Duesenberg Torpedo Coupe!
 Set to rise from the ashes... in Minnesota of all places, comes the long fabled American super luxury liner, whose name rights were purchased by a Maple Plain corporation back in 1996, and whose firm recently has designs on reviving the marque with the Duesenberg Torpedo Coupe seen here. If it makes it to market, this will be the first new Duesie in almost 70 years. The once-and-future Duesenberg purveyors hope to build somewhere between 25 to 50 TCs per year, with prices comparable to the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
The car's designer, Jeff Teague, was most attracted by the company's 1931 and 1932 models, and thus chose to incorporate their undulating fenderlines and grille profile into the design seen above. Oversized wheels and turned metal also make for solid historical cues.
Appearances aside, the car's most interesting feature is easily its driveline, conceived by Paul Eddie, a California automotive designer best known for building movie cars. The concept's twelve-cylinder engine, dubbed the 'Cylindrical Energy Module' (CEM) was inspired by a firefighter pump that Paul patented back in 1992. In an odd twist, the CEM apparently rotates on an axis and by doing so sucks fuel into the cas, self-lubricating (and doing away with the need for an oil pump). In a throwback, the engine is air-cooled because the design reportedly generates but one-sixth the heat of a typical petrol powerplant (it only employs one spark plug on each end). Eddie claims that the design of the engine is scalable, and that they've already created 'watermelon' sized powerplants, some tipping the scale at less than 100 lbs. Oh, and just for kicks, the engine's been engineered to run on gasoline and diesel.
In the event the exotic powerplant can't make the scene, plans are in place to graft in a Mercedes-Benz V12.
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 This one is a 265 MB download. But it's worth it if you're a racing game fan. TrackMania is a well known series of online 3D racing games made by Nadeo. Previous versions of this game have been retail games, however for this version Nadeo decided to release it for free. Gamers around the world can and are downloading and racing TrackMania Nations with the intent to enter the Electronic Sports World Cup and try to become the champion racer. Read more..!
How to set up a web hosting environment with Ubuntu Linux
 HowtoForge has a tidy how-to on setting up shared web hosting using Ubuntu Linux for those who have a bunch of spare bandwidth and an extra computer or two laying around. It's pretty straightforward and naturally uses only free software, but as with most Linux tutorials there's a fair amount of editing config files and typing into terminals. It will, however, get you from zero (installing Ubuntu) to finished in an afternoon. Read more..!
Kate Spade Pop Love Collection
 Kate Spade's Pop Love designs take a unique slant on saying I love you. The designs include an eye, a heart and a U which are used in a graphic design on several bags, on a keychain and decorating a bright red iPod case. The small manuela, shown here is a zippered case with double handles and three interior zip pockets. The bag sells for $80. Read more..!
 Since its 1996 debut, the Tamagotchi virtual pet series has sold over 40 million units. In case you missed it, the simulation game hit the DS with the launch of Namco Bandai's new Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop. Punch Jump writes: "The simulation allows owners to open and run their own boutique stores... The goal of the game is to set up a shop that will be the favorite of Princess Tamako. Players can set up a bakery, beauty salon, dental office, flower shop, and more."Read more..!
 Spin Mobiles are made of wood grain and boomerang Formica (it has boomerang-shaped squiggles on it) and other colored laminates. Each mobile is hand strung and balanced and ready to hang. The mobiles are all around four feet tall. The Klee shown here sells for $235. Read more..!
Fission: Safari-style address/progress bar for Firefox
 Fission for Firefox (which is actually a remake of a pre-1.0 Firefox extension called Fusion) is an extension that duplicates that cool safari feature where the address bar doubles as a page-download progress bar. You can use about:config to change the progress color or switch to text or graphic mode. Read more..!
Neuros MPEG-4 Recorder 2 reviewed
 Not only is the Neuros 2 able to record video directly to Memory Sticks -- making PSP owners less dependent on costly UMD discs -- but it can also save files at a size that makes them easily usable on the iPod with video (though getting them on the iPod still requires a round trip through a computer). Reg Hardware got their hands on one of the recorders, and found it to be well worth its $150 price, pointing out that the cost is about the same as eight UMDs (or a few hours of TV from the iTunes Music Store). Reg Hardware also liked the device's ease of use and video quality, including its "near DVD" Super Fine setting which allows decent playback on a TV. The one downside: cropping and stretching quirks for videos saved at certain aspect ratios -- though Reg Hardware points out some good workarounds. Read more..!
