Microsoft Store concept revealed in leaked design presentation?

Microsoft’s very real brick-and-mortar stores are not too far off now, and it looks like Gizmodo got its hands on a Powerpoint presentation purportedly from “design and brand strategy” consultant firm Lippicott for how these retail outlets might turn out. The presentation overall is reminiscent of Apple’s stores, complete with its own “Answer Bar” for troubleshooting. Other highlights include lots of Surface demos scattered about the interior, a massive “digital media wall” screen that wraps around the store, and stage areas for Windows 7, Media Center, WinMo, and netbooks. Additionally, the slides discuss in-store events centered around Project Natal, the ever-secret project codenamed Pink, and most importantly… the option to throw your birthday party on location. While it’s not 100 percent clear what the purpose of some of these slides might be — or if this is even the firm the big M has gone with — there is a lot here that’s piqued our curiosity. Whether or not this ends up being indicative of the final product, something tells us that last bit about the birthday parties is gonna be key to its success — get on it, Steve.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Software

Microsoft Store concept revealed in leaked design presentation? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Walmart offers decently-spec’d Compaq laptop for $300

Not sold on the whole netbook craze? Then you might want to consider paying a visit to your local Walmart, which is set to offer a surprisingly well-spec’d Compaq Presario laptop for the low, low price of $298. As you might expect however, that model (the CQ60-419WM) isn’t entirely new, but it did just debut in January of this year with a significantly higher $470 price tag, and packed enough features to make it a not terrible deal even at that price. That includes a 15.6-inch 1366×768 display, an AMD Sempron SI-42 processor, NVIDIA GeForce 8200M graphics, 3GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a DVD burner and, of course, Windows Vista for an OS. Good enough for ya? Then look for it to hit Walmarts on July 26th and be available “while supplies last.”

[Via FatWallet]

Filed under: Laptops

Walmart offers decently-spec’d Compaq laptop for $300 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Share This

Last time we checked in on STARMAC, the autonomous hover bot was fuming over his near-miss in a desperate bid to assassinate Robert Scoble. Recently paroled, the bot has turned his energies to more constructive pursuits, like performing a controlled flip and selling drugs to kids. Still, do we detect a hint of brooding in these acrobatics? Video is after the break.

Continue reading STARMAC learns the loop de loop, puts on brave face despite Scoble’s continued existence

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

STARMAC learns the loop de loop, puts on brave face despite Scoble’s continued existence originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Via [Engadget]

Share This

Staples City Is—as You Would Expect—a City Made of Staples [Image Cache]

Nothing ever gets lost in Staples City. Until Office Godzilla destroys it.

Peter Root, the artist, describes his work:

Low-Rise is a precarious assemblage of thousands of free-standing stacks of staples densely tessellated to create a city-like mosaic. Like a city, the staples are subject to the elements, on a micro scale. The slightest breath or vibration and the domino effect kicks in.

In other words, a bureaucrat’s paradise. [Peter Root]

Share This

Hacker Claims iPhone 3GS Encryption is Incredibly, Dangerously Easy to Crack [IPhone]

Noted iPhone security destroyer Jonathan Zdziarski has cracked the iPhone 3GS encryption security, which is to be expected, but the ease and speed with which he did it is worrisome. Zdziarski claims the iPhone 3GS is thus “useless” to businesses.

The iPhone certainly isn’t as ubiquitous for corporate use as BlackBerry or even Windows Mobile, but that’s starting to change, and Zdziarski is very concerned that the iPhone 3GS’s security puts sensitive data at unnecessary risk. He claims that with easily-available software, anybody can break into an iPhone 3GS and start extracting data within two minutes, and access everything on the phone within 45. After reading this, we could see why companies might just be reluctant to trade their BlackBerrys in for a shiny new iPhone 3GS. [Wired]

Share This

Idea of the Day: Use Your Hand Puppet As a Cellphone Case [DIY]

Kermit: “See? It fits.” True. And here’s the proof. Like I said in Twitter, this is the funniest and wrongest image you will see this month. Probably this year.

