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UK retailer Ebuyer contemplates move from virtual to physical
After the collapses of Comet, Game, HMV and Blockbuster, the UK's high street has proven to be the elephant's graveyard of tech retailers. However, following Samsung's announcement that it'll open statement stores in the country, another business is considering doing the same. British online-only outfit Ebuyer has hinted that it could open a UK retail chain to compete with last man standing Dixons. Who knows? Perhaps those long-empty Comet stores might get another chance to serve their intended purpose.
Comet Ison may have survived its kiss with the sun (update: it didn't)
We humans can form curious attachments to non-living things, so when Comet Ison veered recklessly toward the sun, naturally we rooted for the plucky iceball. Unfortunately, scientists feared the worst after seeing it mostly vanish when it brushed past the sun's corona. Cue the heroic music, though, as new footage released early today (after the break) shows that at least part of the 1.4 mile-wide comet has emerged from the brutal encounter. It's looking a bit ragged after all that, so astronomers will have to wait a bit more to make a final call on its health. Hopefully it'll still be classed as "comet" rather than "scorched hunk of rock." Update: Sorry folks, but it looks like the comet Icarus Ison got a little too close to the sun, as it's been confirmed that the comet has broken apart and is no more. Watch its fiery destruction in the new video after the break.
NASA ends Deep Impact comet-hunting mission after eight years
After more than eight years, NASA's comet-hunting Deep Impact mission has come to an abrupt close. The agency has stopped trying to communicate with the mission probe after losing contact on August 8th. It's not clear what went wrong, but NASA suspects that it may have lost orientation control, guaranteeing that the Deep Impact vehicle would lose power and freeze. It's going out on a good note, however. Like NASA's Mars rovers, Deep Impact easily outlasted its intended lifespan -- after successfully intercepting the comet Tempel 1 in 2005, it went on to study three more comets as well as numerous exoplanets. We'll miss the probe's continued research, but its legacy should live on through other projects.
Comet closing last UK stores for good tomorrow
UK electronics retailer Comet has been circling the drain since going into administration in early November, and with no savior in sight, it's officially shutting up shop tomorrow. While the majority of stores have already served their final customers, the last remaining outposts will cease trading on December 18th. Comet's brand and website could live on in one form or another, should a buyer for these assets be found, but unfortunately, that won't help roughly six and a half thousand staff now out of a job. So, if you're looking for a potential fire sale bargain, or just want one last emotional wander through the aisles, your window of opportunity is quickly running out.
Microsoft: UK Retailer 'sold 94,000 counterfeit copies of Windows' (Update: Comet responds)
Microsoft has launched an attack on beleaguered electronics retailer Comet -- stating that the British chain pirated 94,000 copies of Vista and XP recovery discs. Comet, which was recently sold off for £2 ($3), allegedly produced the copies at a factory in Hampshire and bundled them with PCs sold at its stores. There's been no official response from Comet yet, but we can't imagine Microsoft would throw this sort of statement around lightly. If you're concerned you are running a counterfeit copy of Windows, check out the How To Tell site below and we'll keep our eyes on this one as the saga unfolds. Update: Comet has issued the following response to Microsoft's statement which we've got for you in full, after the break.
NASA building a harpoon to fire at comets, suddenly renders plot of 'Armageddon' plausible (video)
Whatever Michael Bay uses to propel that "high-concept" imagination of his, he's obviously passed some of it to the boys at NASA's Goddard Space Flight center. A team there is developing a hollow-bodied harpoon that can be fired from a cannon toward comets too dangerous to land on. Once landed, it fills up with sub-surface samples before winched back aboard the waiting space craft. It's currently being tested by firing the harpoon (using a six foot ballista) into a bucket of dirt -- if they fired it horizontally it'd travel about a mile. After the break we've got video explaining this madness in some detail -- which we promise is Aerosmith-ballad free.
Space radar captures echoes of Perseid meteor shower (video)
We all know lasers make a "pew pew" sound, but shouldn't there be a sound effect button for high-speed burning meteors? Well, the US Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas just recorded its own, capturing echoes of the Perseid meteor shower last Friday night. Every year, the Earth orbits directly into a cloud of debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet, which burn up as they fly through the atmosphere at a staggering 133,200 mph. Similar to the sound of a lightsaber slicing through the air, they make some pretty sweet sound effects -- perfect for your next auto-tune experiment. Check out the audio with some ISS pics thrown in for good measure after the break.
NASA finds DNA components in meteorites, says they originated in space (video)
So, this is kinda wild: scientists at NASA have uncovered new evidence that DNA components found in meteorites can originate in space, lending new credence to the theory that life on Earth may have arisen from a pre-existing "kit" of materials delivered via asteroid. The discovery is outlined in a new paper from Dr. Michael Callahan, whose team of researchers closely analyzed samples from 12 different meteorites, using a mass spectrometer and liquid chromatography. In their samples, they found traces of adenine, guanine, and a variety of molecules known as nucleobase analogs -- including three that are rarely found on Earth. Scientists have long known that meteorites can contain DNA elements, but were unsure whether these materials actually originate in space. The presence of these three molecules, however, suggest that they do, potentially raising new questions about the dawn of life on Earth, and beyond. It's all quite heady, but steam ahead for a NASA video that might help clarify things, after the break.
