Just in case you had the slightest fear that ole Steve wouldn't be introducing something worth updating the Apple store over, well, consider that fear squashed. Yep, the e-doors to the online Apple store are indeed closed, and we're betting they'll remain tightly sealed until that "one more thing" is unveiled.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

 

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Samsung just can't seem to keep itself out of hot water these days. On the heels of its chairman's home raid, it now appears that the Samsung Group headquarters have also been the target of a shakedown. Apparently, the flurry of activity is all related to an ongoing probe into accusations that the electronics-maker is responsible for a slush fund used to bribe influential prosecutors, judges, and political figures. The charges are being lobbed by Kim Yong-chul, a former legal affairs official at Samsung, who claims that the conglomerate used some 200 billion won ($215 million) to fund the shady dealings. The company denies the accusations, of course, though Chairman Lee Kun-hee has been convicted of bribery before in Korean courts... so, uh, this isn't looking good.

 

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Filed under: Announcements

Got your final Macworld predictions in? Excellent. Steve takes the stage and the show gets started in just a couple of hours now, so run off that DO NOT DISTURB sign on the office printer while you still have a chance.

07:00AM - Hawaii
09:00AM - Pacific
10:00AM - Mountain
11:00AM - Central
12:00PM - Eastern
05:00PM - GMT / London
06:00PM - Paris
08:00PM - Moscow
02:00AM - Tokyo (January 16th)

Where you need to be:
Live Steve Jobs Macworld keynote
All Macworld 2008 coverage [RSS]

 

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Filed under: GPS, Portable Audio, Transportation

We already heard that the 2009 Lincoln MKS would be the first vehicle from Ford Motor Company to feature Sirius' forthcoming Travel Link system, but now those of you scouting a new pickup can rejoice as well. Starting with the '09 year model, F-150 trucks will be available with SYNC and Travel Link, providing users with an in-dash USB port and auxiliary input, 911 Assist, Vehicle Health Report, voice-activated navigation / radio / climate control / etc. and a 10-speaker Sony sound system to boot. Just the tools you need to efficaciously tackle those mountains, right?

[Via CNET, image courtesy of Autoblog]

 

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Filed under: Laptops

Well here you have it. After the rumors surfaced back in July, Acer is offering Ubuntu 7.10 as a pre-load on their 14.1-inch Aspire 4315-100508C model with 1,280 x 800 resolution, 1.86GHz Celeron M 540, 512MB memory, 80GB disk, and DVD optical drive. Better yet, the price is just NZ$699 -- that's $553 in US greenbacks. The offer appears to be good in New Zealand only for the moment. Toe dipping the consumer waters are we Acer?

[Via Geekzone]

 

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Filed under: Features, Gaming, Peripherals

So, we got some more information from Patrick Goschy so he could set his story straight, and were surprised to learn he still had the original prototype controller! According to Goschy, he really has no plans -- or standing -- to sue Nintendo, since Midway owned all of his patents, and as far as he can tell, Nintendo bought the patents from Midway, since Nintendo references one of the patents in its application for the Wiimote. Apparently he just wants the recognition: "I just wanted to people to know. Wanted the truth to come out. Did this 8 years ago, and the Wii has been such a huge deal, I wanted the truth to get out there. It wasn't these two or three Japanese guys that came up with this thing." His guess is that Nintendo saw the video demo he did -- which was seen by hundreds of employees of Midway -- and probably payed a pittance for the technology, thanks to Midway's mismanagement. Right now Goschy is doing engineering consulting work to pay the bills, and when asked if he could take a few shots of his controller alongside Nintendo's, told us that he "can't afford a Wii." He's going to do a redo of the original video -- hopefully with pants this time -- if he can scrounge himself up a working Dreamcast.

 

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Filed under: Storage

Egads, Brando has stepped out of their techno-kitsch stronghold and into something potentially useful. The appropriately cryptic STYSEN E08 is a 2.5-inch USB 2.0 SATA disk enclosure with a bit of RFID trickery baked in. With the RFID fob in hand (and at an unspecified range), the drive can be encrypted and decrypted -- an LED glows to communicate the drive's locked or unlocked state. Unfortunately, there's no details about the "hardware-based encryption" used which makes us wonder about the level of safety vs. gimmickry within. Yours for $56 with 2x RFID keys... you know, just in case.

 

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Filed under: Laptops

While rumors swirl of an impending Penryn delay, DigiTimes is reporting on a spate of new 45-nm Penryn processors set to launch in May. The new procs support Intel's 5th generation Centrino platform with optional WiMAX integration dubbed Montevina. Right, the 40% smaller successor to Santa Rosa. That lines up with earlier rumors mumbled back in August. Of the 15 new processors, 7 CPUs are destined for laptops while 8 of the procs feature a smaller 22-mm package size for subnotebooks and ultra-portables. Sorry, not MIDs, those are waiting for Intel's Menlow-platform based on the 45-nm Silverthorne CPU. Got it? Good. Now feel free to click-through for all the rumored techno-gore you can stomach this early in the morning.

Continue reading Intel releasing 15 Montevina CPUs in May?

 

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Robots

The absurdity of that photo is usurped only by the stupidity of those who think that shaking a baby is effective child rearing. Enter the re-purposed (and tricked out) $28,200 crash test dummy which the University of Olso will use to better understand the trauma inflicted on an estimated 2,000 shaken babies each year in the US -- half of whom die, the other half suffering brain damage. If research is successful, the resulting forensic evidence will help prosecute those guilty of this senseless abuse while defending those wrongly accused. Fine, now could somebody please research the trauma inflicted on babies dressed like iPods? That can't be good.

 

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Filed under: Laptops

According a message purportedly sent from a Lenovo rep to resellers today, Intel's T9500, T9300, T8300 and T8100 Penryn chips are going to be delayed, affecting the laptop industry worldwide -- and obviously Lenovo's latest in particular. The word is that a thermal sensor issue is to blame, and supply on the chips will be tight through February. Nothing official from Intel yet on the matter, so we're going to keep this in the rumor category for the moment -- but don't be surprised when that shiny new Penryn laptop of yours ends up taking a few extra weeks. Be strong, we can make it through this together.

 

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