Cobra, never a company to let you down when you need that special kind of radar that they provide (the ticket avoiding kind), has introduced the US's first GPS-locator equipped radar detector, the XRS R9G -- just like they said they would. What does a radar detector need GPS for? Well, this one holds a database of speed and red-light cameras, warning you when you're approaching so you can ease off the gas pedal, save a few lives, and not get yourself a nasty, nasty ticket. "Across the country, the number of speed and red light cameras is growing exponentially," says Tony Mirabelli, senior vice president of marketing and sales at Cobra, adding, "Now drivers can stay alert no matter where they travel." The company plans to further augment the detector's capabilities with alerts for "black spots" (high accident zones), as well as school and construction alerts. The XRS R9G is available now, retailing for $449.95.

If you think we took that indubitably unscientific "decibel test" with a grain of salt, then we're throwing down a few barrels with this one, but the sheer weirdness of this should encourage all bricked Xbox 360 owners to give it a whirl. Although we're fully aware of how wrapping a soft cotton towel around your red ring-displaying console should not effect its status, well, it just might. According to numerous 360 owners who haven't taken advantage of Microsoft's newly-extended repair / replacement offer, they were able to bring a few previously dead Xbox 360s back to life, if only for a few hours at a time. Sure, this is far from an actual solution, and if anything, this should reaffirm that voice in your head telling you to call up Microsoft and get an RMA number, but nonetheless, it seems that blanketing your 360 with a towel, firing it up for 10 minutes or so, turning it off, and then removing the towel will mysteriously allow your machine to function for a couple hours. Granted, we don't know how many of these folks are fibbing, but we're putting it to you all to give this a go and report back, and if it does indeed work out, who knows what else those innocent looking towels can revive? [Warning: Read link requires subscription]

[Via TheXboxDomain]

We hate waiting for traffic lights to change as much the next driver (or pedestrian -- we have to cross streets, too, you know), but we doubt we'd ever try to take things into our own hands like Jason Niccum of Longmont, Colorado, did. Niccum picked up an Opticon -- an infrared light used by firefighters and other emergency responders to trigger traffic signals -- on eBay for about $100, and has been using it to cut his commuting time. That is, was using it, until local cops busted him after they noticed a consistent pattern of traffic-light disruptions at certain intersections. They nailed Niccum, and the town now plans to change the frequency used by traffic lights to block unauthorized signals (until, that is, someone comes out with a next-gen model). Niccum, despite getting stuck with a $50 fine, isn't exactly remorseful. "I guess in the two years I had it, that thing paid for itself," he told a local newspaper.