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Yet another perpetual motion machine fails to prove anything
We want to believe, we really do, but these failed attempts and poorly-lit basement videos aren't exactly confidence inducing. Nevertheless, Thane Heins' Perepiteia generator has reportedly made its way down to a number of universities and labs across America, and while some onlookers did admit that "it works," none have been able to support any underlying theories. No need to keep dashing your dreams -- click on through for one more mind-numbing video of something akin to (but sadly, not) "perpetual motion."[Thanks, Mihir]
Macworld 2008 keynote leaked? Nope, not a chance.
For those not paying attention, there's a "leaked" Macworld 2008 keynote making the rounds today, and we'd just like to make sure you know it's completely and utterly false. Not only is it one of many fabricated keynotes making the rounds this year, and part of an annual ritual of keynote fabrications, but it even manages to be self-damning with its listing of a Mac Pro refresh -- which obviously happened last week. Let's try a little harder, people![Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Perpetual motion machine... isn't
Finally -- the laws of physics have been smashed to itty-bitty, succulent bits, like a thin piece of glass obliterated by a cartoon anvil -- all in some dude's low-lit basement. According to the video which you can watch after the break, a mysterious entity known as Alsetalokin has laser-gunned the forces of the universe to death with a perpetual motion device which he's demonstrated on an obscure internet website called YouTube. Like Fox Mulder, we want to believe, but just like the fate of Steorn's Orbo, this is looking like another quickly-debunked fiasco. After a few hours of this clip doing the rounds, the hive-mind of the information superhighway began to pick it apart, piece by piece. The noise swelled so loudly that the original poster has actually changed his angle on the story, but that won't stop you from seeing the eye-shattering, star-bending magic of this magnet-driven motor.[Via Digg]
Debunk: really bad iPod mockups abound
This is what passes for an iPod hoax these days? You may have seen the latest round of new iPod nano photos floating around the internets, but even if you wanted to ignore the fact that they look severely photoshopped (and we mean severely -- see the original hand outline?), you can't really ignore the fact that they seemed to show up first on the Flickr stream of a dude that seems to do little more than Apple product concept designs. Judge for yourself, but even though this may be what the next nano winds up looking like, we'd bet these aren't the first leaked shots of it.
Diamondbacks planning "largest display in pro sports," overlook Cowboys' plans
We're certainly not complaining about yet another professional sports team opting for a svelte HD Jumbotron, but the Diamondbacks' claim to soon have the "largest scoreboard in pro sports" is dodgy at best. Reportedly, the board will cost between $10 and $12 million to erect and will measure in at "144 feet wide and 55 feet high," which the team claims is 900-square feet larger "than the biggest existing board, at Atlanta's Turner Field." Nevertheless, the D-Backs have certainly been trumped already in terms of HD scoreboard planning, as the Dallas Cowboys are slated to treat their fans to a pair of 180 feet wide by 50 feet high displays as part of a four-screen setup in 2009. So if all goes as planned, Arizona's MLB club will indeed be sporting the largest high-definition screen in pro sports for a tick, but those mighty claims will soon be squashed by the sensational installation headed to Texas.
Debunk: punk kid tries to dupe gadget blogs with phony Apple rumor
We're sure there's a broad swath of our readers who think every Apple-related rumor is patently untrue (which, let's be fair, isn't the case by a long shot), and an even larger number of people who think the mere act of writing them up is idiocy. Well, we suppose this one goes out to all of you. So as it turns out, a convincing (if suspicious) sounding tip written by none other than Google Product Manager Tom Oliveri made its way to number of select high profile gadget blogs this morning, promising the following inside information about Tuesday's announcements: "Macbooks - no cosmetic changes will be getting santa rosa chips mac mini [sic] will receive a stock 120gb HDD total form change, all brushed aluminum 15% smaller and the iMacs will be, as rumored brushed aluminum new ipods will be rolling around mid September," as well as this little nugget: "I will update you on our phone later this month (one week prior to announcement)" Just one problem though. Those who published the rumor obviously weren't in touch with Google's [redacted], else they might have realized they were getting their information from a 16 year old Australian kid who shares his name. Woops. Full email published after the break.
Solid gold iPhones on eBay: yeah right
Business 2.0 is reporting today that not just any iPhones have made their way onto eBay, but some "14 kart solid gold" 8GB units. Not entirely implausible if it were a month from now, but whereas normally we'd just ignore, this one's a little too tantalizing. Yes, the seller has a 99% positive rating on eBay, but seller ratings are easily and often inflated and used to gain credibility before selling one larger, fraudulent items. If this is the real deal (and someone wants to plunk down ten grand to find out), we're prepared to eat our 14 kart solid gold words.[Via Business 2.0] Read - eBay auction 1 Read - eBay auction 2 Read - eBay auction
Kansas schools ban Pokemon. NOT!
