Stanford wants to roll its own paper batteries

The mainstream bookseller pushes into the digital age -- can it compete?
When we first caught wind of Barnes & Noble's Nook -- a device clearly positioned to give the Amazon Kindle and Sony's options a run for their money -- we were understandably interested. As voracious readers and lovers of fresh gadgetry, a new contender on the e-reader scene is more than welcome. When we discovered that Barnes & Noble's offering would not only feature a full color touchscreen component, but would run Google's Android OS as well... let's just say we were pretty much in gadget-hog-heaven. We weren't without our reservations, mind you; the appearance of this device made for some pretty heated conversations amongst the staff over whether or not we were seeing the dawn of a truly commercially viable e-reader. Of course, for us the proof is always in the pudding, and since B&N is about to launch a full assault against the current offerings, it's our duty to turn over a report. Is the Nook the answer to our e-reader prayers, or just a stepping stone to greener pastures? We've taken a long, hard look at the device -- so read on for the official Engadget review.

Apple products are known far and wide for their design. Linksys products, on the other hand, are not. That's why this latest laptop mod strikes us as a little odd. When a technically-proficient gentleman named Tyler wanted to get his hands on "a working, genuine" Mac as cheaply as possible, he did what any self-respecting (and frugal) geek would do: he scrounged New Egg and eBay for MacBook parts. Why he would then turn around and cram 'em into an old router is, quite frankly, beyond us. Had he asked, we would have suggested something a bit more classy: perhaps a flashing pyramid? Why not a Timex Sinclair ZX81? Or maybe even a toaster? That said, this achievement -- while puzzling -- certainly seems to have been pulled off with not a little technical skill. If you're curious to see how it all went down (including copious step-by-step pics) hit the source link. And prepare to scratch your head in wonderment.
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Pandora has already come a considerable way from its rather modest beginnings, but it looks like the company unsurprisingly has some even grander ambitions for the near future, including a variety of options for in-car music streaming. That word comes straight from Pandora's Chief Technology Officer, Tom Conrad, who told attendees at the SF Music Tech Summit that the company is now working with various car manufacturers (including Ford) to better integrate Pandora music streaming into vehicles. That will apparently first come in the form of in-dash or hands-free controls to let folks use a docked device running Pandora and then, "within a few years," evolve to include full-fledged Pandora services built right into various in-car entertainment systems. Details are otherwise a bit light, but Conrad reportedly hinted that he'd have more to say at CES.
Every time an Android phone launches, a stopwatch quietly starts ticking, because we all know it's just a matter of time before the thing gets rooted. This time around, it's a big one: it appears that the mighty Droid has fallen to the hands of hackers looking to drop whatever they please onto the phone's firmware -- and anyone enjoying Cyanogen's works over in the HTC world understands full well the benefits of being able to do this. We'll hold off on cracking open the bubbly until we start to see some practical benefits to the root, but this is a stellar way to start if it's legit and functional.



Correspondences from Team Engadget out into the Twitterverse.



Average cost of a netbook
Netbook revenue is up 264 percent from last year, and has contributed to an overall lowering of the average PC cost by 19 percent.

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