LHC Started To Collide Protons

Topic: Technology News

After lots of delays CERN has released a positive report yesterday. The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) circulated two beams simultaneously for the first time, allowing the operators to test the synchronization of the beams and giving the experiments their first chance to look for proton-proton collisions. I assume the Black hole fear has died out because of all the delays.

"It's a great achievement to have come this far in so short a time," said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer. "But we need to keep a sense of perspective – there’s still much to do before we can start the LHC physics program."
Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Sears Black Friday Ad Preview

Topic: Black Friday 2009

Sears unveiled some deal highlights about their upcoming Black Friday sales event today. Yesterday we reported already about the Sears Thanksgiving Day online sales event.

Sears unveiled today the following Black Friday deal highlights:

• Samsung 40-inch Class 1080p LCD HDTV for $599.99 (While quantities last, minimum three per store, no rainchecks)
• Craftsman C3 19.2-volt drill/driver with charger on sale for $39.99 (regularly $79.99)
• Kenmore 3.5-cu ft High Efficiency washer and 5.8-cu ft. dryer pair on sale for $579.98 (regularly $1079.98) Limit four per store, no rainchecks
• Canyon River Blues Jeans for the family on sale for $9.99 (regularly $17.99-$29.99)

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Facebook Rocks On Xbox Live

Topic: Gaming

Microsoft launched the social service integration of Facebook, Twitter and last.fm on the Xbox Live platform last week.
CNET reports that Microsoft has seen at list 2 million Xbox Live users to log into Facebook since the launch. About 500,000 last.fm accounts have been created in the first 24 hours.
Obviously there is a sizable overlap of Xbox Live account holders and Facebook users. Microsoft did not disclose the how big the Twitter adoption is via the Xbox 360.
Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

TopTechGifts 2009 Gift Guide Launched

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

Like last year we partnered again with editors from other tech sites to publish the TopTechGifts - An Expert Guide To Holiday shopping.
The TopTechGiftsGuide 2009 is even more comprehensive compared to last year as it is featuring gift tips and recommendations from Geek.com, Audioholics, SlashGear, Techspot, Home Theater, PhoneDog, IntoMobile, TechEBlog and of course I4U News. Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

ReadHowYouWant Bridges Kindle Gap for Blind and Visually Impaired Kindle Users

Topic: Hot Gadgets

One of the things that is keeping the Amazon Kindle out of some major universities is the fact that the device is inaccessible to the blind and visually impaired. ReadHowYouWant has announced a new way to bridge the gap between these impaired users and the Kindle by using proprietary XML conversion software to repurpose books.

The XML repurposing turns the books into a variety of different formats to meet the different needs of readers who are blind, visually impaired, or have print learning disabilities. There are ten different formats available for the books including DAISY, electronic Braille, synthesized audio MP3, and more. Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

EyeClops Mini Projector On Sale For Only $69.97 On Amazon

Topic: Holiday Gift Guide

The EyeClops Mini Projector is a great gift for kids especially if it is selling for only $69.97 and not the list price of $99.99.
We have tested the Jakks EyeClops projector already back in October. The verdict of Shane was: "The home theater fan in me says that the EyeClops Mini Projector is not a great projector. The cool factor for my 8-year-old son says that this is one of the coolest toys he has and he loves it."
Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

New Amazon Kindle Firmware Brings Better Battery Life and PDF Reader

Topic: Portable Devices

Amazon announced today that they have improved the Kindle eBook reader. The new Kindle firmware is improving the Kindle battery life by 85% and a native PDF reader is now part of the software.
Kindle now has battery life of up to seven days even with wireless turned on, a significant improvement from the previous battery life of four days. Battery life with wireless turned off remains at the previous level of up to two weeks.

The 6-inch Kindle now has a built-in native PDF reader that enables Kindle customers to read professional and personal documents in their original PDF format without conversion.
Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:04:03 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

The Best Black Friday Deals Available Today

Topic: Black Friday 2009

It is Tuesday, November 24th and we are only three days away from Black Friday. The final week of Black Friday sales is in full swing and again tons of early Black Friday deals are available today.
Amazon has a new round of great deals in their huge Black Friday Deals week sales event. Leading the Amazon Black Friday Video game deals today is the DJ Hero Bundle Renegade Edition for Xbox 360 selling for $149.78.
Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:24:59 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

AT&T Offers DataConnect Passes for Daily, Weekly, Monthly Access

Topic: Mobile Phones

AT&T has unveiled new DATAConnect Passes to allow something that I have wanted to use for years, short term 3G connectivity for set fees. The new passes are available for daily, weekly, and monthly increments and allow the user to get varying amounts of data.

The day pass is $15 and offers 75MB of data; the week pass is $30 and offers 250MB of data. The monthly pass is 500MB of data for $50. Naturally, you need a modem of some sort to take advantage of the connectivity. Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Cool Rui X9: A 10.1'' Windows 7 Tablet PC

Topic: Hot Gadgets

It was only a matter of time. Windows 7, in all of its multitouch-capable glory, has finally found its way onto a next-generation tablet PC. The X9 has a 10.1" touchscreen, runs Windows 7, and comes from Chinese manufacturer Cool Rui. Shanzai.com had a chance to get a sneak peak at the tablet, and they've got a whole bunch of photos of it in action. There's no confirmed date for the X9's US release, but it is expected to launch here.

The X9's screen is billed as dust, scratch, and fire resistant. It can support a pixel resolution of 1024 x 600, and runs with an Atom 270 processor. The chipset is a standard 945GS, and the tablet also packs 1 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive. The X9 sports a card reader and 3 USB slots as well. This gadget will have 3G support AND a SIM slot. To cap things off, there's also a 1.3 MP camera.

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:26:59 CST | by Robert Evans

Kmart Black Friday Ad Highlights

Topic: Black Friday 2009

The Kmart Black Friday 2009 Ad is official and available on the Kmart site.
Kmart of course calls their Black Friday event Blue Friday. Kmart has the doorbuster deals between 6am and 11am on Black Friday.
Highlights of the Kmart Black Friday deals include a $84.99 Magellan Roadmate 1220 GPS, $49.99 portable DVD player (after $10 mail-in rebate), Samsung SL40 Camera for $79.99 and $16.99 Easy Bake Oven.
Read more

Posted on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr