Holy crap, this sounds promising. AMC wants a new genre show to serve as a companion piece to The Walking Dead, and according to Deadline, they're developing Ballistic City, described as "Blade Runner meets Battlestar Galactica." Crime on a generation ship!
    
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[Tommy Ward] had a big problem with the cord for his laptop power supply. This thing’s not cheap so he figured out a way to fix the frayed cord on his Apple MagSafe. He asserts that the shortened rubber collar on the plug end of the cord is to blame for this type of damage. We think rough use may have something to do with it too, but having had to repair our own feline-damaged power cords we’re not about to start pointing fingers.
To pull off an appropriate fix [Tommy] pries apart the case housing the power converter. This lets him get at the solder connections of the cord. After removing it from the circuit board he clips off the damaged portion of the cable. To reuse the strain relief grommet he drilled out the old portion of wire and insulation, making room for the undamaged cable to pass through, adding a cable tie on the inside to aide in strain relief. The last part of the fix involves gluing everything back together.
If your power supply problems have to do with the computer connector itself there’s a fix for that too.
Monaco, the game of coordinated heists, is now available for pre-order from Steam. We don't suggest actually trying to steal the game, or anything else - save those proclivities for the daring break-ins you'll enact during the game - but pre-ordering will allow you to at least get away with a 10% discount on either a single copy or a four-pack.
Pre-purchase Monaco on Steam for 10% off originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
firehoselol
Having put records on vintage X-rays and liquid-filled vinyl, Jack White is taking his love for the LP into a whole new—or, rather, old—direction. White’s Nashville-based Third Man Records store is adding a refurbished 1947 Voice-O-Graph machine to its Novelties Lounge, giving fans the ability to immediately press their own voice and/or music to vinyl.
The machine can put up to two minutes of audio on a 6-inch record, meaning any rube off the street can be a published musician now. According to Third Man, the machines were an arcade staple during the middle of the 20th century (you may remember their cameo the movie Badlands) before disappearing in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Like their vintage compatriots, patrons of the Third Man Recording Booth will be encouraged to mail their LP messages to friends and family, with the store providing special mailers and stamps for that ...
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Though a lot of ruins leave us with the shivers, there's a good reason to fear these abandoned power stations. They're full of dangerous substances and deadly gadgets. Plus, how can you really be sure they've been entirely shut down? You could be in for the shock of your life.
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The Star Wars Chewbacca Robe will allow you to resemble the furry Wookiee character after a shower or while relaxing on the far off planet Kashyyyk. It is available to purchase online at ThinkGeek.
The first thing you’ll notice when you slip into this robe is how soft and comfortable it is: like slipping into a freshly slaughtered Tauntaun (but without the smell). But really, the Chewbacca Robe is just what every Jedi needs to keep warm after a shower or on a lazy weekend. And if you are really sick, you can always pretend you’ve hunted and stuffed Ewoks and sewed them into a robe. ‘Cause everyone knows they should have been Wookiees, too. Chewie rules!
images via ThinkGeek
Twitter continues to give advertisers more tools to more effectively target their marketing dollars. Today the company revealed that it is now giving advertisers the ability to target ads using keywords in users' tweets. It's no more complicated than it sounds: companies can now set parameters that will show promoted tweets to users who include certain words in their posts. According to AllThingsD, the new tool also monitors what you retweet and favorite to determine if it should show you a promoted tweet. It's an incredibly intuitive addition, and, unsurprisingly, keywords have previously been used to help target Twitter advertising dollars. The difference now is that companies can specifically use keywords when designing advertising campaigns — previously, key terms were simply one of many criteria a user's "interest graph" depended on. The addition comes after Twitter rolled out a feature last year allowing advertisers to focus on one of 350 interest categories that the social network placed its users into.
There are some advanced features included in the keyword targeting tool to help advertisers hone in on the right audience. In addition to keywords, criteria like location, device, and gender can be used to limit who will see the ads. Twitter's Kevin Weil also tells AllThingsD that companies can use "negative sentiment filtering" to make sure that people who are tweeting negative comments about companies won't be shown ads about that firm, for instance. The idea behind keyword targeting is that it will allow companies to have a better idea of "intent," as it's known in the industry. Instead of spending advertising dollars scattershot, the theory is that these features will allow them to focus on those who are particularly interested in a purchase.
A sloth hugs, lays on, and snuggles with a cat in this video uploaded by pillybarbie on YouTube.
