Where do computer geeks go when it’s vacation time? They participate in a week long Round-The-World Flight Simulator Race. Teams from AVSim, FlightSim, and Sim-Outhouse race around the world by following specific rules and conditions given to them 24 hours in advance. The race, which began at 10:00 a.m. last Friday, allows the teams to choose their own planes, has a route requirement, features bonus airports, and emergency techniques in case of a plane crash.

If you would like to track the participants’ competition this week, you can watch it on Google Earth, check for updates, and even listen in on the banter between the teams. This could start a new trend in vacations, and we’re thinking that the holodeck from Star Trek might be the next logical step.

 

Read More | Non-PC Geeks

Gallery: Google Earth Tracks Round-The-World Flight Simulator Race

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Here's how to get the show:
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - Apple TV High Resolution
|Download| - MPEG-4

Read More | The Bleeding Edge

Gallery: The Bleeding Edge 149: Technocom Vehicle and Infrastructure Integration Technology

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South Korea’s Dacos Technology has launched the iHolic, a complete media player with audio, image, and video capabilities. It can be bundled with a remote and cradle for mounting on your car’s dashboard or table placement. Containing 2 GB of internal memory, it features a T-DMB receiver for digital TV signals, a 2.4-inch TFT LCD display, a 512MB flash memory, and a SD slot for additional storage. Equipped with a retractable antenna, the iHolic carries a MSRP of 188,000 So. Korean Won (~US $201.00.) Contact Dacos for future availability. 

 

Read More | Dacos Technology via Aving

Gallery: Dacos To Release iHolic MultiMedia Player

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So, my boy Jake Ludington dropped me an email this morning telling me that if I had been home this weekend and answered my phone, I would have been able to take part in this experiment that he was a part of where a group of people got together down in Mountain View, CA, and got their Xbox Live gaming on in a moving vehicle. Of course, Mountain View is the place where Google has blanketed the city in free WiFi, which is how this was all possible in the first place. In order to get it done, they used a Windows XP computer to connect to WiFi, and had the Xbox 360 pick up the shared Internet connection, thus allowing it to jump online for some Rainbow Six and Uno action. Check the video above for the proof.

Gallery: Playing Xbox Live While Driving Via Google WiFi

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As if iPods weren’t ubiquitous enough (and we mean that in a good way), by mid-year select airlines will have iPod seat connections that will keep your little buddy powered and charged during the flight. Even better, using the dock connector port, you will be able to display the video content from the iPod on seat-back screens. It’s all about synergy, as many airlines are currently improving and increasing their in-flight entertainment options. Apple is currently working with Delta, US Airlines, United, Continental, and others, with even more airlines on the horizon.

Read More | Cheapflights via Macminute

Gallery: Coming Soon: iPod Connectivity on Airplanes

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We live in a society that loves to customize it’s cell phones and cars. Well the folks at Horntones have ingeniously taken that notion a step further: in April look for the Horntones FX-550, a clever $150 USD device that lets you to customize the sound of your horn using almost any standard audio file. The dashboard-mounted device stores hundreds of different sounds; some are pre-loaded, and more can be downloaded from Horntones.com. Here’s the fun but scary part: you can create your own tones in MP3 or WAV format. Yes, you can have any sound or song clip as your horn, whether it’s naughty, nice or just flat-out obnoxious. A USB thumb drive transfers the sounds from your computer to the player, which never has to leave your car. You can even create your own themes, utilizing the 8 preset buttons on the player. Could be fun, or a complete nightmare on the roads if this actually catches on.

Read More | Horntones via Gizmag

Gallery: Horntones FX-550 Customizes the Sound of Your Car Horn

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How thoughtful of us to have found the winner of the Pink Panther car auction and you more hideously pink accessories to go with it. The award winning gift of the year includes a cell phone recharger, an ice scraper, protective gloves, an air freshener, a mini-torch, a steel hammer, and jump leads (in a pink bag, of course.) The Car Kit comes in a case small enough to stow under your seat or in your glovebox, and is available online from The Pink Toolbox Company for £29.99 (~$58.50,) who have a penchant for all things pink.

 

Read More | The Pink Toolbox Company

Gallery: Car Kit is Pink All Over

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Ratings company Nielsen recently completed a study on DVRs and mobile video viewing. The company focused on sample households who owned DVRs during three weeks in January and has come to these conclusions:

• The majority of DVR viewers watch in groups.
• Viewers will sit through more commercials when watching programs that are closer to the original air date.
• Mobile viewing is still a mostly niche market.

At this point, only 19% of households own a mobile video device, whether it is a portable DVD player, video iPod, or video enabled cell phone. Those that utilize iTunes spend 95% of playback time in audio, rather than video.

 

Read More | B & C

Gallery: Nielsen Studies DVR Viewing Habits

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Our eBay auction of the week award goes to the hideously colored Pink Panther Car designed by Hollywood’s Jay Ohrberg. Originally used in the opening and closing credits of the 1960’s cartoon, it is being offered with the gimongous price tag of $146,210.00. Now located in Britain, the car is 23 x 6-feet and powered by a 7 litre engine that its present owner claims has less than 10 miles on it.
Here’s what we’re wondering. With so little usage put upon the vehicle, why does its description state “the brakes would need attention (master cylinder)?” We’re thinking that it comes from sitting mostly unloved in the soggy United Kingdom for 4 decades. The bidding is set to end February 19th with its first and only bid of $146,490.00 on the block.

Read More | eBay

Gallery: eBay Auctions Off Pink Panther Car

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Here's how to get the show:
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - Apple TV High Resolution
|Download| - MPEG-4

Read More | The Bleeding Edge

Gallery: The Bleeding Edge 140: Planet82 SMPD Camera Chips

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