The anti-McDonald's video game
 The game features a very long disclaimer, but it's pretty clear from the start that this is a strongly anti-McD video game. As part of your daily duties you'll plant GM-crops, feed your cows hormones and bribe local officials so you can grab more land. The game has a sarcastic Sims-like feel that makes it all the more entertaining. Read more..!
HandBrake DVD ripping app ported to Windows
 HandBrake is a slick all-in-one ripping app that will encode your ripped video in MPEG-4 or H.264 (MP4, AVI, or OGM) and has a great built-in calculator that takes the fuss out of choosing a bitrate, which is especially great if your video's destination is an iPod or PSP. Hit the HandBrake forums to get the Windows release. Read more..!
Oblivion: Xbox 360 vs. PC
 So how do the two versions of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion stack up? CVG recently put the question to the game's producer, Gavin Carter:
CVG: Will there be different features or limitations in the Xbox 360 version?
Carter: We are working to make the two versions as close to identical as possible. The Xbox 360 version should be visually identical to a PC running with all the visual options turned to maximum. PC users will have more options to turn down certain visuals to better accommodate older hardware setups. The only thing the Xbox 360 version will lack is the Elder Scrolls Construction Set for modding. It simply isn't possible to offer on a console.
Elsewhere, Xbox.com spoke with Oblivion's executive producer, Todd Howard:
Xbox.com: Anything you'll be able to do with the game on Xbox 360 that just wouldn't be possible anywhere else?
Howard: Hmmm, I guess it's more about the fact that we can do it all and not really have to cut corners. So for instance, in the PC version, depending on your PC, there's a part of it you won't be seeing in all its glory, but on the Xbox 360, you get it all. Please, everyone, buy an HD set ... just please.
Xbox.com: ...just how much more glorious an adventure can owners expect from the title than their PC-loving counterparts?
Howard: Again, it depends on their setup. If they have the absolute latest PC with a video card that is fully shader model 3.0 compatible and a giant HD monitor, they're about the same. The question is, can they get all of that for $399? And does it let them play Geometry Wars? That game rules.
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Turin 2006 Olympic Torch by Pininfarina
 "The Olympic Torch left from Rome on 8th December 2005, and one month later it had confirmed its excellent performances: even though over 5,500 units have now been lighted, neither a flame extinction nor any other inconvenience has been experienced", False. Many of the runners have been inconvenienced by the weight of the torch which comes in third in the all time heaviest list. The shape itself is aluminum while the interior components that is responsible for the flame is made of steel, copper an technopolymer. Rather than let the flame come out from the top as in past interpretations, Pininfarina (behind many of Ferrari's designs) chose to draw inspiration from the traditional wooden torch where the flame wraps around the head of the torch. Read more..!
Conway Stewart Windsor Pen
 The latest pen from English company Conway Stewart is the Windsor. The Windsor takes its inspiration from the fine detail work done by English gunsmiths. It takes craftsmen over 60 hours to create the intricate scroll engraving on this sterling silver pen. A translucent blue resin is applied to the pen so that the silver beneath can shine through. The nib is 18K gold with rhodium plating. The fountain pen sells for $1,005 and is being made in a limited edition of 100. Read more..!
Real-time Magic Eye 3D mod for Quake II
 Magic Eye is a series of books that feature "autostereograms" which allow people to see 3D images by focusing on 2D patterns. The technical name for these images is "SIRDS" or "single image random dot stereo" images. One enterprising gamer has applied the algorithm for SIRDS to Quake II, creating a Quake II mod called AbSIRD. Once you get your eyes adjusted to the pattern you'll be able to play the entirety of Quake II in a kind of faux 3D, without the aid of 3D glasses. Read more..!
New Mercedes S-Class rocks Night View Assist
 In addition to a PCMCIA slot, Mercedes-Benz is premiering their “Night view assist” system on their new, 2007 S-Class series which is said to increase nighttime visibility by up to 125 percent -- without blinding on-coming motorists. It uses infrared light to cast a broad beam ahead of the vehicle and then displays the 8-inch grayscale image on the dashboard LCD. Check out the vid over at AutoSpies. Read more..!
30 Boxes: web-based calendar
 30 Boxes is a next-generation web-based calendar that'll be hitting beta later this week. Blogger Thomas Hawk got in on an early demo (along with a few other Web 2.0 notables like Matt Mullenweg and Andy Baio) and declared: "Best... Calendar... EVER!" In his long review, Hawk calls 30 Boxes "one of the most exciting social network tools I've seen in a long time" and reiterates Om Malik's sentiment that it "will be to calendars what GMail was to email." Read more..!
