Revenue from U.S. video game sales dropped 31 percent to $1.17 billion in June, compared with $1.7 billion a year earlier, according to data released Thursday by market research firm NPD Group. The ongoing economic recession and a lack of blockbuster game title releases were blamed for the drop, the fourth decline in video game sales in as many months.
- Leo Laporte
Blind man sees wife for first time after having a TOOTH implanted into his eye By Paul Sims Last updated at 1:43 AM on 04th July 2009 Seeing clearly: Martin Jones opens his newly-sighted eye fitted with a tooth When Martin Jones met his wife four years ago, he never imagined that one day he would get to see what she looked like. The 42-year-old builder was left blind after an accident at work more than a decade ago. But a remarkable operation - which implants part of his tooth in his eye - has now pierced his world of darkness. The procedure, performed fewer than 50 times before in Britain, uses the segment of tooth as a holder for a new lens grafted from his skin. 'The doctors took the bandages off and it was like looking through water and then I saw this figure and it was her,' he said today. 'She's wonderful and lovely. It was unbelievable to see her for the first time.' He added: 'When I found out there was a chance I would get my sight back, the first person I wanted to see was...
- Bwana ☠
"Introducing fit-PC2 CompuLab introduces fit-PC2 – the smallest, most power-efficient Intel Atom PC to date. fit-PC2 architecture is what sets it apart from other nettop PCs - fit-PC2 is designed around the Intel Atom Z530 1.6GHz and the ultra low power Intel US15W system controller hub, rather than the Atom N270 and 945G used in other nettop-PCs, thereby reducing power consumption by more than two thirds. US15W incorporates hardware video acceleration. This allows fit-PC2 to run Windows XP or Ubuntu Linux at just 6W and to play full HD 1080p H.264 video using less than 7W."
- Leo Laporte
from Bookmarklet
some limitations of the fit2pc: no n wifi, only 1gb ram & is soldered, reader is not sdhc, no wol, hdmi still needs sep audio line. if it could remedy those, then it would be more awesome than i originally thought it was. still cool idea. (edited to add: forums say hdmi does not support hdcp. boy, lots of surprises in what it *can't* do. almost a parody of an 'efficient' device.)
- sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq
Got error when clicked the link. Actually I thought I could show the screenshot, but ff can not add images to comments.
- ThinkEzy
I hope it is a cheap as a laptop or even cheaper!! ;) that would be a great deal!!
- Paul
from twhirl
And here I was waiting for netbooks to get better performance and instead we see the same low performance spreading from the mobile world, where it made sense, to our desks. Crud. It's nice that it's got low power requirements, but that seems to be it.
- Henrik
When do they start building the computer into the keyboard?
- Brian Sieker
I need a small, very low power consumption system with two ethernet ports to replace a home server. The fit-PC2 is so tantalizingly close; I'd have to add a USB ethernet dongle, and those are teh suck.
- DGentry
"Want" is a serious understatement. I could do some evil, evil things with that!
- ax0n
Very sexy! I can imagine having three or four of these with SSDs around my house.
- Barry Biddlecomb
from twhirl
For the right (low) price, even with it's flaws it could be a great little media server. And here I was wishing upon an eee-box-star.
- thepete
sɹǝɥʇɐǝɟʞɔɐןq: Thanks for those helpful pieces of info. Please consider using punctuation and capitalization in the future. I know it's not cool, but it serves a purpose (e.g. it helps knowledge transfer, the supposed reason for commenting in the first place) :P.
- coldbrew
The newer boards use a dual-core Atom and NVidia 9400M chipset. Even has CUDA support. I believe it could decode 1080p. http://mini-itx.com/2009...
- Rodfather
Looks great. I want also. I'll wait for Windows 7.
- Scott Kraatz
Smaller than a MacMini. I'll wait for Windows 7 too.
- Randy Caldwell
I'd love to attach this to the back of a monitor and hang it on a wall
- Camden
Brian Sieker: Asus already started stuffing the whole pc inside a (nice looking) keyboard, take a look at the Eee Keyboard http://gizmodo.com/5124985...
- Rui Pires
I wonder how well this will run Boxee.. Is it the perfect boxee box?
- raf
I'm always skeptical about the 1080P claims for nettops.
- Ryan Whitwam
So, after 1.5 hours of washing, chopping, and mincing, we have pico de gallo. Tomato, purple onion, poblano, jalapeno, bell pepper, fresh garlic, lime juice, sea salt, fresh ground pepper. Oh, and of course: CILANTRO =D This is the biggest bowl we own, about a foot in diameter. It was so full we had to mix it by hand.
I wish I liked cilantro. I'm a supertaster and to me it tastes like soap :(
- G Dub of the Carolinas
Take a bite of cilantro by itself and tell me it doesn't taste like soap.
- Dawn
Ha! Gunny beat me to it. You're so right, Gunny!
- Dawn
We made it tonight because it's better once it marries in the fridge for a while. I'm planning on setting aside a bunch and we'll have it with shrimp mixed in for dinner later this week.
- FFing Enigma
We couldn't resist: we ate about a cup of it right of the bat. Dave almost drooled into the big vat of pico... In hindsight, perhaps he should have, then we wouldn't have to share it!
