We’ve just had notice that the UK side of Sky’s operation, British Sky Broadcasting Group plc, are raising around $600 million through a private Bond issue.
They’ll be paying 9.5% interest, it will mature in 2018 and they hope it to close on or about 24 November 2008.
The full statement is below.
Original post by Simon Perry
Filed under: GPS
Read - GPS Lodge, “Insignia NS CNV-10 Connected GPS - Unboxing & First Impressions Review”
Read - GPS Tracklog, “Insignia GPS first impressions″
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Original post by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Storage
Don’t spaz out or anything, but that thing you’re peering at above actually isn’t a small flask of cologne. No, no — it’s an 8GB USB drive, and it’s one of the most expensive you can buy. Reportedly built with titanium, the drive is water-resistant, crush-proof and fancied up further with a single red ruby. Sure, it’s 21,750 rubles ($837), but dollars to donuts they′d trade you one for a sure-to-be-authentic iPhone.
[Via Gadgets-Weblog]
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Original post by Darren Murph
Filed under: Displays, Laptops
We′ve already heard about a certain other computer manufacturer’s supposed plans to go all LED with its laptops in the not too distant future, and it looks like Dell is now set to take the energy-saving leap as well. According to PC Magazine, Dell says that two-thirds of its Latitude E-series laptops will ship with mercury-free LED backlighting as standard by December 15th of this year, and that by the end of 2009, fully 80 percent of all its laptops will be equipped with LED-backlit displays, which also have the added benefit of looking better and being thinner. The remaining laptops will then apparently make the switch sometime in 2010. In case you’re wondering, Dell also says that it is “absolutely committed” to transitioning its desktop displays to LED, although it doesn’t seem to be quite ready to make any firm commitments.
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Original post by Donald Melanson
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
We’ll warn you in advance, this is only for those who dig the weird, all things Stephen Hawking or clock-making in general. This £1 million ($1.83 million) timepiece took seven years to completely construct, and the initiative was led by inventor John Taylor who designed it in tribute to John Harrison (only the world’s greatest clockmaker, it’s said). The bizarre Corpus Clock visually explains that it relies on grasshopper escapement to function, and to let you know that time can never be regained once lost, that beast on top actually gobbles down time every 60th second. Oh, and every hour, on the hour, the sound of a “chain dropping into a wooden coffin″ is played to really pound home the “time is a destroyer″ concept. Thanks for the reminder, Dr. Grim.
[Via Switched]
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Original post by Darren Murph
Filed under: Household
We have the Antwerp design firm Frap to thank for this high-concept “floor clock.” Frap’s Anthony Duffeleer explains: “Design is an unbelievably pretentious word. A designer is really a process supervisor.” Uh, right. Created by a process known as rotation molding, the clock is quite light, considering that it is 1150 mm in diameter (that’s almost 4 feet, Americans). And the price? “Available on request from the manufacturer.” In other words, if you have to ask, this is probably not the clock for you.
[Via Shiny Shiny]
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Original post by Joseph L. Flatley
Filed under: Laptops
Think $500 is a good deal for the 8.9-inch Eee PC 901? Good, then you’ll love $449 for the 10-inch Eee PC 1000H. That’s already $200 below the original $650 launch price. That sum takes home 1GB RAM, a 6-cell battery, and XP loaded onto an 80GB hard disk.
P.S. Amazon says it’ll ship in 1 to 2 months (huh?) but Mwave and others seem to have it in stock, ready to ship now.
[Thanks to Jeremy and everyone who sent this in]
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Original post by Thomas Ricker
Publishing giant Electronic Arts has said that it’s currently trying multiple new business models to help battle the critical problem of second-hand videogame sales.
(No problem for me!)
While retailers reap the benefits of selling the same product multiple times, publishers and developers don’t see any income once a title hits the second-hand market.
But realizing it’s powerless to stop retail from selling second-hand goods, EA is looking to combat the problem by capturing the consumer with online content and services.
“I’d actually make the point that for us second-hand sales is a very critical situation, because people are selling multiple times intellectual property,” said Jens Uwe Intat, senior VP and general manager for European publishing at EA, speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz.
Today, it seems like you can buy just about anything two or three times … and what are auction sites like eBay supposed to do?
Course if all games where like Asteroid (above), would we have this problem?
