Lamp switches can be kind of a pain—either you can't reach them comfortably, they break within a few months, or they just take a lot of force. With an inexpensive touch switch , you can turn any metal lamp on and off just by touching it with your finger. More
It's stunning how much prescription drug prices vary by store. The same product—e.g., life-saving epipens—bought at one store can save you $60 or so compared to another store. GoodRx can really save you money by comparing prescription drugs prices. More
This isn’t the first time we’ve posted about Sugru , and hopefully it won’t be the last: (more…)
The Amazon Kindle Fire isn’t the only low-cost tablet option in town. Sure, it might be the hot new kid, but there are a multitude of tablets that can be had for $300 or less. Some are cheap and clearly only
The nation’s major mobile-phone providers are keeping a treasure trove of sensitive data on their customers, according to newly-released Justice Department internal memo that for the first time reveals the data retention policies of America’s largest telecoms. More
Hold onto your phasers — the dream of many a Trekkie is about to come true. Star Trek: The Next Generation will be released on Blu-ray starting in 2012 . Every one of the show’s 178 episodes will be released eventually, though not all at once. Why such a slow release? Well, it turns out that instead of upconverting and selling for a premium, the producers of this new version are doing it right. How right? They’re scanning the original 35mm footage, cutting together the shows from that, and re-creating the original effects in high definition. Now that’s what I call a proper remastering. George Lucas, take note. They’re leading the whole project with a sort of proof-of-concept disc comprising the pilot episode and two fan favorites, “Sins of the Father” and “The Inner Light,” from seasons three and five respectively. Perfect for fanboy screenings, and it alleviates the inevitable problem of the weak first two seasons of the show arriving as the vanguard of this new release. While high definition occasionally reveals details mercifully obscured by videotape transfer and SD resolution (flaws in makeup, costume, and set design), it’s generally a positive thing and with a big-budget show like TNG (I learned today that its budget was over $1m per episode) chances are those aesthetic flaws will be minimal, and with luck it’ll look like this: The release will be full 1080p with 7.1 DTS audio reconstructed from the show’s original tracks. I’m guessing it will be widescreen, since they weren’t shooting on a “flat” 1.85:1 Panavision setup. Whether they composed for that, I don’t know (i.e. you might be able to see the edge of the set on the full 35mm frame), but either way it should be a widescreen image. Expect the first “sampler” Blu-ray, entitled The Next Level , to hit on January 31 of next year for $22, and the rest to follow.
Amazon’s newly introduced Kindles, including the Fire tablet, vary by quite a few features and certain options add more to the price. How to decide which Kindle to get? Just check this flowchart for your options. More