- FFing Enigma
If we ask nicely will Dave come say hello?
- DGentry
Cilantro is apparently one of those things you either love or hate. I don't find it tastes soapy, but it's definitely a peculiar herbal flavor. And Denton, I'll ask him =)
- FFing Enigma
awesome! i need a chopping block just like that built into my counter.
- Carlos Ayala
Carlos, I really want butcher block counter tops (REALLY WANT). However, now I'm making do with this 2ft by 2ft rolling island with a butcher block top. Actual end grain wood, and the little hopper where you scrape the trimmings is amazing. We got it at Home Depot and they still carry something similar.
- FFing Enigma
That would have been good with the carne asada I grilled last night.
- Jeremy Brooks
What a good use of plant based material in your diet! (Looks yummy)
- susan mernit
When I get home tonight it'll be time to make guacamole. Mine is rather easy: smash up some avocados and stir in some pico de gallo. Done *drool* I'm not going to have room for the actual dinner we're cooking...
- FFing Enigma
mmmm guacamole!!!! my wife makes some good guac...now I want some :)
- (jeff)isageek
Butcher block ain't cheap. And they take a lot of maintenance. Hello? Lazy?
- Josh Haley
Actually, it's not all that bad, Josh. I priced it out and I can get 2.5 inch thick butcher block counters for less than granite. Apply tung oil on a schedule to keep it clean and stain resistant. If it gets burned/scratched/stained you just sand it a bit, apply more tung oil, and you're good to go. But this particular island? Less than $200 at Home Depot and it has a drawer, 2 shelves, and a rack on the side. Worth every penny.
- FFing Enigma
O hai Dave! The Pico looks beautiful. So beautiful that I wouldn't want to eat it... for about a second. Awesome!
- Vicarbott
Oh and HAI Dave!! *waves and steals the salsa!*
- Susan Beebe
Your pico de gallo looks awesome! I've never made this much at home.
- ha3rvey (Hugs 50% off!)
That looks fantastically tasty! That's a lot of pico. We probably make fresh pico de gallo 3 - 5 times a week and we'd still never make that much of it. Will you guys eat all of it this week.
- Anika
We made this for the cook out we had tonight. After sitting in the fridge overnight it decreased in volume by about a third, which is expected. The flavor is better too. Between the party and the guac I made, about a third of that is now gone. We're going to add cold shrimp to the rest and have that for dinner tomorrow: just a big bowl of it.
- FFing Enigma
Mario, we'll just call this gringa salad then =) And like Sean said, you can use a food processor for the onion and cilantro, but the tomatoes turn into mush in my experience. We like ours very chunky (as evidenced by the picture), so the smooth texture from the food processor doesn't work.
- FFing Enigma
What does it taste like with the bell pepper in it? I've never had bell pepper in mine before.
- Anika
I like adding them more for the crunch than for the flavor, actually. They hold up well to the lime juice and don't get mushy. A good flavorful bell pepper, though, adds a nice sweetness that offsets the tart and hot really well.
- FFing Enigma
We don't normally use garlic in our pico, I think I will try it next time, though.
- Michelle M
Normally we just do garlic powder because I'm lazy. But after all that chopping,what's a few garlic cloves? And truth be told, I put garlic in everything that's not a dessert or breakfast item.
- FFing Enigma
Tina, et. al. - Here's a good salsa recipe for you: Drain and blend a can of pineapple chunks with a couple of canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Sweet, smoky and hot at the same time. Rocks with chips or on any kind of grilled chicken or fish.
- The original Kevin
Couldn't we just drop the D? I mean, we're just sending messages back and forth. And it's not like anybody has to go look in some inbox, they just appear in your main feed.
- Ken Sheppardson
The Kwisatz Haderach? Deny Mom looks like Kyle MacLachlan, too. Go ahead.
- abacab
I had a huge crush on Alicia Witt for the last decade -- until I recently realized she was the ultra creepy Alia girl child Bene Gesserit abomination. I find it difficult not to shudder in creeped out horror now.
- Michael W. May
That's terrifying and a little like Alien.
- James Ferguson
Now you know how I feel about Kirsten Dunst. I keep waiting for her to vamp out on her co-stars.
- Steven Perez
from IM
Do share the story, Mona. Also, did you like him?
- Tudor Bosman
They're funny and charming, totally teasing me. I'm not interested. But apparently they have success rate of 8/10, targeting iPhone owners LOL
- Mona Nomura
from fftogo
Maybe you could help me with some of my missing bits and bytes and smiley faces. I'm having so much trouble :-(( an yuo can haz bacon -[
- Chris Loft
There goes my chance, iPhone launched in Jakarta... thanks for the tips... Re: pretending technologically stupid.. LOL
- Pico Seno
Pico - these guys have iPhones! Only works with a partner in crime - talk about something completely off the wall. ie: I am sad I have to cancel it AOL - see my Tweets for general flow of convo ;) Good luck! LOL
- Mona Nomura
from fftogo
No way - Apple already dominates the mp3 player market. I am just surprised tehy went there. 4gigs with no screen AND proprietary ear buds is just plain bizarre.
