Better Way to Play Battlestar Galactica

A geek addicted to Battlestar Galactica decided to build his own viper cockpit simulator to play BSG. His project took about 2 weeks and cost about $800. Looks amazing but it is not very useful for many other games.
(Via Pop-Sci)

World's Lightest Phone

Modu is the Guinness Book of World Records new lightest phone in the world. It is only .3 inches thick and weighs a measly 1.4 ounces. It does work as a standalone phone, but has enclosures that allow it to be an music player or gaming phone.
(Via CrunchGear)

Microsoft Unloads GTA IV Elite Consoles

While folks at the Xbox 360 repair lab know good and well how to strip a console back to its birthday suit, Microsoft is going the opposite direction with its limited run of Grand Theft Auto IV Elites. The console itself is purportedly blasted with automotive quality paint and each one is individually numbered. Apparently, the 500 units -- which look to come with a case full of peripherals -- are only being dished out to press outlets and the like, so it seems your only shot at actually acquiring one is by scouring the second hand market. Or you could just steal one and toss a Molotov cocktail behind as you're getting away -- that'd be fitting, we guess.

(Via Engadget)

Shuttle KPC Taking Preorders

Shuttle, known for their cube like desktops are launching a new initiative to provide "green pcs". This is one example, the Shuttle KPC, an affordable desktop solution that runs on Linux and starts at just $199 (woah!). Shuttle is taking preorders now and is expected to ship April 11, 2008. Go ahead and visit their website here.

AirPort Express is Here!

So all the rumors are true, the new AirPort Express will be shipping soon. You can connect up to ten users, print from anywhere, and stream music with iTunes. Oh, and did i forget to mention its support for blazing fast 802.11n...yeah. It's powerful enough to run a home network, yet small enough to take with you on the road.

Manhunt 2 Wins Battle for Release

The ban on controversial video game Manhunt 2 in the UK has been lifted and the game will now go on sale.

The Video Appeals Committee upheld an earlier decision that the game could be sold, following a nine-month battle between makers Rockstar and UK censors.

The British Board of Film Classification had taken the fight to ban the game to the High Court, saying the game "went too far".

An edited version of the title will be released with an 18 certificate.

(via BBC)

Lack of competition causes Blu-Ray to increase prices

It seems as though Hd-dvd dying has caused the prices of Blu-Ray players to rise. While this will give way to the 2.0 devices, this makes the PS3 now an even better choice when you go to pick up your next gen console.
(Via Engadget)

Happy Birthday mp3 player!

The first mp3 player was released 10 years ago this month. This little device boasted a whopping 32Mb of storage and a parallel port to transfer music. You could even see what song you were on with its little LCD screen. Well, we had to start somewhere.

(Via Register Hardware)

Podcast of the Week: The MacCast

2nd Week of March, 2008
The enhanced AAC of the show for Mac Geeks by Mac Geeks. They cover everything Macintosh from the latest iPods to the latest in Apple Computers. Keep up to date on the latest Mac news, topics, and rumors. Throw in a helpful dose of tips and listener questions and feedback and you have the MacCast. Enjoy!

MacCast

Etch A Sketch Clock Automatically Redraws Time

This Etch A Sketch machine automatically draws, updates, and redraws the time very accurately. Watch the video to see more.

(Via Engadget)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Out Today!

Yeah, we know, we're pretty excited about it too. After waiting for another month, it's finally here! One of our senior editors is going out this morning to get it. Don't worry, we preordered it. Be sure to check out a full review of the game after somebody drags us away from the TV about 72hrs from now. THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING!

Bungie Rights a Microsoft Wrong

A young gamer, Nathaniel, had an Xbox 360 upon which he collected signatures and custom artwork from notable members of the gaming community. When the console broke, he called Xbox support and explained the situation. The phone representative assured him the artwork and signatures would be safe and sound during the repair process so Nathaniel hesitantly sent it on its way. When the console was returned to him, the case was clean. While Microsoft failed to respond in any way to the incident, Bungie, despite the fact that they had absolutely nothing to do with what happened, said they wanted to help make things right with Nathaniel. A large box packed full of Halo swag arrived on Nathaniel’s doorstep yesterday afternoon. It took Bungie six days total to gather numerous goodies, pack them up, ship it off, and have it arrive at his house. The quickness in which they responded is absolutely astounding. Bungie goes above and beyond with their fans each and every day, but this time they truly outdid themselves.

(Via Hawty McBloggy)

iPhone SDK Limitation

The enthusiastic high-fives of future iPhone instant messaging users day before yesterday might be quite a bit less enthusiastic today when they find out that Apple is not going to allow user-made SDK applications to run in the background. This means every application, from IM to VoIP to GPS mapping, will have to terminate entirely when the user switches out to take a call or change a song. How does this affect you? It means you won't be a be able to receive IMs unless you're currently inside the IM app, forcing you to disconnect when you take a call.

(Via Gizmodo)

Xbox going Blue-Ray?

