This Russian man has a tattoo, some nice Persian rugs, and a modest television set. He also has hundreds upon hundreds of processors. Peruse his absurdly long (though very well organized) list and see if he has your favorite. More »

Well this is getting good. Motorola was one of the first to take a subtle swipe at Apple's iPhone 4 antenna dilemma with an ad saying you could hold the Droid X "any way you like," Apple came right back with a video purportedly showing the Droid X suffering similar attenuation issues when held in the right hand, and now Moto's responded with this cheeky ad that plays off Apple's free iPhone case solution by saying the Droid X can make calls "without a bulky phone jacket." Yeah, it's pretty good -- particularly because unlike most other phones, we haven't been able to death grip the Droid X with any noticeable effect on 3G reception. (Although, truth be told, we can drop the WiFi signal by a few bars pretty easily.) Either way, we're certainly enjoying this little slice of swagger from Moto -- check a larger version after the break.

Continue reading Motorola takes another shot at the iPhone 4, says Droid X is 'no jacket required'

Motorola takes another shot at the iPhone 4, says Droid X is 'no jacket required' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seen here using a remarkably small font for a 400-year old, Ivy Bean, the world's oldest Twitter user, has passed away. Her tweets, and old-lady aroma, will be missed.

From the two-story care home where she lived in the northern English city of Bradford, 104-year-old Ivy Bean would tell her nearly 57,000 Twitter followers around the world what she did each day -- from eating fish and chips to sitting in the garden. Bean's online activity drew headlines in recent years because of her age, and she had been called the world's oldest Twitter user, though that is difficult to verify. She became a member of Facebook at age 102, but she quickly migrated to Twitter because it was easier, she said, and because she could have more followers. She had maxed out her friend limit on Facebook. Earlier this year, Bean tweeted that she had 25,000 pending friend requests.

Wait -- WHAT?! That old coot had 25,000 Facebook friend requests and I have to sell my ass on the street like a hotdog vendor to get you to join the Geekologie Facebook page? WHAT DOES SHE HAVE THAT I DON'T?! Style and grace? Can't argue there. Dentures? Pfft -- you think I won't knock all my teeth out?! Somebody gimme an ice-skate, I'm bout to 'Cast Away' this shit. R.I.P. Ivy Ivy Bean, 'world's oldest Twitter user,' dead at 104 [cnn] and The Geekologie Facebook Page, WHICH YOU WILL JOIN Thanks to DC_Dewd, who may or may not have cybered with her at some point (he says he did).

Seen here using a remarkably small font for a 400-year old, Ivy Bean, the world's oldest Twitter user, has passed away. Her tweets, and old-lady aroma, will be missed.

From the two-story care home where she lived in the northern English city of Bradford, 104-year-old Ivy Bean would tell her nearly 57,000 Twitter followers around the world what she did each day -- from eating fish and chips to sitting in the garden. Bean's online activity drew headlines in recent years because of her age, and she had been called the world's oldest Twitter user, though that is difficult to verify. She became a member of Facebook at age 102, but she quickly migrated to Twitter because it was easier, she said, and because she could have more followers. She had maxed out her friend limit on Facebook. Earlier this year, Bean tweeted that she had 25,000 pending friend requests.

Wait -- WHAT?! That old coot had 25,000 Facebook friend requests and I have to sell my ass on the street like a hotdog vendor to get you to join the Geekologie Facebook page? WHAT DOES SHE HAVE THAT I DON'T?! Style and grace? Can't argue there. Dentures? Pfft -- you think I won't knock all my teeth out?! Somebody gimme an ice-skate, I'm bout to 'Cast Away' this shit. R.I.P. Ivy Ivy Bean, 'world's oldest Twitter user,' dead at 104 [cnn] and The Geekologie Facebook Page, WHICH YOU WILL JOIN Thanks to DC_Dewd, who may or may not have cybered with her at some point (he says he did).

While many hurdles are keeping us stuck here on Earth, our solar system's deadly radiation is chief among them. But scientists now think that a thumb-sized magnet could produce a force field big enough to shield an entire spaceship. More »

Readers offer their best tips for quick copying and pasting, getting trash bags out of the can, and finding credit cards quickly in your wallet. More »

It may have taken longer than expected, but a replacement for the Kindle 2 has arrived. The addition of Wi-Fi and an aggressive $139 starting price make the new eReader a formidable upgrade. More »

A Comcast customer received this letter informing him that his account's currently delinquent and that his service will be canceled if he does not pay the amount owed. The trouble? The amount owed is $0.00. Update: Another victim. More »

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/tech_news/New_Amazon_Kindle_announced_139_WiFi_only_version_and_189'; Let's be honest -- you saw this one coming, didn't you? Today Amazon is introducing a new reading device for e-book aficionados dubbed simply... the Kindle. The new handheld -- slated to be released on August 27th -- is 21 percent smaller and 15 percent lighter than the previous model, has a 20 percent faster refresh rate on its E Ink (yep, still E Ink) screen, and will now come in two colors (graphite, like its big brother the DX, and the original white). In addition to the color changes, there will be two radio configurations available: a $139 WiFi only version, and a $189 3G version (utilizing AT&T's network, just like the last model). The screen will remain the same 6-inch size as the last two Kindles, though the company claims page turns are faster and contrast is improved. The internal storage on the device has been cranked to 4GB, and the battery life is now rated at a month with no wireless, and 10 days with wireless switched on. The company also announced plans for a UK-localized version at £109 and £149, respectively, as well as a UK e-book store.

Along with the big changes, there have been minor tweaks as well -- the keyboard and five-way controls have been streamlined and altered slightly. The rocker is now more compact and flush with the device, and the side buttons have been modified in length to emphasize the forward paddles, while the back buttons have been downsized. Software wise, there are some interesting new features, the most notable being the inclusion of an "experimental" Webkit-based browser. If you're expect future iterations to go even bolder with their multimedia capabilities, we kindly direct you to some choice quotes by Amazon's Jeff Bezos care of WSJ: "For the vast majority of books, adding video and animation is not going to be helpful. It is distracting rather than enhancing. You are not going to improve Hemingway by adding video snippets," adding later, "there are going to be 100 companies making LCD [screen] tablets... why would we want to be 101? I like building a purpose-built reading device. I think that is where we can make a real contribution."

We had a chance to play with the device for a short while during a meeting with the company, and we can report that the Kindle is still very much the reading device you know and love (or hate, depending on your preferences). The build quality and materials used did seem slightly more polished than the previous version, and we really liked the new, more subtle rocker. We can also attest to screen refreshes and overall navigation feeling noticeably more responsive and snappy compared with the previous generation. Amazon was showing off a jacket accessory which will be made available at launch that includes a small, pull-out light for late-night reading sessions. We're sure it will please a lot of folks eager to keep their partners undisturbed while they tear through The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. We'll have a full review as soon as we can get our hands on the device, but for now, check out all the details in the video and PR after the break, and feast your eyes on the handful of press shots in the gallery below.

Continue reading New Amazon Kindle announced: $139 WiFi-only version and $189 3G model available August 27th in the US and UK

New Amazon Kindle announced: $139 WiFi-only version and $189 3G model available August 27th in the US and UK originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apparently RIM and AT&T are getting together to throw a shindig next week. Most are thinking that the event will mark the launch of the BlackBerry 9800, but we'll know for sure on Tuesday. [Reuters] More »