Big BitTorrent client shootout
 Webmonkey (yes, it's still around) has its "shootout" between six of the top BitTorrent clients. With the exception of the cross-platform Azureus and BitTorrent (the official client), the rest are Windows clients: uTorrent, BitTornado, BitComet, and BitLord. For Windows it's uTorrent that comes out on top for its speed, features, and tiny footprint, and between the two Mac-compatible clients the reviewer chooses the official client for its speed. He also takes a moment to plug some "hybrid" clients including media aggregator FireAnt, Opera's new built-in BT downloader, and the still-in-alpha MozTorrent extension for Firefox. Read more..!
Nintendo's newfound design philosophy
 With the release of the DS lite, Nintendo has laid the final piece in the puzzle of their newfound consistent design philosophy. The most obvious sign of this change is the design of the company's D-pads. As the image illustrates, Nintendo has decided to consolidate the designs of its current and future game consoles. The DS lite, GameBoy Micro and Revolution all feature the same consistent design. Read more..!
 The knife set was created by French chef Daniel Boulud. The knives are drop forged in high-carbon stainless steel for a sharp edge. The six knife set comes in a wood block with an aluminum base and includes a paring knife, boning knife, serrated bar knife, chef knife, slicing knife and a sharpener. The set sells for $298. Read more..!
Sanyo's AQUA AirWash ozones out germs and odors
 Looks like Sanyo took to heart the Kyoto Protocol (which they made mention of in their release, actually), because their new AQUA washing machine reduces water consumption with what they call AirWash, a function that generates ozone during the wash or takes care of your dry clean only garments with an ozone-only 30 minute waterless cycle. Apparently the AQUA's ozone-infused wash cycles kill bacteria and vaporize odors. Read more..!
Geometry Wars creator Interview
 Geometry Wars creator Stephen "Cakey" Cakebread was interviewed fortunately by the folks at Eurogamer, and found out the makers high score: 2.1 million. The interview also talks about the popular appeal of Geometry Wars, and goes into some of the development process behind the game. What's entirely lacking, however, is any hint of a sequel.
"We wanted to do a sequel to the (original xbox easteregg)game, but the eventual decision to do it for Xbox Live Arcade came down to the amount of time I'd be able to spend working on it," says Cakebread when we ask how it ended up on Live Arcade. "If I'd been doing another Easter egg, I'd have been lucky to be able to get a week out of the main schedule, which would never have been enough time to do the game justice! However, because it potentially has its own income, we could afford to spend more time on it. In terms of programming, it's pretty much identical to any normal game, and apart from a few restrictions (such as fitting on a memory unit), generally we're free to do what we want." Cakebread also had help from three people on sound effects, while the chap creating some of the music for Bizarre's Xbox 360 racer PGR3 also contributed music.
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PStart: Portable app launcher
 PStart is a freeware Windows app launcher that you can run from your USB drive that remembers where to find your portable apps even if your portable storage device gets assigned a different drive letter. When you're not using it PStart hides behind a tray icon out of your way, and it looks fairly customizable. As a bonus, it has a built-in notes function so you can take your shopping list or mad scrawlings with you wherever you go. Read more..!
Remocon controls appliances by cellphone
 NTT DoCoMo is marketing something called the Remocon (as in Remote Control) Saucer, a ¥12,000 ($102) device that lets you turn appliances on and off by cellphone, by getting either a second cellphone or wireless card to hook it up. Once you've set that up, you need to make a video call every time you want to send a command. Read more..!
Datel's Xbox 360 4GB hard drive
 The guys at Datel pulled a nice trick with their 4GB PSP HDD/battery, and now they have the slightly less impressive 4GB external HDD for the Xbox 360. Yes it's "100% Xbox 360 compatible," but so is every other external USB drive, so take that away and all you've got left is a pretty . The drive pulls power for its green LED over the USB 2.0 from the 360, measures around 2.5-inches square. Read more..!
RA106 Honda (F1) for 2006
 The Honda Racing Team has announced their entry in the F1 World Championship in Spain with this RA106 that has the RA806E engine. 3 drivers will be present: - Car 11, Rubens Barichello - Car 12, Jenson Button - And the 3rd driver Anthony Debiddoson
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How to get rid of unused device drivers in Windows
 TechRepublic has a handy step by step on removing those unnecessary device drivers. Definitely worth a shot if you've been swapping devices around lately, cause sometimes its drivers stick around, taking up memory and do no good, while Windows hides those missing devices in the Device Manager so you can't find them to delete. Follow the instructions.
