Geek In Me

by Joshua Topolsky via engadget.com

Now, we know that the MacBook Air is one thin laptop, but some Apple forum members in Germany are claiming that the edge of the laptop is not only sharp — but downright dangerous. According to “Apple Talk” reader Bajuware, his MBA went kill-crazy all over his elbow while he was cold-chillin’ on his couch. The details are a little hard to suss out due to the language barrier (and machine translation), but it would appear the Air’s bottom edge made nasty work of the human flesh like someone had insulted its mother. Another MBA owner claims his computer is sharp enough to slice bread, though we assume it’s not used for buttering. Honestly, we’re not sure what kind of danger an innocent MacBook Air could really pose besides causing you to throw out your back constantly plugging in the AC to charge that not-quite-as-advertised battery.

by Luke Anderson via ohgizmo.com
When I take my laptop somewhere, I usually just toss it in my backpack (it’s meant to tote around laptops). It isn’t particularly stylish, but it gets the job done. If you’re looking for something that stands out a little more than the average laptop case, this one might be for you.

I can bet that if you walk around with one of these, you aren’t going to run into many people with the same one. Of course you’re probably going to get a lot of strange looks, since it is rather strange. I can’t say it is something I’d ever be caught dead using, but I’m sure that someone out there will just love it. There’s not much to tell about it that a picture can’t say. We do know that it’s made from vinyl and will be available at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair this weekend. No word on pricing.

by Jesus Diaz via gizmodo.com

We have seen other cool racing simulators before, but the hand-made, individually-configured, and probably mindblowingly-expensive Motion Pro II by CXC Simulations is by far the most impressive of them all, with three 46-inch 1080p LCD displays, 505-watt 5.1 surround sound system—1,010 watts peak power—synchronized with four vibration transducers, and full motion simulation using electro-mechanical actuators to move your seat. And the tech-porn spec list doesn’t stop there.

I never knew I needed or even wanted an RSS feed displaying shelf until I saw the WaSnake, but now I don’t know how I manage to live without one. The shelf features several segments made from wood and an elastomer material that allow it to be reconfigured to fit your wall space. The non-flexible segments also feature clusters of colored LEDs and optical fibers to form a screen that’s capable of displaying everything from RSS feed headlines like a stock ticker, to SMS messages sent to its ‘home’ address or even little animations using the widget based configuration software.

The WaSnake shelf was designed by Jean Louis Frechin and was recently shown at the International Milan Furniture Show which was probably the only chance any of us would have had of seeing it in person. In other words, if you haven’t already torn down the shelving in your living room like I did upon seeing this, I wouldn’t start making room for the WaSnake just yet.
via ohgizmo.com

by Nilay Pate via engadget.com

AMD may be busy sorting out issues with its quad-core Phenoms and hard at work on “completely different” chip architectures, but that isn’t stopping the company from aggressively updating its roadmap, announcing today plans for 6- and 12-core server-grade Opterons. Both the new 6-core chip, codenamed Sao Paulo, and the 12-core unit, codenamed Magny-Cours, are based on a brand-new platform called “Maranello,” and slotting in to replace the planned 8-core Barcelona chip, which appears to have been canceled. According to AMD, 12-core chips are easier to manufacture, so it’s going to skip over 8-core chips and go straight to the good stuff. That must be news to Intel, which is planning on shipping 8-core Nehalem chips later this year, and will probably then hold the coveted “number-of-cores” crown until AMD releases the 12-core chips in 2010. There’s no word on whether any of these chips can make these processor roadmaps comprehensible or even chronological, but we can dream, can’t we?
[Via TG Daily]