Tags: asteroid, ea games, ebay
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Original post by nafiz
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
For years, Diebold has embarrassed itself by claiming that obvious faults were actually not faults at all, and during the past decade or so, it mastered the act of pointing the finger. Now that it has ironically renamed itself Premier Election Solutions, it’s finally coming clean. According to spokesman Chris Riggall, a “critical programming error that can cause votes to be dropped while being electronically transferred from memory cards to a central tallying point″ has been part of the software for ten years. The flaw is on both optical scan and touchscreen machines, and while Mr. Riggall asserts that the logic error probably didn′t ruin any elections (speaking of logic error…), the outfit’s president has confessed to being “distressed” about the ordeal. More like “distressed” about the increasingly bleak future of his company.
[Via Techdirt]
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Original post by Darren Murph
Filed under: Laptops
Generally speaking, HP’s Mini-Note 2133 is pretty well loved the world over. Sure, there are a few things that could use tweaking, but what good gadget couldn′t use even a small dose of overhaul? Nevertheless, a few reports have been trickling in suggesting that HP’s netbook is suddenly going dark and refusing to start back up. Folks are apparently being told that it’s a motherboard power failure, though it doesn′t seem to have become widespread just yet… or has it? Let us know in comments below.
[Via Chris Rue]
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Original post by Darren Murph
Remember not all that long ago when just about every computer notebook manufacturer was having problems with batteries — like catching on fire! 
Now we have battery problems with cell phones! 
Apple is blaming a problem its problem with overheating iPods in Japan on faulty batteries.
In response to reports that Japan is investigating incidents of iPod nanos getting hot enough to scorch paper placed nearby, Apple acknowledged that “in very rare cases” first-generation iPod nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006 can overheat.
Extremely rare, Apple said it has received reports about less than 0.001% of first-generation iPod nano units acting in this way, and has traced the problem to a single battery supplier. Apple did not name the supplier.
Lots more at Macworld.
Tags: apple, ipod nano, macworld
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Original post by nafiz
Details are slim at the moment, but one thing’s for sure: Dell customers affected (or not affected… yet) by those wonky NVIDIA GPUs will have their warranties extended by 12-months to compensate. The 1-year “limited warranty enhancement” will add coverage for this issue to everyone who recently purchased one of the 15 NVIDIA-equipped machines listed in the read link, and we’re told to expect further details about the whole ordeal in short order. Breathe easy, folks — you’ll be taken care of somehow or another.
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Original post by Darren Murph
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage, Networking
It’s no secret that HP MediaSmart Server owners have been having an awful time getting their device to operate correctly, er, at all since HP loosed its most recent software update on July 21st. In order to make sure owners have a solution implement its best damage control tactics, HP’s own Director of Marketing for the Connected Entertainment group has put out a statement informing users that the problems (slow console shown above) are more than a figment of their imagination. Furthermore, the so-called solution is to simply “install each update one at a time, independently,” because clearly HP cannot be bothered to fix a problem it helped create. Oh, it gets better. HP is also aware that PacketVideo (bundled with the update) “no longer supports media streaming to Sony’s PlayStation 3,” so it simply encourages owners to surf on over to a third-party website and hack up the PV database in order to get things back to normal. Jump on past the break for the patently ridiculous letter in its entirety.
[Image courtesy of Within Windows]
Continue reading HP responds to MediaSmart Server issues, offers no real solution at all
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Original post by Darren Murph
So yeah, quite a few NVIDIA GPUs have been acting up. Nothing new there. However, Dell’s attempting to help its laptop owners out by making a few notable BIOS updates readily available for download. Apparently the issue “is a weak die / packaging material set, which may fail with GPU temperature fluctuations.” In order to combat the problem, Dell’s BIOS flashes “modify the fan profile to help regulate GPU temperature fluctuations,” though the Round Rock powerhouse only promises that the updates will “help reduce the likelihood of GPU issues.” Hit the read link and give it a go — it can’t hurt… we hope.
[Via Electronista]
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Original post by Darren Murph
Filed under: GPS
Just over a month after the internet got all fired up about the problematic AVIC F-Series navigators, Pioneer has come to the rescue (we hope, anyway) with a free firmware update. Aimed specifically at the US-based AVIC-᮲BT, AVIC-BT and AVIC-𑐬BT, the update will reportedly “improve overall system performance and resolve certain software issues.” The outfit also notes that the AVIC-BT doesn’t need the upgrade, and even if your unit has been a-okay thus far, it still recommends applying the software. Take ten minutes or so and see what the latest firmware has to offer, and be sure to let us know if all (or some) of the kinks have indeed been ironed out.
[Thanks, Steven]
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Original post by Darren Murph
Developages - Development and Technology Blog