Next: An iPhone up Walt Mosspuppet’s buttocks. [Thanks David, for letting an internet meme destroy the last of my childhood memories]

Share This

Last time we checked in on STARMAC, the autonomous hover bot was fuming over his near-miss in a desperate bid to assassinate Robert Scoble. Recently paroled, the bot has turned his energies to more constructive pursuits, like performing a controlled flip and selling drugs to kids. Still, do we detect a hint of brooding in these acrobatics? Video is after the break.

Continue reading STARMAC learns the loop de loop, puts on brave face despite Scoble’s continued existence

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

STARMAC learns the loop de loop, puts on brave face despite Scoble’s continued existence originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Via [Engadget]

Share This

Sony Finally Popping 400-Disc Blu-ray MegaChanger (So Don’t Toss Your DVDs Yet) [Sony]

As predicted, Sony is announcing BDP-CX960, a 400-disc Blu-ray MegaChanger for the relatively sane price of $800. Trouble is, nobody has 400 Blu-ray discs yet.

OK, I’m sure somebody (Howard Stringer?) has 400 Blu-ray discs, but fortunately for you, the thing plays DVDs and even “CDs,” which I’m told are how they stored music in caveman times. The thing is surprisingly affordable for what it is, $800 to start with means that come Christmas, it’ll probably be selling somewhere for much less.

AV-wise, it’s got what you’d expect from a high-end stand-alone Blu-ray player, including 7.1 channel Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding onboard, plus the ability to bitstream audio to a receiver through the HDMI port.

There’s a step-up model, BDP-CX7000ES, that’s not so reasonably priced—$1900 to be exact, and it comes with only a few extras, like an RS-232 port for home control, and ability to output Deep Color (12-bit). It’s one of those things custom installers will sell to people who have four houses and 16 cars, so most of you shouldn’t worry about it.

The Ethernet port on both units connects to Gracenote via the internet, to identify all your movies and pull down graphics. What’s not cool is that neither that Ethernet port or the USB port are available for incoming video streams from your own home network. Come on, Sony—get with the program!

Price being reasonable (at least for BDP-CX960), the biggest question is this: Is there value in a megachanger? I myself ripped all of the DVDs I own, so that they fit neatly on a little hard drive, and are ready when I want them. Ditto for music. On the flipside, I don’t plan to rip any Blu-ray discs in the near future, even though it’s possible. But I also don’t plan to own a giant collection of them, at least not until they’re selling used for under $10 a pop.

Along with the$800 MegaChanger, Sony is announcing BDP-S1000ES, a $700 Blu-ray player with Wi-Fi. It’s too expensive for what it does, and redundant (there’s another Sony Wi-Fi model, the BDP-S560 on the way for $350), but at least it’s DLNA compatible for home networking, unlike the changers. Still waiting for built-in video-on-demand options like you find on LG and Samsung players, not to mention Sony’s own Bravia Internet Video Link, though.

Final thought: In the press release Sony says its Blu-ray player line has 13 devices. In my mind, accounting for both MegaChangers and the upcoming Wi-Fi models, that’s still 11 too many.

Share This

Homemade Portable 8-Track Player May Be the Pinnacle of the Format [DIY]

Sure, a portable 8-track walkman is a completely ludicrous idea, but you’ve gotta love that someone went through the effort to actually make one. It’s far from pocket-sized, but it’s probably the most portable 8-track player ever. [Instructables via Make]

Share This

First Great White Shark Caught With Fishing Gear Tear [Jaws]

I’m no fisherman, but if you are looking for a good fly reel, you might want to check out Abel. Apparently, they are good enough to handle a 6-foot, 150 pound great white shark.

“The grab was instantaneous, and the shark cooperated with a quick left turn to allow the proper hook set,” said Patterson.

The fight lasted about 25 minutes. Patterson thought it was a mako shark until he got it close enough to the boat and skipper Conway Bowman identified it as a great white.

Interestingly, “Patterson” happens to be Jeff Patterson, director of sales for Abel products. He was conducting tests with their equipment about five miles off the La Jolla coast—or so the story goes. Be that as it may, it is believed to be the first great white taken off the coast of California using a fly rod and wheel. However, it is illegal to capture great whites because of their protected status, so it was set free shortly after this picture was snapped. So, watch your ass California beachgoers—Jaws is out there and presumed pissed. [LA Times]

Share This