Gadgets Connect

by Ryan Block, posted Jun 27th 2008 at 2:54PM Money-losing companies with interesting technology and a small, if rabid, customer base still frequently tend to sell for healthy chunks of change — especially in the wireless space. We know Helio was burning cash like crazy, but that doesn’t entirely explain why SK Telecom was so absurdly desperate to dump their $500m investment. At a $39m acquisition price, SK didn’t just lose its shirt — it lost that, the shoes, and then the pants. You know, the pants with a half-billion dollars in them.Now, if you look at nothing other than the price per subscriber of some other, larger mobile acquisitions, Helio’s numbers seem even crazier. (Read the full post about ‘Two years and half billion later, Helio sells for a song. But why?’…)

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Bill Gates retires from fulltime work at Microsoft next week. We figured that would be the perfect time to put together a highlights reel showing the most entertaining, goofy and inspiring moments from his 33-year career. Take a look at this two-minute montage showing everything from Gates getting a cream pie in his face to the famous "blue screen of death" demo to a mockumentary of his last day at the office. Enjoy!

Embedded video not working? Click through to see the Bill Gates highlights video on the Wired.com video site.

Tags: dvr, sat-nav, games, DAB

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by Darren Murph, posted Jun 27th 2008 at 1:00PM It’s time to take a long, hard look at where we’re headed as a society. No, really — we’ve got office chairs coming to kill comradeship, specially designed lapboards made to keep you sedentary for as long as humanly possible, and now we’re looking at the perfect device for keeping Earthlings in bed for days on end. The EasyChair WorkStation line of products essentially puts your laptop on wheels, and the adjustable boom arm ensures that you can reach the keys / trackpad regardless of which side you wake up on. (Read the full post about ‘EasyChair WorkStation solves that whole “get out of bed” dilemma’…)

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by Paul Miller, posted Jun 27th 2008 at 10:00AM It’s official, MVNO lone survivor Virgin Mobile is picking up the struggling Helio from SK Telecom and Earthlink for a cool $39 million in Virgin Mobile USA stock. They expect the deal to close in Q3 2008, pending regulatory approval. The acquisition comes as no surprise, but it’s still sad to see the one true innovator in a mostly doomed MVNO space fall to that pesky little “completely failing to make money” thing. The good news is that it while the Helio brand will be phased out, Virgin Mobile isn’t just in this for the 170,000-ish subscribers it’ll be picking up. They plan to leverage Helio’s technology and content offerings, not to mention the willingness of i (Read the full post about ‘Virgin Mobile to buy Helio for $39 million in equity’…)

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You’ve got the ultra collectible Luke Skywalker lightsaber, the Padawan hair braid, and enough Star Wars action figures to choke a Sarlacc. Yet you still feel there is something missing on your desktop–something to bring the “Force” and make the “circle” complete if you will. How about an R2D2 or Darth Vader USB Hub? These Star Wars USB Hubs feature the likenesses of two of your favorite Star Wars characters and offer four USB ports to plug in computer peripherals. But these aren’t just lifeless hubs that sit on your desk. The R2D2 Hub turns his head back and forth and the Darth Vader Hub has glowing red eyes, while both play movie sound effects. (Read the full post about ‘Bring the Force to your desk with Star Wars USB Hubs’…)

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Nyko FrontMan Wireless Guitar Controller for Nintendo Wii Given that the Wiimote handles all the real work in Guitar Hero for the Wii, it’s a bit ridiculous that an extra first-party guitar shell costs just $30 less than the actual game, which comes with its own guitar. Thankfully, Nyko’s FrontMan offers a somewhat cheaper Telecaster-shaped option. But, for fifty bills, it’s not much cheaper than Activision’s Les Paul controller, and with a slightly differed feel, it may cause arguments during multiplayer gaming. Aside from its Telecaster shape, the FrontMan’s aesthetics are a bit drab. The white model comes with removable black and pink pick guards, while the yellow model includes black and white guards. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Wii Guitar Hero Controller Almost Makes You a Rawk God’…)

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Talk about an old school convergence device - fishing is a suitable sport for the old as there isn’t much movement involved, and the fact that some older folk need to get around with the help of a cane makes the Fishing Pole Cane all the more attractive. Retailing for $39.95, this makes the perfect gift for grandpa as he starts telling you stories about “the one that got away” - surely this Fishing Pole Cane is more than able to nab dinner by the creek! Tags: TV, ipod, Ogg, games (Read the full post about ‘Fishing Pole Cane’…)

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It is hoped by many fitness buffs that Nike+ will be made available for the 3G iphone, and there could be cause for celebration according to a press release from US gym giant 24 Hour Fitness. “Nike and Apple worked with major gym equipment manufacturers to make their cardio equipment Nike + ipod compatible so gym members can easily track and record workouts on cardio equipment like treadmills, stair steppers, elliptical trainers and stationary bikes.” Do you think that’s confirmation, or is it just false hope? (Read the full post about ‘Nike+ for the 3G iPhone’…)

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Rumors of a new Mega Man have been swirling for a while now with talk of a Mega Man 9 appearing. It seems those rumors have finally become true.

According to scans over at The Mega Man Network, the new issue of Nintendo Power magazine has some screenshots and information about the new title.

First off, the game appears to be 8-bit. Why? Because it’s going to be released on Nintendo’s WiiWare service. Also, because a Mega Man game isn’t a Mega Man game unless it looks simple and is hard.

(Read the full post about ‘Mega Man 9 is a WiiWare game’…)

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With Microsoft Windows being installed on the majority of PCs for decades, most of us have had more than one occasion to bang the keyboard, throw the mouse or punch the screen. Maybe it’s a blue screen as you were saving an important document, it won’t recognise your new hardware or it just plain doesn’t do what you want it to?

Well, for all those that have suffered, you can take some comfort in knowing Bill Gates is in the same boat, except he can send e-mails complaining that actually get read.

As part of the antitrust lawsuits against the company over the years a number of emails have also become available for viewing.

(Read the full post about ‘Even Bill Gates has bad Windows days’…)

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