Archive for December 5th, 2007



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MovieBeam is calling customers today and telling them that the datacasting HD movie service is ceasing operations as of December 15th, with certain customers eligible for a refund on the hardware. It's been rocky going for the company since spinning off from Disney a couple years ago, with a series of investments and acquisitions along the way, but none of the owners ever really managed to make the limited-selection, high-DRM, wonky-quality movie rental business model really work. Although we're always sad to see another gadget fade into that sweet night, something tells us we're not going to mourn for long.

[Thanks, Dustin]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!


Dec 5


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Merry Christmas. We're breaking up.

[Via iPhoneWorld.ca]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!




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So we've heard enough banter about CompUSA being on its last legs and possibly shuttering completely after closing more than half the chain's stores earlier this year. Well, chalk this up to rumor (in fact, rumor with prejudice if you must), but we're privy to a high-level internal email competitor Best Buy recently circulated which claims to have it on authority (but not "verified") that CompUSA's holiday revenue is half what it was last year (which, as commenter Hans points out, might have to do with those store closures), store-restocking shipments are not being scheduled past February, and additional liquidators are being called in to help manage closure of the 103 remaining stores. Sure, it could be a sneaky misinformation campaign -- or it could be the truth. We gave CompUSA a ring, and their PR team has yet to respond to the claim; but for what it's worth, if we weren't already hearing this kind of thing elsewhere (or didn't believe it plausible) we wouldn't waste your time.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!




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Sure, plug-in hybrid tech has been around for a while, but no major manufacturer has stepped up and actually delivered on all the concepts and vague plans we've seen so far -- until yesterday, when Ford delivered the first of 20 plug-in hybrid Escapes to Southern California Edison to begin testing. The handoff, which happened with great fanfare at the EVS23 conference, is the start of a two-year pilot program between Ford and Edison that will eventually have consumers testing the vehicles. For now, the first off the line is being dubbed a "research vehicle," and features a 30-mile electric-only range on a full battery charge. When the battery is depleted, the system switches over to a traditional gas / electric hybrid scheme, which, under ideal conditions, can apparently achieve up to 120mpg. There's a full gallery of the unveiling and the interior over at AutoBlog Green, hit the read link for some eco-friendly love.

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!




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Gamers looking for an "Xtreme" display to go along with their array other Xtreme gear now have a couple of new options to consider from BenQ, which just announced its new line of X-series LCDs. On the top of the heap is the 22-inch X2200W, which boasts a 1680 x 1050 resolution, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, an 8 ms "Motion Picture Response Time" (or 2 ms gray-to-gray response), an HDMI port and, perhaps most notably, a 92% color gamut. Moving on down the line, the 20-inch X2000W will give you pretty much all the same specs (minus the 92% color gamut) in a slightly smaller package, while 19-inch X900W and X900 knock things back even further with 1440 x 900 and 1280 x 1024 resolutions, respectively, plus an 800:1 contrast ratio, and DVI and VGA ports, but no HDMI. From the looks of it, however, only the X900W has a firm US release date (this month), with the X2000W and X2200W each making their way to China and "select countries across Asia Pacific and Europe," and the X900 headed to Europe only, also this month.

[Via Electronista]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!