(CNN) — Investigators believe they have identified a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings, a source who has been briefed on the investigation told CNN’s John King exclusively.
The breakthrough came from analysis of video from a department store near the site of the second explosion. Video from a Boston television station also contributed to the progress, said the source, who declined to be more specific but called it a significant development.
Earlier, a federal law enforcement source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation told CNN that a lid to a pressure cooker thought to have been used in the bombings had been found on a roof of a building near the scene.
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Firebox has released Bathing Bad Bath Salts, a relaxing and freshly “cooked” product by Great Face And Body that looks like something straight out of Breaking Bad. The salts are available to purchase online.
Whether you’re an underappreciated science teacher or a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, sometimes the only way to relax is to take a bath. Crafted from all-natural ingredients under strictly controlled conditions, the Bathing Bad Bath Salts are vastly superior to the bath salts you might cop on the corner.
images via Firebox
By Alexa Ray Corriea on Apr 17, 2013 at 2:06p
Registration for the 2013 Penny Arcade Expo, which will take place in Seattle from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, is now live on the official PAX website.
Individual days passes for all four days cost $30 apiece. Four-day passes, which cost $95, are already sold out.
Last year at PAX Prime, Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins announced during a presentation that Prime 2013 will span four days. The pair also announced that the expo would come Australia, which was confirmed several months later with the official name PAX Australia.
firehose"the low-end model priced $100 more than the 13-inch Retina MacBook and $300 more than the Pixel"
yeah, not gonna work
Toshiba has unveiled the KIRAbook, an ultrabook with a high-resolution display set for US release in May. The KIRAbook will arrive with a 13.3-inch 2560 x 1440 display, 256GB of solid-state storage, 8GB of RAM, and Windows 8 Home Premium. It'll be the first ultrabook to rival the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and the Chromebook Pixel in terms of pixel density, although at 221 PPI it falls short of the Pro's 227 PPI and the Pixel's 239 PPI displays. It'll be available with full 10-point multitouch, but Toshiba says it'll also offer models without touchscreens.
At launch, there will be three versions of the KIRAbook, but we only know the details of the two higher-end models right now. Both will arrive with touchscreens, but different processors. One is powered by an ultra-low-voltage Core i5-3337U processor, while the more expensive model has the higher-end i7-3537U ultra-low-voltage CPU. When we reviewed the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display we found it to be a little lacking in power, which resulted in "strained performance." While the two systems run different OSes with different power demands, the option to include a Core i7 processor (we tested a model with a Core i5) could alleviate any performance issues.
Thinner and lighter than the 13-inch Retina MacBook
There are no images of the KIRAbook yet, but Toshiba says it's constructed from "A291 pressed magnesium alloy and a honeycomb-base," which it claims is "100 percent stronger than aluminum alloy." That magnesium alloy also makes the machine very light: it weighs 2.6 pounds and measures 0.7 inches thick — that's thinner and lighter than the MacBook Pro (3.57 pounds and 0.75 inches), but slightly thicker than the Chromebook Pixel (0.64 inches), although it does weigh far less.
But priced higher
The low-end model will be priced at $1,599.99, the mid-range model with a i5-3337U processor will cost $1,799.99, while the high-end Core i7 KIRAbook will cost $1,999. That's obviously a high price to pay for a laptop, with the low-end model priced $100 more than the 13-inch Retina MacBook and $300 more than the Pixel, although it has more storage than both. Two KIRAbook models are already listed on Adorama, and on May 12th it'll go on sale at Best Buy, Amazon, B&H, and the Microsoft Store, as well as directly from Toshiba.
firehosereminder that UO is still happening
By Jenna Pitcher on Apr 17, 2013 at 7:15a
In an open letter by producer Bonnie Armstrong on Ultima Online's official site, developer Mythic Entertainment worked to dispel rumors amongst the community that "the sky is falling" in its massively multiplayer online role-playing game.
"We still have a team that is dedicated to UO and is excited about what is to come," Armstrong's letter reads."The Event moderator program is here and still going strong."
The letter reinforced its promise by introducing future plans for the coming year. The developer plans to add a plethora of new features to the game, such as a new theme pack called "The Kings Collection," new story arc, reworked fishing and pirate loot and opening the minimum in-game age for Vet Rewards so anyone can use it.
It also plans to add a vendor search functionality and fix bugs, for instance remedying one to allow co-owners of a house to teleport as intended.
Ultima Online first launched on September 24th, 1997. It celebrated its 15th anniversary last September by overthrowing its in-game king and reinstating a new one.
