Hard to believe that Wacom has been around for a quarter century, but this month marks its 25th year in business. To celebrate, the firm is introducing a trio of Intuos3 Special Edition pen tablets in a variety of sizes including 6- x 8-, 6- x 11-, and 9- x 12-inches. Each tablet touts "a refined and sophisticated black and gun metal gray color scheme," Wacom's Classic Pen to compliment the Intuos3 Grip Pen, an accessory kit, and a transparent overlay "to substitute with the traditional gray overlay." All three units play nice with both Macs and PCs and can be snapped up for $369, $409 and $489 from smallest to largest.

[Via PC World]

Has it really been a quarter-century since the first compact disc was pressed, finally freeing us from the infernal routine of rewinding our mix tapes? Well sure enough, Philips was kind enough to inform us that its very first CD rolled off the production lines on August 17th, 1982, which history will forever remember -- perhaps unfortunately -- as a copy of ABBA's The Visitors. Nonetheless, this first widely-produced optical disc format would end up changing our lives forever, ushering in the era of lossless copies, easy music sharing, and an unwanted little friend we've come to know as DRM. Now with some 200 billion discs having been sold worldwide -- and probably twice as many distributed gratis by AOL in its dial-up heyday -- it would seem that the original shiny little platter is unquestionably in its golden years, with more convenient or capacious formats replacing it on almost every front. So Philips, the readers and editors of Engadget are proud to join you in saluting the revolutionary product you helped pioneer -- and also offer our condolences that things, um, haven't worked out quite so well for you in the transition to MP3. If you want to learn some of our (mostly embarrassing) first albums on disc, keep reading after the break...

Feel that? That's the unexpected stir of nostalgia welling inside your dorktic-loin. Rest easy, you're not alone. In fact, that picture aroused a deeply seeded HP fanboi-ism long obscured by thick slabs of drab computing plastic and opaque printer ink. The 35s marks the 35th anniversary of the industry defining HP-35 pocket scientific calculator (and death of the sliderule) -- a first to offer basic trig and exponential functions. While HP preserved the original's reverse Polish notation, gone is the single-line of red LEDs which illuminated the childhood wonder of so many budding engineers. The new 35s also introduces an algebraic entry mode for those who find RPN entry just a bit too, well, reversed. Of course, it's fully modern with 800 storage registers, 100 built-in functions, and a large 2-line alpha numeric display with adjustable contrast. Better yet, the 35s will only set you back $60 compared to the $395 it cost back in 1972 -- that's a lot more 8-tracks for your swank Ford Mercury Capri, eh Pops?

Read -- HP-35 anniversary video
Read -- HP 35s

We'll admit, every so often a certain well-constructed spoof just catches you right, and in the case of the always-witty Onion, a perfectly executed mini-newscast covering the "profound effect" of the Segway really demonstrates how much of a non-factor this thing has been. Since the original launch in 2001, a good amount of folks have avoided the two-wheeled human transporter for one reason or another -- you know, things like uncontrollably reversing, it being banned in their country, the astonishingly high pricetag, and the oh-so-critical embarrassment factor -- and the "revolution" that it was supposed to spark has still not lit a flame. Sure, Jackie Chan may have demanded that the cast members on the set of Rush Hour III all get to their places via Segway, but c'mon, we'd surmise that the vast majority of dignified individuals would rather gallop around in a horse hoof alerting hybrid than face public humiliation on one of these things. Regardless of its impact (or glaring lack thereof), be sure to hit the read link if you need a chuckle. [Warning: link contains mild profanity]

[Thanks, Ben]

We've already seen broadcast radio cross the century mark, and while 80-year anniversaries aren't exactly the most memorable under normal circumstances, television is certainly not in a normal predicament. Four score ago, the Indianapolis Star reported that "television, a scientific dream ever since the telephone was perfected, has at last been realized," as an image made its way some 200 miles from Washington, D.C. to Whippany, New Jersey, and then 22 miles by wireless to New York City. 80 years later, OTA broadcasts as we know them are at a turning point, as ATSC signals look to take over for the existing analog flavor, and companies are already chomping at the bit to get in while the getting is good. Furthermore, television as a whole has hastily garnered a newfangled medium in just the past few years, as the internet connected generation can now look to their browser to catch up on recent programming. The not-so-subtle revolutions that have occurred in the world of TV have happened at a breakneck pace, and considering all the luxuries we're starting to enjoy, we doubt things will slow down anytime soon. So here's to 80 years of keeping us pudgy, obliterating our motivation to socialize, and giving mega-corps a means to an end, and if you're interested in just how much has changed in just eight decades of the 'tube, be sure and hit the read link for a comprehensive report.

