Amazon UK  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/mgQXOtYuuvc/

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Firefox 4 Mobile officially released for Android and Maemo devices

Firefox 4 MobileMoments ago, Mozilla stripped the release candidate moniker from Firefox 4 Mobile and pronounced it fit for public release. If you have a Nokia N900 phone, or a fairly-modern Android 2.0-or-later device, go ahead and install it from the Market, by using scanning the QR code after the break, or by visiting Firefox.com/m.

Accompanying the release is the launch of Spark, a cute social game that's designed to fuel the adoption of Firefox 4 Mobile, much like last week's use of Glow and Twitter Party during Firefox 4 PC's release.

While the browser still feels a little rough around the edges, it's definitely worth trying out if you're still using Android's stock browser. Its JavaScript performance is significantly better than any other Android browser, and if you use Firefox on your PC, its built-in Sync functionality is awesome.

Over the next few days we'll have plenty of tips and tricks for Firefox 4 Mobile, and a list of the best add-ons available for the new browser.

Continue reading Firefox 4 Mobile officially released for Android and Maemo devices

Firefox 4 Mobile officially released for Android and Maemo devices originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/firefox-4-mobile-officially-released-for-android-and-maemo-devic/

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Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code

chocomize
Okay, I know what you're thinking: chocolate on Download Squad? That's right! That's because Chocomize is one of the nerdiest ways to get chocolate online: it's a website where you customize your own bar using a multi-step process.

We've covered Chocomize before in our holiday gift guide, so when they reached out to us offering to do a giveaway, we really couldn't resist.

Chocomize is giving away ten gift certificates, each worth $50, for you to create your own customized chocolate. They sent us some pictures of their recent creations, which you can find in the gallery below.

Regardless of the giveaway, you can use the discount code switched to get 10% off any Chocomize order. The code is valid through April 20th - just in time for Easter!

To participate, simply leave a comment. Fine print is after the jump.

Continue reading Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code

Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/giveaway-and-discount-code-chocomize-personalized-chocolate/

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New iPad – 4G and WiFi versions

The new iPad 3 comes in two versions: one which connects only via WiFi and one which can also use the 4G network. Choosing one of these options can be a puzzler. Before choosing one you should consider the difference carefully and understand how it will impact your intended use of the iPad. You will need to think about where you are likely to want to use the device, for what purpose, and you will also need to take your [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/new-ipad-4g-and-wifi-versions/

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First Look: The Stunning 4.7-Inch HTC One X Smartphone

Say hello to the One X, the most advanced, feature-packed smartphone in HTC's new One series. We now have the One X in the Wired office, and after spending a few hours with this 4.7-inch stunner, we can report it's definitely a king among Android smartphones.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/04/first-look-htc-one-x/

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Robo-One …Two…Three….You’re Out

They’re not as big as the Robots in Real Steel, they’re more advanced than the robots in  The Big Bang Theory,  but they’re not toys and they’re playing for a $12,000 pot.  Started in 2002, the ROBO-ONE championship is an annual competition held in Japan where bipedal  humanoid robots fight it out to the  end. [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/03/30/robo-one-two-three-youre-out/

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Will the Buff, Shirtless Crossing Guards of the Future Wear High-Tech Glowing Safety Vests? [Fashion]

The visionary fashion designers at LumiGram have done it again. Their new safety vests are a modern spin on the gear crossing guards wear as they protect street-crossing children on the way to school. The battery-powered fabrics are made of super-thin optical fibers woven in with other synthetics. The fibers are connected to LEDs, which shoot light throughout their lengths, giving the vests an eerie glow. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/joO-3_E_mh0/will-the-buff-shirtless-crossing-guards-of-the-future-wear-high+tech-glowing-safety-vests

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