Day: April 11, 2011

ASUS’ 12x BW-12D1S-U external Blu-ray writer: world’s fastest, until the next one

Fed up with the simply unacceptable performance of your external Blu-ray writer? Of course you are. ASUS feels your pain, and it’s looking to ease it with the soothing balm of the BW-12D1S-U, a new 12X, USB 3.0 burner. The highly capable (and highly complex, we’re surmising) BW-12D1S-U offers realtime 2D to 3D conversion, 1080p video output and support for the usual complement of HD audio formats. But does it have a jewel-like, almost ominous translucent blue power button, you ask? Indeed it does, not to mention a sleek black finish and the ability to operate horizontally or vertically. The outfit has yet to put a price on having the fastest writer on the block, but don’t even pretend that you wouldn’t pay it. Whatever “it” ends up being.

ASUS’ 12x BW-12D1S-U external Blu-ray writer: world’s fastest, until the next one originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RCA’s line of portable hybrid televisions now available

RCA announced these way back at CES, and it’s now finally rolled out its new line of portable “hybrid” televisions, which are able to receive both Mobile DTV and standard digital TV signals. Those include in two different 3.5-inch models that run $119 and $159 (the latter includes an FM tuner and lithium ion battery back instead of AAs), as well as a 7-inch model that will set you back $179 — somewhat curiously, those prices are all $10 higher than those originally announced. Those looking to fully round out the package can also snag a car kit that includes a charger, remote control and monopole antenna for $129. Full press release is after the break.

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RCA’s line of portable hybrid televisions now available originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MTbiggie is a DIY Surface for the masses

MTbiggie

Practical or not, there is no denying the nerd-gasm inducing wow factor of Microsoft’s Surface. Of course, Surface is expensive — like, unless you’re a millionaire you’re probably not buying one for personal use expensive. There are some DIY solutions out there, but designer and developer Seth Sandler has come up with the cheapest and easiest yet. Built from about $400 worth of material (some of which you probably have lying about your home / apartment / dungeon), the MTbiggie brings big-screen multitouch to the masses. Like the hacker’s previous homebrew multitouch device, the MTmini, there’s nothing particularly difficult to find here. All you need is a couple of chairs, a mirror, a projector, an infrared webcam (which you can easily hack together with some old film negatives and cardboard), a big sheet of paper and an equally large piece of clear acrylic. Just set it all up according to the instructions in the video below and in no time you be finger painting and playing Angry Birds on a screen that dwarfs your iPad — and possibly your kitchen table, too.

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MTbiggie is a DIY Surface for the masses originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Infographic: Why is your car insurance so high?

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Car insurance rate infographic – Click above to view in high-res

Car insurance rates are determined with a host of factors in mind. Objective items like a motorist’s age and driving record are the most-weighted factors insurers consider, but those items among a couple of dozens of things used to figure out what your premiums will be. Included in the CarInsurance.com graphic are stats like 2010’s most-expensive car to insure, the Porsche 911 GT2, and the least, the Mazda Tribute.

Behind driving record, age and marital status are factors like what you drive, your gender, your state and credit rating. While lots of the factors are things drivers have some control over, a small part of the insurance rate you pay comes down to what company you choose to go with and which policy you buy. Follow the jump for an expanded breakdown of insurance costs.

[Source: CarInsurance.com]

Continue reading Infographic: Why is your car insurance so high?

Infographic: Why is your car insurance so high? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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