Tag Archive for ‘Power’ at Didnt You Hear…

Tag Archive for 'Power'

…Dell’s Studio Hybrid packs an environmental punch?

Dell’s new Studio Hybrid line of computers is a rather interesting offering.

Designed to be an “anywhere-you-want-it-desktop”, the pint-sized PC comes in six colors, as well as bamboo, features an ultra-compact design with Intel mobile technology performance, a slot-load DVD, HDMI, digital/analog TV tuner, and optional Blu-ray for home entertainment duties.

In addition, the Dell Hybrid helps to preserve the planet as Dell’s greenest and most power-efficient consumer desktop (75% less printed documentation, 70% less power usage, Energy Star 4.0 compliant, and packaging made form 95% recyclable materials).

A good-looking computer that’s good for the environment and performs too?

What’s not to love?

[Dell - Studio Hybrid]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on July 30, 2008

in Computers

. 0 Comments

…Achievement Farming Servers are lame?

TF2 Pyro

Call me an online gaming Newbie, but the concept of an Achievement Farming Server was news to me.

For those of you in the same boat, let me explain: In certain games like Team Fortress 2, items and weapons are unlocked only after a player achieves a certain number of achievements (milestones that mark goals or difficult tasks within the game). For those that can’t just wait to play through the game and earn the achievements like a normal player, Achievement Servers get set up with the express purpose of unlocking certain achievements for everyone playing.

Thus, though there might be two different teams playing, everyone is basically on the same team, and working together to earn achievements.

Need to kill 10 guys in 30 seconds?

Though this might be a tough task on a regular server, it’s easy on an Achievement Server when you have 10 volunteers join one team and then just stand still in a single spot while players on the opposing team take turns slaughtering the 10 opponents in one fell swoop like some sort of communal firing squad. Then, once everyone from one team unlocks that particular achievement, the roles are reversed, and it’s the next team’s turn.

Seem a little…unfair?

I thought so too, but apparently these types of servers are pretty common for games like TF2, as players are anxious to ‘earn’ their new toys and try them out.

Click the link to follow one man as he journeys through an Achievement Server for the first time, and witnesses the power, and the shame, of Achievement Servers firsthand.

[Rock, Paper, Shotgun - Pyro Maniacs: Achieving Nothing In TF2]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on June 23, 2008

in Information

. Closed

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Spada Vetture Sport TS Codatronca?

Spada Vetture Sport TS Codatronca

Spada Vetture Sport’s TS Codatronca looks like the car Batman would dive if the Batmobile got a bit boring one day.

The front looks like a cross between a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, and a Corvette, and the rear looks like…like…well, it doesn’t really look like anything else on the market right now, since a giant Tetris tail and stealth bomber lines aren’t exactly in vogue over at GM’s design shop.

The interior however is both beautiful and functional, with plenty of suede and carbon fiber to remind you that you aren’t in a car that will serve fleet time as part of a rental program.

The engine also reminds you that you’re in a race-bred car, with 600 horses on tap, and a short ratio gearbox to compile with FIA GT1 regulations.

For the green lovers, there’s an ad-hoc “converter kit” that allows you to fuel the car with E85 ethanol and also gives you a slight increase in torque and power.

It’s definitely not your daddy’s supercar, but then, who wants that anyways?

[Spada Vetture Sport - TS Codatronca]

[Via: Autoblog]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on May 20, 2008

in Cars

. Closed

…The Ferrari California is here?

Ferrari California

Though it might look a little funky from the front, it’s all business from the back and sides.

Ferrari just announced the “hugely versatile, innovation-packed GT Maranello” they’re calling the Ferrari California. (Take that, other states!)

Featuring 8-cylinders of mid-front mounted Grand Tourer power, it’s exclusively a convertible with a folding hard top for when you’re ready to mess up the ‘do.

Specs?

0 – 100 km/h in less than 4.0 seconds, 7-speed dual clutch transmission, multilink rear suspension, F1-Trac traction control system, Brembo brakes, carbon-ceramic discs, etc. Basically, if you want it in a sports car, then it’s there.

To me, the front looks a little bubbly, and the wheels don’t do anything for me, but the back looks pretty good with single tail lights and vertical exhaust, and the side looks pretty good as well with classic proportions, so maybe this prancing horse will grow on me soon enough.

Look for it at Ferrari dealerships and country clubs near you.

