Reality Bites
![Click here to read Police Spend All Day Investigating "Murder Scene" That Was Really a Movie Set](http://cache-02.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/12/160x120_hotelinvestigation.jpg "Click here to read Police Spend All Day Investigating "Murder Scene" That Was Really a Movie Set")
Washington, PA Police Chief J.R. Blyth described it as “the most grisly murder scene in his 35 years in law enforcement.” Blood splattered everywhere, a bit of scalp. It took his team hours to realize it was all fake. More »
From the files of the Acquisition Totally Makes Sense Dept.: Universal password manager LastPass, maker of our favorite any-browser-anywhere security solution, is acquiring Xmarks, the bookmark syncing tool that was scheduled to shut down in January 2011 from lack of revenue, but then bought and saved (the unnamed buyer, whom we now know). The key figures for subscribers? The free plan sticks around, but a premium plan, with Android/iPhone apps and priority support, will go for $12 per year, and you can bundle LastPass Premium into that deal for $20 a year. Intrigued? Go ahead and check out the upgrade to Xmarks premium. [Xmarks Blog via BoomTown] More »
NASA has discovered a new life form, a bacteria called GFAJ-1 that is unlike anything currently living in planet Earth. It’s capable of using arsenic to build its DNA, RNA, proteins, and cell membranes. This changes everything. Updated. More »
(PhysOrg.com) — A joint project by universities in Algeria and Japan is planning to turn the Sahara desert, the largest desert in the world, into a breeding ground for solar power plants that could supply half the worlds electrical energy requirements by 2050.
This is not a joke, in fact it’s quite official. Research In Motion has just confirmed the acquisition of Swedish UI design company TAT, which will soon be “bringing their talent to the BlackBerry PlayBook and smartphone platforms.” You’ll be familiar with TAT as the team that helped polish the original Android interface on the T-Mobile G1 as well as from more recent UI design projects — the important thing is that these guys have shown they know what they’re doing. We have to admit, pairing the rock solid foundation of the QNX-built PlayBook OS with some top-level spit-shine from a company specializing in exactly that has us legitimately excited. Who knows, maybe we’ll even see a BlackBerry with a user interface that someone other than a BBMer could love.
[Thanks, Rasmus]
RIM buys TAT, BlackBerry UI in danger of becoming awesome originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 07:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Okay, maybe not everybody, but the vast majority of the Android offerings from Archos are receiving some guilt-free sweet treats. Models 23, 32, 43, 70, and 101 (you know, these guys) are all on the lucky receiving end of firmware updates that bring Android 2.2.1 to the table. That comes with improved performance, better battery life estimation, and support for external GPS adapters. All yours for the low, low price of free — well, assuming you’ve already bought the tablet, of course.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Archos Internet Tablets get firmware updates, everybody gets a Froyo originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Wesley Snipes will soon be getting fitted for some prison stripes.
The U.S. Marshal’s Office has ordered the Blade star to report to a federal penitentiary in Pennsylvania on Dec. 9…
Adobe Flash Player is now sandboxed in the latest dev channel release of Google Chrome, bringing a huge security benefit to Chrome users. Here’s why: More »
Now that HP owns Palm, it's been made it clear they have little interest in selling Windows Home Server boxes. Zero interest, actually—they've announced they're selling the rest of the inventory they've got, and never looking back. More »
This is the Cup Size Choir, seven angels in lingerie singing seven notes at your command. They lie down, breathing sensually, waiting for you, ready to play Deck the Halls or whatever Christmas carol you want. More »
The picture looks very much the same with current smartphone owners, as well. As far as gender goes, the percentages are very similar when asked what smartphone is desired next, except that more men report wanting an Android device, while more women — about 12 percent more — say they simply don’t know what they want next. Hit up the source link for charts on all this knowledge.
Nielsen: Android makes huge gains in US smartphone marketshare, RIM takes a backseat, Apple leads in desirability originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Personally, I hope that future wars look like scenes from Tron (diplomacy through Light Cycles)–or, perhaps, just American Gladiators (diplomacy through giant Q-Tips). Near future wars, however, will be fought with that thing above.
It’s the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System. It’s a programmable grenade launcher that’s more or less roughly the size of a rifle. The ammunition is microchipped and can be used to seek out enemies hiding behind walls. The gun can clast 25mm shells up to 2,300 feet.
The US government is calling it a “game changer.” AFP has tossed around the phrase “the Taliban’s Worst Enemy.” The gun XM25 is said to be 300 times more effective than current squad weapons.
The gun’s “program” manager Lieutenant Colonel Chris Lehner told AFP ominously, “You get behind something when someone is shooting at you, and that sort of cover has protected people for thousands of years. Now we’re taking that away from the enemy forever.”
The gun is said to have “very limited” collateral damage.
