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Find your pals in a crowd with this flashing phone app
We've likely all been there: you're at a concert or some other crowded public space and maybe it's too loud to talk on the phone or you don't have cell reception to send a text. How're your friends supposed to find you? Well, if you use LookFor, all they'd have to, erm, look for, would be your phone's flashing screen. As you'll see in the video below (or the GIF above) the app relies on fullscreen blinking colors to help you stand out from a gaggle of bystanders. Just hold your device in the air and try not to feel too self-conscious while you do it, and getting together with buddies should be a bit easier. As CNET notes, however, should the $0.99 Android and iOS app gain popularity, the six pre-packaged colors might not be enough to keep you from accidentally converging with the wrong group of people. If that does happen, at least you'll still have another sweet mobile-rave option at your disposal.
IRL: WildBlue satellite internet, international charging, a flashing habit and failing to get work done on an iPad
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. It's been a whirlwind two weeks of sitting inside concept cars, soaking up details about the PlayStation Vita and getting acquainted with Windows 8, and now that it's all wound down, we're getting back to the business of griping about gadgets we already own. This week, Darren dresses down the satellite service we used to hit posts in the wilderness, Tim takes a breather after a year of jet-setting, Joseph carries on his flashing streak and as for Joe, well, let's just say his honeymoon with the iPad has come to a sudden, unproductive end.
AMD Radeon HD 6950 can be turned into an HD 6970 using a BIOS hack
Ah, the joy of getting something for nothing -- that's what this time of year is all about, right? The techPowerUp! guys seem to think so, and they've got the perfect gift for all you thrifty PC gaming enthusiasts: a BIOS flash for the Radeon HD 6950 that unlocks the full potential of its hardware (in other words, it turns it into an HD 6970). We already knew the two retail SKUs were built on the same Cayman core, but this hack confirms that all the 6950's performance handicaps have been enacted in software rather than hardware, leaving you all to flip a switch, click a few confirmatory dialogs, and get your game on. You should be aware that the retail 6970 card uses an 8-pin and a 6-pin connector for its auxiliary power whereas the 6950 only has a pair of 6-pin intakes, which might cause trouble under extreme loads, and there's also the fact that you'll most likely be hacking your warranty away together with your GPU's limitations. But hey, you can't make eggnog without cracking a few eggs.
Lichborne: PvE Gems for Death Knights
Welcome to Lichborne, your weekly dose of Death Knight discussion.Now that we've covered most standard pemutations of gear gathering in past Lichborne columns, I figured this week would be a good time to start talking about taking the extra steps to really trick out your gear. This week, will focus on gems. Not only will this help you take your gear to the next level, but it gives me a good excuse to talk about some new discoveries and discussions going on as we try to figure out the best ways to squeeze the most DPS out of a Death Knight. So to start, let's talk about which statistics you'll want to focus on when you gem.
UK effectively blocking stolen phones
What good is a stolen phone that's been blacklisted from networks, and the nefarious individuals formerly responsible for flashing them back into use have been scared off by the threat of five years' jail time? Not much good at all, we say, and a new study suggests that the UK's new laws fighting phone theft may be extraordinarily effective. On request from the government, the country's big five operators have started blocking stolen phones -- often within hours, and a full 80 percent within two days. Add in the fact that a new law taking effect this week makes handset reprogramming (to circumvent blacklisting) punishable by five years in the pokey and limitless fines, and we suspect a lot of these small-time criminals are going to be looking for new lines of work.
Team Xecuter posts Blaster360 firmware flasher install guide
In a shot across Microsoft's bow, Team Xecuter has released a how-to for the installation of its yet to be released Blaster360 firmware flasher. There's a range of different motivations behind wanting to flash your Xbox 360, the most obvious being the ability to update your Xbox 360's firmware to a newer and improved version. Of course, whether or not that "newer and improved" firmware is officially sanctioned by Microsoft is another matter entirely. If the homebrew community's relationship with Sony regarding the PSP's firmware is anything to go by, it would probably be safe to assume that Microsoft doesn't even want its users to switch between official firmware versions, let alone modded ones that trick the 360 into playing "backed up" games. In the past the company has never stepped up and taken a public stand against any of these third party solutions; a position that could change due to the main innovation of the Blaster360. As the install guide shows, a user only needs to open their Xbox 360 once in order to change the firmware. Once the chip is all plugged in it's possible to change firmware from outside the box, making it very easy to switch modded machines back to their factory state. That removes an easily recognizable sign that a console is modded, and puts the ball very firmly into Microsoft's court.[Via Xbox-Scene]
95-decibel ring amplifier blinds, deafens you
You might think of this as the polar opposite of the "stealth" ringtone: an e-shop is offering a $60 device for blasting you with a 95-decibel ring (the same as a subway train at 200 feet, we're told) and a flashing strobe light when you receive a call. Now, we can clearly see some valid uses for this product -- for example, in a very noisy environment, when you can't be near your phone, or perhaps for the hard of hearing. But we can definitely see some misuses, as well -- if you have any friends giving the wine glass thing a try, can we suggest a covert nighttime switcheroo?