- Mona Nomura
from IM
I think Apple has a better understanding of their target market than we do. Clearly geeks don't get Shuffles - we get real iPods, or more likely the Touch/iPhone. This is marketed at people who don't know any better than to use the built in earbuds (or should I say don't care for anything better).
- Sparky, lurking
I was thinking the same thing a few minutes ago. I would hate using it. I know that lots of others are sure to have said they wanted that type of functionality.
- Richard A.
Do you think Apple actually did market research on Shuffle users/buyers? I don't know about all that.
- Mona Nomura
from IM
Does "I wish I could control the ipod from the earphone" sound familiar?
- Richard A.
No- who said that? Nvm, Googling.
- Mona Nomura
from IM
I'm sure it cropped up in conversation. I'm sure I would have said something like that as a child
- Richard A.
Well that's how Walkmans were, do you remember? I remember buying all my walkmans in Japan, since they had THE coolest ones.
- Mona Nomura
I remember minidiscs having remote controls, but with displays built in :-)
- Richard A.
from IM
I truly hope all Apple hardware does not go that route - proprietary earbuds. Their stock earbuds kinds stink.
- Mona Nomura
from IM
isn't it bigger than the previous clip design one? looks more like an unremarkable pen drive once again. Also, the mini disc players and walkmen with remote controls that I owned at least allowed you to connect your own earplugs/headphones into the remote!
- alphaxion
Hmmm... if the earbuds control the shuffle, do you think earphone makers will have adapters? If so, how will it work?
- Mona Nomura
I doubt their market research returned "I wish I could control my iPod from the earphone" more likely it said "smaller is sexier" and the market of the Shuffle is interested in a trinket, not a serious music solution.
- Sparky, lurking
It's a great design for them, earphones get worn through quickly. You'll spend a lot on buying new adapters :-/
- Richard A.
from IM
if I didn't have so much content on my devices I wouldn't mind that functionality. It's practical in cities too.
- Richard A.
from IM
I've had my Shure headphones for almost two years. I use them with ALL my Apple products (except iPhone) - couldn't be happier.
- Mona Nomura
from IM
I must be hard on my headphones. I've been through 5 Vibe Duos, 2 pairs of Monster Beats, and 3 pairs of the lame iPhones in two years.
- Sparky, lurking
This still doesn't make me any more likely to buy a shuffle. I've already got an iPod Classic (80Gb) and will likely have a Touch or iPhone before the year is out.
- Christian (Simply X)
Dragun, that doesn't sound so bad. Just find some cheap ones to go with the cheap device.
- Richard A.
from IM
But RIchard, you can't because this Shuffle is controlled by the earbuds. Though apparently the Shuffle comes with an adapter. That's great news.
- Mona Nomura
from IM
False - Sony would never provide an adapter ;)
- Mona Nomura
from IM
if you're silly enough to get the shuffle you deserve to pay through the nose for the earphones. With the difference you might as well get the mini.
- Richard A.
from IM
Does anyone know anyone that works for Apple taht can confirm if Apple is SELLING the adapter or putting it in the box? I am reading two separate reports from major publications. Annoying.
- Mona Nomura
from IM
I wouldn't be at all surprised if market research found that people who use the shuffle while working outhated having to dig it out of their pocket to change volume or songs while running. On-cord controls make sense, though apple earbuds suck.
- Kevin Fox
Given the size of the Shuffle, earbud controls DO make sense. There was also an informal study done by Stanford that showed people like the sizzling sound from the cheap Apple earbuds. Weird. http://radar.oreilly.com/2009... What I want to know is: how much is the adapter?
- Mona Nomura
from IM
The whole thing confuses me... it doesn't make sense. Looks like something Jobs would have veto'd if he were there. Also, the fact that they're still selling the old model speaks volumes
- Bwana ☠
Thank you Bwana! I think it's time to get you on the show again. Whatchya doin' Sunday?
- Leo Laporte
I dig it. Stoked for you being able to be on the show a few times, too. :) I doubt Leo has heard of FFundercats yet.
- Josh Haley
Leo, TWiT is totally awesome. The shows on the network are wonderful and I enjoy watching the live streams. Good work. And yeah, I do think Bwana should be on TWiT again and maybe get Patrick Norton on too, because you could do a contest to see who can recognize who the Patrick Norton is, since Bwana sounds like Patrick. *lol*
- Mol, FF Music Lover
I'm out of town this Sunday Leo, but next Sunday I should be free :)
- Bwana ☠
Of all the podcasts I listen to, TWiT is my absolute fave.
- Chris Charabaruk
I listen to LOTS of La-La-La-Leo each week. Great work, man!
- Joey Gibson
I'm not a Mac user, but I love Macbreak Weekly. I love listening to the gang and I get ideas to tell my Mom who has a Mac. I also love Munchcast, net@night and The Daily Giz Wiz. I actually am the one who mentioned Faygo on Munchcast to Cammy. :)
- Mol, FF Music Lover
Always interesting to see how Dvorak will spew his negativity on any subject they bring up.
- Fleagle