Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Good news, everyone! According to reports, a US spy satellite which has lost power and propulsion is weeks or even months away from striking Earth. Officials say that the space junk -- which can now no longer be controlled and could contain hazardous materials -- is due to come smashing into some location on our planet's surface, but they can't really say where. "Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the Nation Security Council. Government agencies are still considering options such as shooting down the stray equipment, though they say they'd be just as happy to let the potentially radioactive / alien-filled hunk of metal crash into a small village in a developing country.

 

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Filed under: HackIt

By popular request, I've added a hackit category. Today's hackit is one of my coffee shop creations. Considering the quality of work we've seen, I can't help but wonder... If the Hack-A-Day community were to come together and produce a joint collaborative hardware project, what could it build? A modular robotics platform? A digital I/O platform for other projects? If you could harness the power of thousands of hardware hacking geeks, what would you ask them to do?

Got a better idea? Let's hear it.

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Prolong the life of your car and keep it in tip-top shape by following advice from automobile experts. Reader's Digest offers 75 tidbits on how it's done. Some suggestions: buy gas at reputable service stations, keep a log of your visits to the gas pump with mileage information, park in a garage (or the shade), place a towel under baby seats, wash your car in the winter (to prevent rust buildup), and change your oil frequently. Also, clean your engine. Here's why:

There are several reasons to wash your engine at least every year or two. A clean engine will run cooler than a dirty one. You'll be more apt to tackle routine belt and hose checks and the like if you know you won't get covered with grime every time you do so. A clean engine will also make it much easier to spot leaks and to service components.

If your car is as valuable to you as you want it to be, these tips should help you get a lot more time out of it than you'll expect. If it was worth all that money, it's also worthwhile to protect your investment for the long term.

Tired of repeatedly hearing that his One Laptop Per Child was on the way, PC World's Harry McCracken called OLPC and was surprised to discover that the charity didn't have his mailing address on file. Apparently, PayPal passed McCracken's payment to OLPC without providing his address.

On January 17th, my colleague Matthew Newton poked his head into my office. He'd also donated, and was also impatiently waiting for his XO. He told me that he'd just spent an hour on the phone with OLPC customer service, and had been told that they didn't have his shipping address, as a result of some glitch relating to the fact he'd paid via PayPal.

I too had paid with PayPal...but I didn't have an hour to spare. So I checked the "Track Your Order" link and entered my e-mail address and tracking number. That sent me to a page saying I'd probably received my XO, with...confusingly...a link to a page that it said would let me track my order. I clicked on that link, and got a page not found error.

Today, I happened to be in the office early, so I called OLPC support and turned on my speakerphone. Thirty-five minutes later, the call rang through to a rep. Who told me that they didn't have a mailing address for me. (Like Matthew, I paid via PayPal.)

I gave him the address and asked when I might expect the laptop. He told me that OLPC doesn't tell them when machines are going out...but that I might have good news in February. I'll believe it when I see it.

This snafu has two parents. PayPal's mistake is surprising since they proudly boast of their ability to confirm an address for most credit card payments. Still, where was OLPC's customer support? Why would OLPC send out emails reassuring donors that their little bundles of charity were on the way, instead of contacting Give One Get One participants who didn't have a listed mailing address? Maybe they'll get around to that in February.

Where the Heck is my OLPC XO Laptop? [PC World]
(Photo: fumi)

Torrent sharing group The Pirate Bay has asserted itself as "World's Largest Tracker," now claiming over 10 million peers sharing 1 million files. Not only is 10 million more than the population of New York City, it's just about equal to the user numbers of the most successful MMO on the planet, World of Warcraft, which not so long ago announced the same user milestone...and may have a thing or two to say about The Pirate Bay's title.

Blizzard, like The Pirate Bay, implements a P2P system. Instead of avoiding issues of copyright, the developer utilizes P2P as an inexpensive way to distribute WoW updates and patches. And the last time we played WoW, which was admittedly some time ago, Blizzard's P2P updater was pretty much mandatory to play the game. So if you're thinking what we're thinking, The Pirate Bay may have jumped the gun with their announcement. And Blizzard may actually be the sleeper king of P2P. [slycknews via slashdot]

If you've felt intimidated in non-violent situations and didn't know how to respond, bear in mind that the goal of the intimidator is to take power away from you. You should stand firm and have confidence: do not let him usurp that power. If you are unable to respond because the person is cutting in with additional questions, assume control of the situation and respond slowly that you're not finished explaining your side of the story. Do not shout back. Instead, employ subtle humiliation. For example, if some is hot-tempered and wants to resolve an issue immediately, calmly respond that you will when the individual cools off.