Before Firefox 4, there will be at least two more betas, a release candidate, and some compatibility match-ups with Firefox Portable, a.k.a. Fennec, according to Mozilla’s meeting notes. To accommodate a change to the Sync system, the next Firefox 4 beta, number 8, will ship on Dec. 7, along with a new Firefox Portable beta. What feature are you most looking forward to having in a stable Firefox 4? [ZDNet] More »
Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux: A beta version of Adobe Flash Player 10.2 is now available for download. The latest version adds preliminary support for Stage Video, a technology aimed to reduce heavy CPU usage during video playback. The beta is a free download—available right now—for Windows, Mac, and Linux. More »
Stop whatever you're doing right now, watch this video, and send it to your friends. Actually, you don't even have to watch the video—though it's amazing—you just need to pass it on. Here's why. More »
We’ve got word from one loyal reader that his HP Slate is en route from Shanghai, and he even provided us PDF proof of that fact, just to quell any doubts. We’re not sure if that’s some little slip on HP and FedEx’s part, or a sign of larger things to come (be sure to let us know in the comments if you’ve received similar notice), but for now all we know is that something enterprisey is scheduled to show up on one Dave P.’s doorstep on December 6th. Godspeed, dear tablet. Godspeed.
[Thanks, Dave P.]
HP Slate beginning to ship? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A Supercell Thunderstorm Cloud Over Montana
NASA is holding a press conference on Thursday “to discuss an astrobiology finding.” Are they going to announce that they’ve found evidence of extraterrestrial life? More »
Disney movies aren’t all fun and games. Sometimes, these kid-friendly movies are filled with some incredibly depressing moments. Of course, in the end these dark moments help make the happy ending feel all the sweeter. However, that doesn’t help the fact that they are oftentimes exorbitantly heart-wrenching to watch. Of all the Disney movies ever made, here are ten of the most depressing moments.
10 Buzz Lightyear Learns He’s a Toy – Toy Story
Can you imagine what it would feel like to discover you aren’t actually real? Such a revelation occurs in the first Toy Story. Thanks to an inopportune TV commercial, Buzz Lightyear realizes that he is not actually the real Buzz Lightyear, but rather nothing more than a toy. This is such damaging news that Buzz quickly falls into a deep depression. Of course, seeing him jump off the top of the stairs in an attempt to prove his reality also plunges the viewer into a deep depression as well.
9 Skippy’s Tax Collection – Robin Hood
Picture this: It’s a poor little rabbit’s birthday. As a gift, he is given a solitary coin – with which he can purchase whatever he wants. He’s excited – really excited! Then, all of sudden the Sheriff of Nottingham comes along and demands the coin be handed over to pay for taxes. Heartbroken, little Skippy (that’s the rabbit’s name), relinquishes the coin. Thank goodness old Robin Hood was around the help right this tremendously vile wrong.
8 Fox is Abandoned – The Fox and the Hound
In the beginning of The Fox and the Hound, an orphaned red fox (Tod) finds a new home with the Widow Tweed. This is all good news… that is, of course, until Ms. Tweed decides to abandon poor Tod out in the wilderness all alone. While she thinks it’s for his own good, the image of that car driving away as Tod struggles to understand what’s going on is a pretty tough one to shake.
7 Kittens for Sale – Oliver and Company
In the opening of Oliver and Company, an adorable batch of kittens is placed in a box on the street and sold to passersby. As time passes, the price on the box drops until it reads “Free.” Despite this great deal, a rain-drenched Oliver just can’t seem to find a home and is left all alone in the world as an orphan.
6 Beast Dies – Beauty and the Beast
After a harrowing battle with Gaston, Beast overcomes the antagonist and decides to spare his life. This is a poor choice, as it turns out, as Gaston soon doubles up and stabs Beast in the back. The wound is so bad that the Beast actually dies in Belle’s arms. Thankfully, she whispers “I love you” just in the nick of time to break his spell and bring him back to life.
5 Dumbo Visits His Mother in the Cage
After defending her big-eared son from a group of evil boys, Dumbo’s mother is locked up and considered too reckless to be let out. Following this, a tear-soaked Dumbo visits his mother in a depressing circus cage and essentially says goodbye to her. Why must us humans be so cruel!?
4 Death of Bambi’s Mother
I’m not sure why, but the folks over at Disney seem to really relish the idea of orphaning children. For nearly 70 years, the tragic loss of Bambi’s mother has been cruelly introducing kids worldwide to the concept of death. And no matter how old you get, every time Bambi’s father emerges to recite the line, “Your mother can’t be with you anymore,” a little piece of yourself dies.
3 Lonely WALL-E
For a robot, Wall-E sure has a lot of heart. It is this fact that makes his presence on the deserted planet Earth so incredibly depressing. Day in and day out, little WALL-E vigilantly does the job he was programmed to do, but somewhere inside those circuits you can see just how incredibly lonely he really is. In all that solitude, at least he has Hal the cockroach to keep him company.
2 Mufasa’s Death – The Lion King
Well, what do you know? Another orphaned Disney hero! For any eight-year-old, seeing the pathetic vision of baby Simba nuzzling his head under the arm of his dead father is enough to cause lifelong trauma. Of course, the fact that Scar convinces Simba that the death is his fault is just an extra dash of salt in the open wound.
1 The Up! Opening Sequence
It doesn’t get more depressing than this, friends. For the introduction to this “high-rise” comedy, the folks at Disney decided to build up the viewer’s expectations by showing a lifelong friendship and romance between Carl Fredrickson and his eventual wife. And once we’ve all become emotionally invested in the couple, the writers rip the rug out from under us. Thanks a lot, jerk wads!