Microsoft has recognized Blue-Ray as the official victor of the HD format war. After quickly dropping the production of the external HD DVD drive, they have recently begun to negotiate with Sony about the possibility of having an external Blue-ray drive for the Xbox 360, or even having a built-in drive in some models. This would, however be an awfully close-to-home move for Sony, considering they are currently the producer of the cheapest available Blue-Ray drive, the PS3.

(Via Engadget)

GPS for iPhone

Here we go, the first honest to goodness GPS solution for the iPhone. Having already brought the solution to the PSP, Nav N Go have now worked their iGo My Way 8 magic into Apple's touchscreen devices. The prototype on display at CeBIT supports turn by turn directions and location finding via a WiFi key or fob. The WiFi key receives the GPS data and retransmits over WiFi while the fob offers the option to directly attach the unit to the iPhone or iPod Touch's docking port. Expect to hear more about these official 3rd party apps during our coverage of Apple's SDK launch event later today.

(Via Engadget)

Are iPods Responsible for More Crime?

The allure of the iPod may be so strong, says one Washington D.C. think tank, that it's leading to more violent crime because crooks so badly want to steal them. Researchers have been struggling to find an explanation for why, after almost 15 years of annual declines, violent crime rates in the U.S. began to rise again in 2005. The key point: robberies (which largely consists of muggings as we know them) are the one area where violent crime has really been on the rise, jumping from 137 incidents per 100,000 people in 2004 to 149 in 2006. Other crimes, like rape and aggravated assault, did not increase. Meanwhile, the number of iPods on the market during those years soared from 5 million to 90 million. This wild increase in the number of potential victims, says the Urban Institute, likely contributed to and created a sort of miniature crime wave.
Read More.
(Via Yahoo)

HP Notebook on Acid

This just released HP Pavilion dv2800t is like none other...it's the Artist Edition. It packs a Core 2 Duo processor along with 2GB of Ram, a 120GB Hard Drive, and that crazy cool case with a screen measuring at 14.1" all for a starting price of $999. It has the same internal configurations as the dv2700t series, as well as the same size, although the Artist Edition weighs 5.59lbs whereas the dv2700t weighs 5.29lbs. The lack of the art puts the price of the laptop at $799. So if you can justify spending 200 bucks for some art on a laptop case, by all means, go ahead! It still looks cool though...

Circuit City To Trade HDDVD for Blu-Ray Players

According to a Circuit City employee, in Chicago, they will be exchanging HDDVD players for Blu-Ray players for those who bought "within three months of the announcement" as opposed to their standard 30-day return policy. According to the inside memo announcing the demise of the HDDVD format, they will either give customers a Blu-Ray player -- paying the price difference if any -- or a gift card. The trade in will however, not be widely publicized, and is only available upon user request. 

(via Gizmodo)

Internet Explorer 8 Has Arrived

Microsoft has now released version 8 of its widely used browser, Internet Explorer. Although still in Beta, it includes several awaited new features such as better standards compliance, as well as integration with several major websites such as: Facebook, eBay, and Live Maps. It is available for download here.

Internet Explorer 8 Has Arrived

Awesome R2D2 Mod Case

Check out this sweet computer casing modded to look like R2D2 from Star Wars. View all the images here:

R2D2 Computer Casing Images

Podcast of the Week: White Roof Radio

1st Week of March, 2008
Every Monday Geeks Owning Gadgets hopes to bring you a fresh new podcast to start you're week. Featured podcasts will not necessarily focus on new technology, but are meant to be fun, entertaining, and . . .fun. For this week the highlighted podcast is White Roof Radio, a spirited automotive podcast focused on bringing you news from the MINI world. White Roof Radio touches on a variety of topics including new tech developments, automotive news, and the latest word from MINI. You can check out WRR further at their website or subscribe via iTunes. Enjoy!

White Roof Radio

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 Revealed

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 is a revolutionary device that Sony plan to release by Q4 2008 or Q1 2009. It runs a version of Windows Mobile at features a 3 inch WVGA touch screen. Underneath that is the "arc-slider" as Sony likes to call it, which is just a slide out QWERTY keyboard that is at an angle to provide the optimal typing position. It has a 3.2 MP camera on the back that supports video capture at 30fps. It also has Windows Mobile Office and Outlook Mobile. It also supports aGPS. Pricing is unkown.

Sony's New Walkman Line

Over the past year, Sony has really shown the tech world that it can make a darn good audio device. Now, with a backbone, Sony plans to release slimmer and sleaker versions of their proven product. Welcome to the Sony NWZ-A Series, with products in this line ranging from 4GB to 16GB. All players include a 2.4" LCD screen with upto 36 hours of audio playback and 9.5 hours of video playback. It supports the MP3/WMA/AAC audio codecs and video can be played back through MPEG 4 or M4V video codecs. Prices start at $149.99. A Bluetooth version in the 16GB size is available for $319.99. Players begin shipping March 28, 2008.