The Large Hadron Collider - Useful Tool or End of the Planet?

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Science,

We told you sometime back about the CERN LHC (Large Hadron Collider,) the 17 mile-long underground particle accelerator near Geneva, Switzerland meant to study the “Big Bang” Theory. And it seems as if the testing is about to begin. While some skeptics are still worried that this will create a black hole that will suck up the planet, the physicists feel that this is unlikely because of gravity and, if it did, would be so unstable it would disintegrate before it chomped up the Earth. The complaints went as far as a couple of failed law suits.

“The LHC will enable us to study in detail what nature is doing all around us,” said CERN Director General Robert Aymar. “The LHC is safe, and any suggestion that it might present a risk is pure fiction.”

We guess if you are reading this, so far so good. Visit the CERN site for more details and we’ll let you know if the worst occurs. Or not….

Read More | Live Science

Metallica’s Death Magnetic Come to Guitar Hero III This Friday

Posted by Alex Lifschitz Categories: Activision, Downloadable Content, Music, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Network, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace,

If you’re keen on the ways of the music world, you may be interested: Metallica’s new album, Death Magnetic, will be released in its entirety on Guitar Hero III this friday. It’ll also have full compatibility with the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour on all instruments, and will feature two exclusive renditions of the song “Suicide and Redemption” featuring extended solos. It’ll cost $17.99 on PSN or 1440 MS Points, though I would hope they might offer it for free to people who blew money on St. Anger. If you haven’t heard the new songs yet, they’re actually a pretty good throwback to the “...And Justice For All” days, though perhaps not to the stuff they wrote before bassist Cliff Burton succumbed to a bad case of being crushed by a tour bus. Check out the full press release after the break.

Click to continue reading Metallica’s Death Magnetic Come to Guitar Hero III This Friday

Apple “Let’s Rock” event now viewable

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Portable Audio / Video, Videos,

If you are tired of hearing us talk about all the Apple news of the day, maybe you’d prefer listening to Steve Jobs himself deliver the news. If that is the case, you’ll be happy to know that the Let’s Rock keynote is now available online for your viewing pleasure. You can stream is now from the Apple Special Event page. If downloading is more your thing, we are sure it will be hitting iTunes 8 shortly.

Read More | Let's Rock event video

iPod nano updated, elongated, and nano-chromatic

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Design, Music, Portable Audio / Video,

The worst-kept secret of today’s Apple Let’s Rock iPod event was the newly updated iPod nano. Apple officially let the cat out of the bag today, sharing all the details. The new iPod nano is taller, and also turns out to be the thinnest iPod ever made. It’s available in a record nine colors, and you get two models to choose from - an 8GB version for $149, and a 16GB version for $199. The battery will hook you up with 24 hours of music or 4 hours of video. The nano now has an included accelerometer, which allows it to sense if you are holding it in portrait or landscape mode, so it can then change the screen orientation accordingly. That same accelerometer also gives rise to a new “Shake to Shuffle” feature. It’s exactly what it sounds like. If you don’t like what you are listening to, shake the nano, and you get a new random track. You can order the new iPod nano now at the online Apple Store, or pick one up at a physical location as they arrive over the next few days.

Read More | iPod nano

iPhone firmware 2.1 detailed

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Software,

During this morning’s Apple event, Steve Jobs let us in on a few of the details of the upcoming iPhone 2.1 software update. In giving the details, Steve also admitted to the faults that have been pointed out consistently since the iPhone 2.0 software launched. What can we look forward to when 2.1 is released this Friday for the iPhone? How does fewer dropped calls, major improvements in battery life, faster backups, and no crashing apps sound? Yeah, we thought so. Now to wait for Friday to see if the promises prove to be true. Fingers crossed!

EDIT: iPhone 2.1 has been released!

iTunes 8 now available, HD TV shows, NBC is back, Genius recommendations

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Movies, Music, PC / Laptop, Software,

iTunes 8 was announced this morning as part of the whole Let’s Rock Apple announcement festivities, and there were a few nice pieces of news. First, NBC is back on iTunes with shows like The Office, 30 Rock, and Ballestar Galactics. What’s more, though, is that iTunes will now be selling TV shows in high definition. Aside from the feeling that I know my wallet is about to be drained, this is a very welcome addition. My only hope is that they allow those of us who have purchased shows in SD to “upgrade” to the HD versions at a discount. It’s only fair, right?

In other news, Apple has added “Genius” to iTunes - that being a recommendation engine that looks at the track you are listening to, and recommends other tracks in the iTunes store that it believes you would like. In addition, Genius can also create truly customized playlists on the fly, again, just by sampling what you are listening to. It will pull other songs from your iTunes library that it believes would complement your selection, without any work to be done on your part. We must admit, it looks slick. Speaking of which, they’ve also included a new visualizer, which is just off the hook. You’ve gotta see it to believe it.

iTunes 8 is available now.

Read More | iTunes

iPod touch gets updated, Genius playlists, Nike+ built-in

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Movies, Music, Portable Audio / Video,

Apple is improving the iPod touch with a thinner stainless steel case, hardware volume controls, a built-in speaker, and a Nike+ receiver (you’ll need to puchase a Nike+ kit to take advantage of that one.) Battery life is now at 36 hours for music, which translates to around six hours for video. The new Genius feature will be included, alongside the App Store. They’ve also redone the casing, which is now a thinner stainless steel, and we’ve even got actual hardware volume control buttons. The new iPod touch is available now - 8GB for $229, 16GB for $299, and 32GB for $399. You can pick on up from the Apple Store Online now.

Read More | iPod touch

Apple Introduces In-Ear Headphones

Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Accessories, Apple, Music, Portable Audio / Video,

Apple announced new in-ear headphones that contain two high-performance drivers, a woofer and tweeter, built-in.  The price might be high at $79, but it may well be worth it, especially if you have a discerning ear.  The three pairs of changeable is a nice inclusion since all ears are created differently and you’ll be able to find just the right fit, unlike that last in-ear that Apple made a while back.  Another nifty feature here is the “control capsule”, which includes a microphone, volume adjustment, and music/video playback control. Oddly, despite the microphone, these don’t seem to be compatible with the iPhone - Apple says the mic is great for voice notes though. In that case, we should all run out and get these! They’ll be available in October.

What?  You don’t want to pay a high price for the Apple logo?  I mean, comfort?

Read More | Apple In-Ear Headphones

iPod classic gets bumped to 120GB

Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Apple, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Storage,

As part of this morning’s Let’s Rock event, Apple announced that the iPod classic was going to be available in one model from here on out, that being 120GB. While that is down from the 160GB model that was available previously, it is also up from the 80GB version that most people were buying. In case you didn’t know, that amount of space gives you the ability to save 30,000 songs. 30,000! Does anyone really have the time to do download, and listen to, that many songs?  If so, I’d like to meet him (or, more appropriately, her) - on second thought, maybe I don’t.  In either case, this will be the only version of the classic iPod moving forward and it will retail for a cool $249. You can order one now at the Apple Store Online.

Read More | iPod classic

ATM Mini-Bank

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Toys,

Here’s an original gift for a kid, mate, or anyone else that refuses to use a real ATM. Make a deposit of paper bills or coinage in the mini-bank, and it will keep track of your earnings. Of course there is a card with a PIN number so that you can withdraw when times get tough. At a size of 25.5 x 22 x 9cm, the ATM is recommended for ages of 8 and older. Pre-order for £24.99 (~$46.48) for an October release date.

Read More | I Want One of Those