What better to snap oodles of pictures at your Thanksgiving feast than with a gravy-proof (and gold-plated) SLR? Taking a note from the bevy of other Midas-touched gizmos out there, the Asahi Pentax LX Gold sports a thoroughly blinding paint job with faux-alligator accents to add an extra layer of tacky to an already gaudy device. Apparently aiming to bring back a taste of 1981 (when the 10 millionth Pentax SLR rolled off the production line; pictured after the jump), the company is seemingly reintroducing the vivid shooter to celebrate 60 years of staying afloat. Of course, we aren't sure how many of these splendiferous units will be offered up (or wanted at all), but we're sure it'll rock quite a premium for those somehow interested.

Wow, time really flies. Just a little over a year ago we had a bun in the oven called Engadget Spanish, and now it's all grown up and celebrating its first birthday. Next thing you know it's gonna be thiiis big and off to college, married, and with little Engadget spinoffs blogs of its own, and we'll just br here still blogging in English with our empty nest syndrome, hopefully collecting blogger social security. Oh, by the way, we hear they're giving something away -- but we won't spoil the surprise. Feliz cumpleaños Engadget Español!

Has it really been 30 years since two buddies named Steve sold off their prized possessions (Woz's HP calculator and Jobs'  VW van) to raise money and launch a company? Has it really been 30 years since the two Steves, tired of selling blue boxes, built the Apple I and began selling it for $666.66? Yes, it has, and if you don't believe it, just compare Jobs' hairlines from '76 and today. And while the company has become known for many things, from its groundbreaking GUI to the iTunes Music Store, we know Apple has always been a hardware company at heart. So here's to you, Apple: the good, the bad and, yes, the ugly from the past 30 years. Happy Birthday.

Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment. Today's Switched On's first birthday, so as a present we gave Ross his very own banner. Wish Switched On a happy birthday, why don't you?

Once upon a midnight madness sale I sauntered, steeped in sadness,
Through the shiny piles and aisles composing my computer store.
Suddenly there came a rapping. "Skeet skeet skeet." Had I been napping?
Energy, it had been sapping from my soul for weeks or more.
Yea, those loathsome customers had chilled my being for weeks or more.
Back-to-school had drained my core.

Soon the winds would bring the winter - time to sell each mouse, each printer.
"Profit!" said I, "Thing of evil? Nah," applying Avacor.
For while came the rare exception, money flowed from deep deception.
Ignorance would find reception warm throughout each corridor.
From these fools I'd find the dollars flow down every corridor.
Idiots I did adore.

There I saw him, by the mobos, dressing like those unkempt hobos -
Greasy hair atop the fat and pimples that adorned each pore.
Mannerisms quite absurd, he stood there mumbling, looking nerdy,
Yet I could not find the word he brought to mind inside the store.
In that squalid rust of malice did he slither through the store,
Saying naught and nothing more.

Fate approached him as a customer who seemed at once to trust him.
"Are these cameras any good? I've never shopped for one before."
Glasses thick, stubble unshaven, spewing trivia like Cliff Clavin,
On he went, this crazy maven bragging of his Slashdot score.
"If you read my blog, you'd know my postings rate above a four.
'Funny' and 'Insightful' are the words you'd see with five or four."
After which she fled the store.

Then a man who lacked acumen caused his targeting to zoom in.
"Windows spyware drives me nuts. Removing it is such a chore.
"This Mac mini sure looks swell so buying it would end my hell, no?"
"Apple's switching to Intel so I would wait a year or more
"And you'll want new software too if you don't wait a year or more."
Quoth the maven, "Leave the store."