Fans have been forcing their pets to cosplay since... actually, it's probably not been that long. But now instead of going through all the trouble of making a costume for your furry friend, you can simply buy one, as Costume Craze has unveiled the first ever official Dog Star Wars Cosplay line. And it's awesome.
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firehosehuh
As we noted this morning in Comics A.M., Amazon has quietly rolled out Kindle Comic Creator, a free tool that allows creators and publishers to transform their comics into Kindle books. A video on the company’s website lays out the pretty simple process, using Thom Zahler’s Love and Capes as an example.
KC2, as the cool kids say, allows for the easy creation of guided navigation, page turns and double-page spreads, and can import single- or double-page images in a variety of formats (PDF, JPG, etc.). The tool also detects the panels, and will recommend an order that will best guide readers through the story. (The full user guide can be found here.)
Once finished, creators can upload their comics to the Kindle Store where, as ROBOT 6 contributor Brigid Alverson spells out on Good E-Reader, they can set their own price and then choose from two royalty plans: 35 percent of the list price on each book sold, or 70 percent of the actual sale price. “The catch with the 70% royalty is that Amazon can reduce the selling price to match a competitor’s price for an e-book or print book, or to match their own price for a print book,” she writes.
Microsoft had been expected to roll out two-factor authentication for its accounts, and the company officially announced its plans today. The software maker will roll out an upgrade to Microsoft accounts over the coming days to enable an optional two-factor authentication service to improve account security. The service will protect an entire Microsoft account using a certification process with codes. Similar to Google, Microsoft will also let users use app passwords for services, like Xbox, that don't currently directly support two-factor authentication.
A Windows Phone app to support the service is already available and the app supports a standard protocol for two-step verification codes, meaning you can also use it for Gmail and Dropbox accounts. Microsoft hasn't committed to an iOS or Android version just yet, but the company's web-based two-step system will support those particular devices. You can setup two-factor authentication over at Microsoft's account management page.
Patton Oswalt makes an appearance in this Thursday's episode of Parks & Rec. But here's what you won't see — an 8-minute deleted scene of him filibustering a Pawnee town meeting by describing his plan for Star Wars: Episode VII, which involve not only involve Boba Fett and Lando hooking up with Leia, but the Avengers.
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An electric vehicle for the everyman doesn't look so far off anymore. Earlier this week, Fiat announced pricing information for the 500e, an all-electric version of the company's iconic compact. It starts at a somewhat pricey $32,500 (considering the base gas model starts at $16,000), but the company has worked to make the lease option imminently affordable compared to the price of other EVs. A three-year lease will cost $199 per month with $999 due at signing — the exact same lease offered for a similarly-equipped, gas-powered 500 Pop. To sweeten the deal, the car will come with a voucher for 12 days of unlimited-mileage rental car access per year for the first three years, through Enterprise.
The pricing is certainly good news for those with less-than-astronomical incomes, but the vehicle itself is promising as well. It's equipped with a 24 kWh battery pack, which gives it a range rated at 87 miles per charge. That's more than almost every other electric vehicle available today, excepting the exorbitantly-priced Tesla S and the low-volume Toyota RAV4 EV. It'll charge in speedy 4 hours from a 240V outlet, while a typical 120V socket will take 23 hours to complete. Performance, according to initial driving tests, is good as well. Wired notes that, at 57:43 front-to-back, the weight distribution of the car is significantly improved thanks to that heavy battery pack in the rear — give handling a boost. The 83 kW electric motor, meanwhile, offers 111 horsepower (a bit more than the gas-powered 500), which takes the car to 60mph in 9.1 seconds. Thanks to the instant torque offered by EVs, however, it'll feel quite a bit speedier than that.
The 500e will only be available in California when it goes on sale sometime this May, but it appears those considering an EV purchase in the future would do well to pay attention to it.
 BBC News |
BBC News Shares of Apple dipped below the $400 mark for the first time since December 2011 amid concerns over slowing sales. Its shares fell as low as $398.11 in Wednesday trading, before ending the day down 5.5% at $402.80. The concerns were triggered after ... Apple Falls on Sales Forecast Miss by Audio Chip Supplier CirrusBloomberg Apple stock falls 5% to one-year low after supplier hints of slowdown in productionNDTV Apple's love affair with Wall Street -- is it over?San Jose Mercury News Chicago Tribune -Reuters -The Guardian all 172 news articles » |
