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ReviewsCNet Scoring System Analyzed; 70% of all gadgets between 6.0 and 7.9
I’ve always teased friends at CNet about their rating system, which appears to always rate products between 7 and 8, meaning everything is more or less “very good” in score. Ecoustics has done the job of analyzing 1,325 reviews from 2007 (all of them?) and figured out the exact math: 96% of all ratings from … Continued
By Brian Lam -
Tech News
Shady NY Camera Store Offers to Pay User to Take Down Amazon Rating
Those small camera stores in NY are notoriously shady, shipping broken parts, ripping people off and being all-in-all unresponsive to complaints. What’s interesting about this case of a customer being unsatisfied with their service is the fact that the company emailed the customer and offered a $75 credit in order for him to take down … Continued
By Jason Chen -
io9
Are Spy Movies Science Fiction?
We don’t talk much about the cloak-and-dagger genre here at io9. We haven’t touched on the new James Bond movie, despite the scifi-sounding title (Quantum Of Solace.) We’ve barely even talked about Get Smart. (We did celebrate the history of James Bond’s scifi plots, including Moonraker’s fantastic space battle. But we’re up in the air … Continued
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ScienceBiology
A Hippopotamus Isn’t the Most Practical Family Pet I’ve Seen
This is Jessica, a hippo that was found abandoned as a baby but is now the pet of the Joubert family in South Africa. It thinks it’s people! There’s no gadget connection here, but when Blam says it’s animal day, who am I to argue? [Actually, I said gadget related animal posts. Hippos are gadgets, … Continued
By Adam Frucci -
Tech NewsGadgets
Sprint Wants to Dump Nextel
Fresh off, uh, fresh rumors that T-Mobile’s making eyes at Sprint, the WSJ is reporting that Sprint is “seriously considering spinning off or selling its ailing Nextel unit.” The Sprint/Nextel hybrid has basically been the poster child for train wrecks masquerading as mergers, with Nextel being much (but not all) of the heavy weight slowly … Continued
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io9
It’s All Super-Soldiers And Gods In Upcoming Marvel Movies
Between mecha-fighter Iron Man’s second movie, coming in April 30, 2010, and military-sponsored super-soldier Captain America, coming May 6, 2011, Marvel Comics’ upcoming movie slate has a very militaristic feel. But where’s the peaceful shrinking scientist Ant-Man, who communicates with ants? Apprently his movie’s on hold, so we can get Norse god Thor’s movie, directed … Continued
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Tech News
One “Horsepower” Vehicle is a Slap in the Muzzle
Once upon a time horses were the kings of the open trail. The best horses were treated like royalty and their riders were worshiped for their skill. Unfortunately, those days are over. The Naturmobil pictured here was was built by Abdolhadi Mirhejazi of Dubai and it is powered by a single horse walking on a … Continued
By Sean Fallon -
Tech News
Zune Finding Ways to Work with Danger = Zune Hiptop?
After a presentation at Microsoft’s Zune media event, Chris Stephenson, GM of Marketing for Zune, offhandedly mentioned that they’re finding ways to integrate and work with Danger’s 250-man staff. As a reminder, Danger, who Microsoft bought, is strictly a consumer handset OS maker. No one has officially confirmed the Zune Phone project’s existence until now, … Continued
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Tech News
How to Do a Fake iPhone 2 In Five Easy Steps
It’s Do your Fake iPhone 2 Leaked Photos Season, and everyone is trying to trick everyone else with crappy, noisy, allegedly-leaked images. But why read about stupid rumors when you can make your own—and even send them to our contest? “How” you ask? Easy, just follow the easy 5-step tutorial after the jump, and get … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
io9
Incoming! Earth’s Due for a Massive Comet Impact
It’s high time Earth got smacked with a comet. These firey globs of doom tend to come in cycles, raining down on our planet about once every 36 million years. Using a computer simulation of how our solar system moves through the Milky Way, astrobiologists at the UK’s Cardiff University found that we pass through … Continued
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Tech News
Microsoft Hits Fresh Blu-ray Xbox 360 Rumor With a Fresh Denial
Either Microsoft really isn’t doing a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360, or Microsoft’s PR are gonna be called out as gigantic liars in the near future. Their officials have just shot down the latest rumor saying that an Asus subsidiary was making Blu-ray hardware for Microsoft’s console, saying “we have no plans to introduce … Continued
By Jason Chen -
io9
In the 1970s, You May Wear Your Phone – Thanks to Radiation! (1960)
All those vintage “How We’ll Live In The Future” articles rarely mentioned anything that could be construed as a cell phone. Microwave ovens, yes; online shopping, yes—but not the now ubiquitous cell phone. This 1960 ad for Radiation, Incorporated (yes, they’ve changed their name since then) is an exception—and it touches on GPS technology, too. … Continued
By Lynn Peril -
io9
Zorg Gun on Mythbusters?
At the Maker Faire in San Mateo, California over the weekend, imaginative geeks came from all over the world to share their weird projects involving everything from robots to DiY helicopters. One project that got my attention was something mentioned by Adam “Mythbusters” Savage in a presentation he gave yesterday. Apparently, he’s been working for … Continued
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Tech News
Contest: Take Your Shot at Photoshopping the Most Ridiculous iPhone 2 Fake Ever
With the impending announcement of the next version of Apple’s fancy-ass phone, the fakes are starting to roll in, and they aren’t great. But if you’re going to create a mediocre fake, why not just go all out? This lukewarm crap is boring. I want ridiculous fakes. I want iPhone 2 mockups that have can … Continued
By Adam Frucci -
Tech News
XNA Hits The Zune This May
Our wait for games on the Zune is slowly coming to an end, as Microsoft has announced that XNA (an Xbox 360-light game platform) will come to the Zune this month. Not every title will be supported—Microsoft only has four XNA titles running on the Zune at this very moment—but those that arrive will support … Continued
By Mark Wilson -
io9
New America Revolts Against The USA
In the 22nd century, there’s a new America, on a new planet 50 light years away, and the colonists are planning another American Revolution. That’s the premise of the Sci Fi Channel’s next backdoor pilot, Revolution, which could make for an absorbing series, with challenging political issues and a hardscrabble alien planet. (Or it could … Continued
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Tech News
Video: Zune Multiplayer Games In Action
There’s a Zune event going on up at the Microsoft event today and the Zune team showed off a few demos of games. Two cool aspects are that Zune XNA games supports 8-player ad-hoc wireless game play, and while there is no 3D hardware acceleration, it can use software rendering for 3D. The demo for … Continued
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Reviews
Lenovo IdeaPad U110 Review (Verdict: Short Ride In A Reasonably-Paced Machine)
The Lenovo IdeaPad U110 comes in the wake of America’s new obsession with tiny laptops. I could tell you that it’s powered by a 1.6Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (4MB, 800 MHz), packing 120GB of PATA storage and up to 3GB of RAM (2 tested), but all you want to know is that it’s … Continued
By Mark Wilson -
io9
It’s Like Prison Break… But In Space!
Warner Bros. has optioned a new movie called The Ditch — but its premise sounds a bit more promising than its title. Written by music-video/documentary producer Sascha Penn (Chapelle’s Block Party), The Ditch is about a prison on one of Jupiter’s moons, housing the worst of Earth’s criminals. A prison guard’s family is held hostage … Continued