We know, Samsung already took the wind out of your “price cut!” sails, but hey — we’re pretty certain you’ve still got a few things you’d like to see changed on the altogether lovely Series 9. Sammy’s sexiest laptop to date has surely found its way into the homes of quite a few ultraportable aficionados, boasting a Core i5 chip, USB 3.0 and lovely all-in-one trackpad. ‘Course, even those enamored with the design have probably found a few chinks in the armor after a few month’s use, so we’re anxious to hear what you’d recommend Samsung do with revision B. Would you tone down the gloss? Arrange the ports any differently? Toss in a magnetic power connector? Boost the screen resolution? Voice your opinions down in comments below — it’s a free country, you know?
How would you change Samsung’s Series 9 laptop? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Flagship sails
Hammacher Schlem mer will soon be history on East 57th Street. * The Hammacher Schlemmer building, the fabled gadget emporium’s flagship since the 1920s, has been sold to a Brazilian real estate company, all but guaranteeing that the famed store will be gone from the location by year end. Sao… Read more on New York Post
For sale: classic car with ejector seat, would suit spy
In its day it was the ultimate James Bond gadget. Driven by Sean Connery in the film Goldfinger, the car had built-in machine guns, a bullet-proof shield, and revolving number plates. Read more on Dose
I just sat down to peruse the Times and found this very interesting article describing some of the technologies being used in competitive sailing. To be sure, many of these have been around for years, but they’re being advanced every year and pushed to the limit by integration with onboard computers and all that. Hinged sails? Hundreds of embedded stress sensors? We are still talking about boats, right?
I suppose this tournament’s only limitations are “have a hull, a sail, and don’t be longer than x.” There are more “authentic” sailing cups to be won, but I think we have space for both. Even if you or I consider one or the other to be the true sport, I think we can agree that going fast on boats is awesome.
I saw this over the weekend but didn’t realize there was video to go along with it. It’s really representative of the reasons I love the indie games scene. You get completely random ideas like this, actually made into playable games. It’s like the small-scale cinema scene, where every little idea gets filmed because hey, why not? In this case it seems that an experiment with color and volume turned into a game where you have to scream as loud as you can to destroy enemies or remove obstacles. So awesomeRAAAAAAAA
Of course, it’s just a short tech demo, but like so many indie games, what matters is the idea presented. Games occasionally use the microphone, but usually for communication or for some random things like blowing into your ship’s sails. How come there isn’t a top-tier game where you have to speak softly to open some doors, yell to scare enemies, or find a certain pitch and hold it to raise a bridge?
As always, you can find a ton of great free and independent games at TIGSource and Indie Games.
Step aside, Greenbird. Here comes a version with all the luxe trimmings. Cooked up by industrial designer Stefan Radev, the Blue Dynamics land yacht is a concept wind-powered pleasure vehicle that steers with the help of a huge sail in the rear. Entry to the cockpit is via the elevated wind screen, while the rigid sail adjusts according to wind direction either automatically or through the on-board sail control unit.
The name Blue Dynamics is a symbolic connection of the wind and BMW’s “efficient dynamics,” greener-emissions program, which helped inspire the designer. BMW is not affiliated with the project, however.
Like all toys for the rich, this is one selfish contraption that’ll take just one person on-board. But hey, if you’ve got the chump change to afford this swanky three-wheeled ride should it ever hit the deserts or beaches, you’ll definitely not want to share it as you zip past envious landlubbers and green-eyed sedan drivers.