T-Mobile Comet review
In 2010, does a phone need to have a 4.3-inch display, a gigahertz (or greater) processor, and a one-bazillion megapixel camera with xenon flash and continuous autofocus to be relevant? How about important? Or even -- dare we say it -- awesome? Is that even remotely possible? At a glance, T-Mobile's Comet from Huawei is a totally forgettable phone, just another anonymous ultra-low end handset that isn't going to impress anyone (except maybe your accountant). But let's consider the facts: at $9.99 on contract, it's an insane deal for a newly-introduced smartphone, and it's by far the lowest subsidized price for any Android device ever released in the US. In fact, it's within shouting distance of free. It runs stock Android 2.2. A regional variation of the Huawei Ideos, it was designed with help from Google. Oh, and yeah, it's one of the first T-Mobile devices to feature WiFi hotspot support. Is your interest sufficiently piqued? Read on. %Gallery-106779%
T-Mobile Comet sends $9.99 shot across the bow of dumbphones
The argument used to be that carriers' higher pricing for smartphone data plans were what kept them out of the low end, regardless of the upfront on-contract cost -- but now that T-Mobile has rolled out a 200MB / $10 package, phones like the Comet -- a T-Mobile branded version of the Huawei Ideos announced at IFA -- might actually pose a serious threat to the livelihoods of dumbphones everywhere. Why's that? Well, the carrier will be charging a ridiculously low $9.99 on contract after $50 rebate for it, featuring 7.2Mbps HSPA, FM radio, integrated Swype, microSD expansion up to 32GB, and 802.11b / g / n atop Froyo; in fact, the only immediately-obvious downside to it is that it's got just a 2.8-inch QVGA display. As you might recall, Huawei worked closely with Google to design the Ideos as an Android device for the masses, and we came away with a pretty positive impression with it when we checked it out at IFA -- so we're bullish that this thing is going to make some waves in its Comet guise. It launches on November 3 -- and you'll be able to get it in prepaid guise through some third-party retailers for "less than $200."
Droid 2 Global appears in Costco database for $199, T-Mobile Comet at $149
What happens when you punch the phrase "Droid" into a Costco sales terminal? If Boy Genius Report's sources are right, you see the Motorola Droid 2 Global ring up (in black and white!) for $199.99. Considering we're also seeing the 1.2GHz quad-band worldphone on a Verizon rebate sheet, it's a pretty safe bet the handset's coming out soon -- and if Verizon also lists the phone for that price, it could be the death knell for the A955. (We've gotten several tips today that the original Droid 2 has been marked for end-of-life at Best Buy.) There's also a T-Mobile Comet pictured above, also known as the Huawei Ideos, a low-budget Android smartphone whose $149.99 price will almost certainly be free of two-year contracts. Of course, in the spirit of Costco you probably won't get off that easily -- subliminal messaging will surely compel you to purchase the $24.99 Ewoks and Star Wars Droids Adventure Hour on DVD.
GDC 2010: Hands-on with Faraway
Steph Thirion's first iPhone game was Eliss, a touchscreen-based arcade game that had you combining and maneuvering planets around one another, and trying to size-match them up with black holes to earn points. As he told us (stay tuned for an exclusive interview with the indie developer), it was pretty hard -- even more so than he actually intended it to be. So, for his second iPhone game, Faraway, he's gone much simpler. Inspired by the iPhone game Canabalt, Thirion has created a one-button game in which the goal is nothing less than to explore the universe. He has it running on a Mac at the show (so he can project the video onto a bigger screen), and we got to have some hands-on time with the new game. You control a comet that flies around an inky black void speckled with dots and circles; the pixelated space aesthetic from Eliss is back. This time, however, there's only one control, and it's a tap anywhere on the screen. Doing so will cause your comet to gravitate towards the nearest static dot, which will then slingshot you around the star until you let go, and the comet flings off in a new direction. There's an arrow pointing off of the screen, and by timing slingshots correctly, you will face the comet in the direction of the arrow.
Humax HD-FOX T2 and Panasonic TX-P42G20B become the first Freeview HD tuners on sale in the UK
Slowly but surely Freeview HD is making its entry into UK homes. The well-reviewed Humax HD-FOX T2 is living up to its promise of being the very first Freeview HD tuner around, and is now available to buy via the company's online store or at your local electronics outlet. Priced at £180 ($281), its listing on the Humax Direct Sales site has an amusing "this is NOT a recorder" blinking message to inform people that it lacks the PVR functionality that the forthcoming Toshiba HDR5010 will bring. If your disposable income stretches a bit further and you want your tuner integrated, Panasonic will happily exchange its 42-inch TX-P42G20 plasma for £1,100 ($1,717). It's the successor to the TX-P42G10 and boasts a 600Hz refresh rate along with a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio and the prerequisite 1080p resolution. There's nothing we can do about the dearth of Freeview HD programming for the moment, but at least the hardware is finally out there.
Survey sez Brits would give up nearly anything for a 50-inch plasma
We already knew that one in eight blokes would swap their significant other for a swank new piece of kit, but apparently, the Brits have no qualms giving up other luxuries in order to satisfy their electronic cravings. According to a survey pushed out late last month by Comet, nearly half (47-percent) of British men surveyed would do without sex for six whole months in exchange for a shiny new 50-inch plasma, while 35-percent of women said the same. Furthermore, 24-percent claimed that they would ditch smoking for the luscious PDP, while a quarter of participants stated that they would cease eating chocolate. Of course, talk is cheap, and we've serious doubts that these folks could actually keep their promise if put to the test.[Via Times Colonist, image courtesy of CorrieBlog]
The iComet
Phil Plait over at Bad Astronomy (who I remember from the hilarious and sadly ended Penn Jillette podcast) has posted a picture of Comet 17/P Holmes which I admit, as you can see above, looks strangely like a certain computer company's logo. I don't know if I would have pulled the Apple logo out of there myself, but now that I look at it more and more, I can definitely see it.Phil jokes that this means Apple is spending way more than we thought on advertising, but let's be serious here-- the Universe is just reforming itself in the most beautiful, usable form possible. This comet designed by Apple in California.Thanks, Dave!