[Ferrari]

[Via: Jalopnik]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on May 13, 2008

in Cars

. Closed

…It’s Movie Monday: Black Gold?

Black Gold

Black Gold is “a story about coffee and trade”.

But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.

Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.

Against the backdrop of Tadesse’s journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organization reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers.

It looks like a fascinating film, and definitely brings light to an issue that few Americans consider while waiting in line at the local Starbucks.

[Black Gold]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on April 14, 2008

in Movies

. Closed

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Pontiac LeSupra?

Pontiac LeSupra

Sure, they did it in 3 Fast 3 Furious, but no one actually puts a new engine into old muscle; do they?

Well apparently they do, because the ’72 Pontiac LeMans that you see here is powered by none other than a 1991 Toyota Supra 7M-GTE 3.0 Litre 24V Turbo motor.

Apparently the car was basically a total loss when it was purchased at auction, so it’s not like they chopped up some pristine iron to make this creation, but I’m still not sure if I can wrap my head around how they decided that this was their best bet for power.

I guess if the go pedal works though, it doesn’t exactly matter what it’s connected to.

[Via: Jalopnik]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on March 25, 2008

in Cars

. Closed

…Some Photoshop work is disasterous?

Photoshopped Disasters

With great power comes great responsibility, and unfortunately, the work of those featured on Photoshop Disasters severely lacks some of the former, and most of the latter.

The site is a collection of professionally Photoshopped images that skipped a round or two of quality control, because the end result is often a monstrous concoction of inhuman impossibilities that will make you question your day job. (Get paid to erase butt cracks from the covers of magazines? Sure!)

Sadly, these types of images fed the world a definition of literally unachievable beauty, so keep this site in mind the next time you find yourself saying “I wish I could look like that”.

[Photoshop Disasters]

[Via: Format Magazine]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on March 12, 2008

in Pictures

. 6 Comments

…Go-karts need more power?

Hayabusa Kart

There are two recipes for fast:

Power + Power = Fast
Power – Weight = Fast

While the Bugatti Veyron is obviously king of the former, a much smaller competitor is trying to become the king of the latter: The Hayabusa Kart.

By taking a shifter cart chassis and strapping on 1,300 cc’s of Suzuki Hayabusa power, the power to weight ratio goes through the roof, and the end result is a kart that wants to do little more than fly forward in a straight line.

Sure, it doesn’t turn, it doesn’t handle bumps very well, and it’s probably not street legal, but who wants to worry about all of those things when you could be out roasting the tires off of a kart with a deadly amount of ground only an inch away?

[Hayabusa Kart]

[Via: Jalopnik]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on March 11, 2008

in Cars

. Closed

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Audi R8 V12 TDI LeMans?

Audi R8 V12 TDI LeMans

Though the US is still having trouble wrapping its head around the power and potential of diesel, Audi seems well aware of what it can do, and has developed the R8 V12 TDI LeMans concept car to help them strut their stuff.

Featuring “the first 12-cylinder diesel engine in a high-performance roadgoing sports car”, it generates 500 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque, propelling the car from zero to 62 mph in just 4.2 seconds, with a top speed of well over 186 mph.

Peak torque?

It’s reached at just 1,750 rpm, meaning “effortless acceleration” that is without rival.

Thus, the question becomes: Would you switch gas pumps for a car like this?

My guess: Yes, yes you would.

[Audi - R8]

[Via: Jalopnik]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on March 4, 2008

in Cars

. Closed

…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Top Secret Supra?

Top Secret Supra

The Top Secret Supra is ridiculously, stupidly, blazingly fast. With an estimated 1,000 horsepower coming from the twin turbo V12, “Smoky” (the owner) hopes to top it out at 248 mph later this year. (Apparently 200 mph flew by without any problems, so another 48 doesn’t seem that far off, does it?)

Power was sourced from a V12 that was pulled out of a Toyota Centry, which, at 276 horsepower, isn’t exactly a powerhouse out of the box, so they’ll be plenty of custom work to get things running right. A six-speed shifts gears, an LSD puts the power to the road, and a custom body kit keeps everything down at speed.

Oh, and the price?

A mere $500,000.

No wonder it’s painted gold!

[Top Secret]

[Via: Super Street Magazine, Autoblog, and Kultivate]

Published

Cory O'Brien

on February 26, 2008

in Cars

. Closed