Follow these steps to view and remove these unnecessary device drivers:
1. Press [Windows]+[Break] to bring up the System Properties dialog box.
2. Select the Advanced tab and click the Environment Variables button.
3. Click the New button below the System Variables panel.
4. In the New System Variable dialog box, type devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices in the Variable Name text box and 1 in the Variable Value text box.
5. Click OK to return to the System Properties dialog box and then click OK again.
6. Select the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button.
7. In Device Manager, go to View | Show Hidden Devices.
8. Expand the various branches in the device tree and look for the washed out icons, which indicate unused device drivers.
9. To remove an unused device driver, right-click the icon and select Uninstall.
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New Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess footage
 Hyrule.net is featuring some juicy new Twilight Princess video action, and it's not just a series of rehashed scenes from the demo. The short clip includes a "Wolf Link" fight, horseback battle, underwater exploration, animal care, and some lantern-lit adventuring.
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 Cero Designs is the brainchild of designer Todd Sackville-West. His passion for woodworking has led to an elegant and simple line of wood housewares and accessories. The walnut clutch shown here is a two-part wood veneer sleeve that is a whole new take on the classic evening bag. It sells for around $160. Read more..!
 Firefox 1.5.0.1, which is going out over Automatic Update (go to Help > Check for Updates if you haven't gotten an alert), has a short set of release notes: stability improvements, security enhancements, and, most of all, fixed memory leaks. Also in the new release is improved OS X support and, for our Icelandic readers, International Domain Name support for .is domains. Read more..!
SpoofCard simplifies Caller ID spoofing
 A company called SpoofCard has decided to capitalize on a calling card issuer's number being displayed on the recipient's Caller ID screen, by selling calling cards that are specifically designed to spoof Caller ID systems. For about 17 cents a minute, SpoofCard lets you send any numeric string as your Caller ID code. The service goes even further, providing realtime voice-changing capabilities and call recording. SpoofCard's Privacy Policy specifies that the service shouldn't be used for illegal activities and that the company reserves the right to hand over your personal info if they're subpoenaed. Read more..!
Easier Windows navigation with custom icons
 Here's a Windows productivity tip from Lifehacker: For folders in Windows that you frequently access but spend maybe a little too much time trying to find, give them a special icon to make them stick out. It's as easy as right-click on the folder in question, choosing Properties, hitting the Customize tab, and clicking on Change Icon. Read more..!
 The fine folks at PortableApps.com have put together an excellent Portable Apps Suite that bundles eight essential Windows apps that you can take with you on a USB drive. The included apps are Firefox (web browser), Thunderbird (e-mail client), OpenOffice.org (office suite), AbiWord (word processor), NVU (web site editor), Sunbird (calendar and tasks manager), FileZilla (FTP client), and Gaim (IM). The suite comes in two flavors: Standard, which includes all of the above and fits on a 256MB drive, and Light, which omits OpenOffice.org and fits in 128MB. Brilliant. Read more..!
Train your brain for less than $20
 This coming April be sure to pick up Brain Age: Train Your Brain, launching at the sweet price of $19.99, a significant drop from the usual $34.99 tag that accompanies new DS releases. That's like what, a $60 difference? No? I guess I'll have to flex my cortex, batter my gray matter and yes, train my brain on April 17. Read more..!
Google Reader gets an update
 Google Reader has announced a nice update to the web-based newsreader. They have made labels much easier to use with a new drop-down menu as well as a keyboard shortcut that makes adding labels lightnight-fast for us keyboard junkies. There are also some miscellaneous features and additions like better error messages and improved sorting and filtering. Read more..!
Pandora vs. Last.fm music recommendations
 Pandora and Last.fm are both services that recommend music to you based on your musical preferences, but in different ways. Pandora lets you pick a song and then recommends song with similar musical qualities. Last.fm, on the other hand, recommends music based on the preferences of other people who like some of the same music you do. Blogger Steve Krause used both Pandora and Last.fm for a few months and ultimately Krause decided that both services are cool, but found "Last.fm better than Pandora at delivering songs that I liked or at least didn't feel compelled to skip."Read more..!
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-Lytir1