Never let anyone take charge of your emotions. You're the one who is in control. How do you prevent others from assuming your power? Share your tactics in the comments.

Filed under: Laptops

You'd think there'd be a bit more excitement associated with the inclusion of Intel's latest and greatest, but HP decided to take the quiet route with integrating Penryn into its Pavilion laptop lineup. The Pavilion dv2700t, dv6700t and dv9700t are all getting an Intel T9300 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo option, with a 6MB l2 cache and a purported 10% speed boost over last-gen Intel processors. Unfortunately, that mild speed boost comes at a $100 premium over the T7500, so you money might be better spent on RAM or a better graphics card -- or you could just choose it all, the Engadget-approved method of speccing a laptop.

[Via NotebookReview]

 

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The Macbook Air sure is a fine piece of Cupertino craftsmanship, but the lack of useful input ports is a complete downer on the slinky sexy soiree. Fret not, Flickr user, Nybras.Rodrigo has conjured up a fantastic solution. He's confident in his solution, and so are we. Check it out above. There's all the ports you'll ever need; USB 2.0, Firewire 400, Firewire 800, Ethernet, DVI output, Superdrive, iPod Shuffle and even a floppy drive. A floppy disk drive! How did we all miss that one? Kudos, Nybras, you're one up on everyone. [Flickr]

Johnny was pleasantly surprised when the $199 power tool he grabbed off the clearance rack rang up at the self-checkout for just $0.01. Home Depot, of course, stopped him before he could leave and asked for the item back, but Johnny wasn't fast to part with his new toy.

I told the manager well that's to bad because I ALREADY PAID FOR IT!!! and if you don't return MY PRODUCT!!! that I PAID FOR!!! that I would call the cops because you are now stealing from me. I will call Weights and Measures. OH YEAH and my attorney.

Read the full story after the jump.

Well I never thought I would see the day when I would buy an item in a store, I have the item in my hands with my receipt and a Home Depot employee takes the item out of my hands because they are not sure if I can have this item. Sound funny, WELL, ITS NOT!!!

A few months ago I was in a Home Depot shopping and I saw a Power tool (worm drive) on clearance for 49.95 markdown from $199.99. I really wanted this item but did not have the cash on me at the time (just my luck) so I drove home got my credit card and drove back to the store but I was to late, someone had already purchased the item.

So just the other day I was in the Home Depot again and by lucky found the worm drive on the clearance rack unmarked. I took the item to self check-out and the item came up at a penny. I thought, cool I am getting a deal of a life time here. I then PAID for the item and took my receipt. I checked the UPC on the receipt and on the box just to make sure they were a match and they were.

Then a Home Depot employee came up to me from the self check-out and took the worm drive and said I need to check something I'll be right back and walked away from me with the item that I just PAID for. So after waiting for 6 to 7 minutes a manager came up front and told me that I can not have this item because it is on clearance and once the price falls to a penny it is to be markdown and thrown away. I told the manager well that's to bad because I ALREADY PAID FOR IT!!! and if you don't return MY PRODUCT!!! that I PAID FOR!!! that I would call the cops because you are now stealing from me. I will call Weights and Measures. OH YEAH and my attorney.

So after all that, they finally wised up and gave me back the item that I PAID for. I have never had a retail store do something like to me. They made me feel like I was a thief. Like I did something wrong, when all I wanted was to buy a worm drive that I saw on Clearance. (WHAT HAPPEN TO TAKING CARE OF THE CUSTOMER) because you lost another one to LOWES.

Johnny was more than dramatic—he was right. Scanner errors are only worth a small discount in some states. Now, it would have been more ethical to tell the store about error and to ask for an additional discount, but since Johnny already paid for the item, it was his.

Amazon's digital music catalogue is all set to go global, and although a launch date has not yet been settled, it shall hit sometime this year. Given Amazon MP3 offers DRM-free tracks, which are generally cheaper than iTunes limited, equivalent offerings, we cannot help but think an epic battle between the big As is all set to take off.

Amazon MP3 has the only digital music catalogue that offers DRM-free tunes from all four major labels, with around 3.3 million tracks in the library, they are packing some weight. If that fact doesn't have Apple quaking in their boots, the competitive pricing should. We couldn't care less how Amazon and Apple get down and dirty, but as they are bound to be set for a fight, teeth gnashing and all, it can only mean good things for customers. DRM-free music will have a bigger global presence, and that should solidify its worth in the consumer market. Also, the ensuing price war is not going to be too bad either. After all, iTunes surely cannot keep their offerings priced above the competition, whilst simultaneously offering DRM gimped and comparatively expensive ($1.29), DRM-free tracks. It's about to get interesting—watch this space. [Amazon]