This is your friendly neighborhood rumor debunker, letting you all know that, despite what you may have read presented as fact elsewhere, the Kansas school board has NOT banned Pokemon products for promoting evolution content, as was amusingly asserted in this Daily Gaming News article.Evidence to this effect (in rough ascending order of persuasiveness): The AP and other national news organizations failed to pick up the story, despite obvious newsworthiness and popular interest. National news outlets also failed to pick up the supposed church-led "Pokemon burnings" that supposedly led up to the decision. The "Calvary Glorious Christ Church Militant and Triumphant Baptist Temple" mentioned in the article turns up exactly one Google result -- the article itself. The Kansas School Board web site makes no mention of such an action. The ACLU web site makes no mention of the alleged lawsuit against the school board. The title bar on every page of Daily Gaming News includes the phrase "Seriously Satirical." Everything on the Daily Gaming News site is an obvious joke, from a preview of Dentist Dentist Revolution to Latin textbooks containing a guild naming chapter. Remember, just because April Fools Day is over doesn't mean we can let our guard down when it comes to picking out fake stories. Eternal vigilance is the price we pay for accurate game news.[Thanks, Keavin]
USB storage coming to Wii? Not so fast ...
The internet speculation machine has been gearing up of late over a recent press release announcing that Japanese middleware provider eSol has been selected to provide its "'PrUSB/Host' USB host stack" for use in the Wii. How to interpret this inscrutable piece of techspeak? Well, the release goes on to state that PrUSB/Host provides "optional Mass Storage class driver enables using USB flash memory, other mass storage device and digital camera as the external storage." Many sites (including our buddies at Engadget and Wii Fanboy) have used this announcement to speculate that Nintendo might be planning to announce USB mass storage support for the Wii in the near future. GamingTarget went so far as to say that USB storage on the Wii "looks like it will finally become a reality." Nintendojo hedged its bets a little more, saying, "It's not quite an official announcement of expanded storage possibilities for Wii just yet, but Nintendo now has the potential for such a statement."The only problem is, the Wii has always had this functionality, and Nintendo has always had the potential to make such a statement. Check out this copyright notice found on the inside of the Wii's System Setup Operations Manual (from November, 2006):"This product contains PrFile(r)2 FAT file system, PRmail client library and PrUSB/Host USB host stack of eSol Co. Ltd."That's right ... this days old press release is announcing a feature that was already in the Wii nearly six months ago. ESol isn't announcing a new business deal or a new feature for the Wii -- it's simply trumping up an existing relationship in light of the Wii's recent success.We've contacted Nintendo for an official comment but, based on the evidence, we don't think there's reason to believe Nintendo has changed its current position that this is something they "could" explore in the future.[Update: Fixed broken Nintendojo link.]
US and European PS3 rumors set straight
Just in case you hadn't already caught wind, our pals over at Joystiq shed some light on Europe's backwards compatibility crux and the 20GB PS3 "shortage" here in the States -- two bubbles of drama that have now been popped by Dave Karraker, Senior Director of Communications at SCEA. Let's start with the Engadget readers' of the woods: screw you Sony, for holding out on those 20GBs, right? Karraker deflates that accusation, pointing the finger at retailers who have requested more 60GB stock -- averaging at 80 percent 60GB and 20 percent 20GB, to be exact. And you can't really argue with that, can you? Now let's hop across the ocean where PS3s will make their (fashionably?) late first appearance in Europe come next Friday. Despite all the setbacks, backwards compatibility might not be a disaster after all. Karraker says that Euro PS3s just need a launch firmware upgrade, which will arrive on March 23rd, along with a legit compatibility list -- essentially what we thought would be the case. Simple as that (we hope).
Rumor Murder: PS3 with no Blu-ray
We were trying to ignore this rumor driving article about a PS3 without Blu-ray, but we continue to receive tips about it. So, it's time for simple Joystiq equation time: PlayStation 3 - Blu-ray = Not PlayStation 3. The games are now, and for the foreseeable future, on Blu-ray discs. If the Blu-ray tech was taken out all the games produced wouldn't work. Has the Blu-ray format caused issues for Sony? You better believe it! But the idea of a non-Blu-ray PS3 is unbelievable ludicrous insane unlikely. It would contradict Sony's entire marketing campaign and it would hurt the success of the Blu-ray media format -- and, just for a bit more emphasis, none of the PS3 games would work. In time, the Blu-ray production issues will work themselves out, the technology will become cheaper to produce and we'll eventually see a PS3 price drop. PlayStation 3 is Blu-ray and Blu-ray is PlayStation 3.[Thank you to all those that sent this in -- now please stop]
Nokia N97 debunked; fanboys in mourning
Sorry folks, it was too good to be true. With a spec sheet that read like something straight out of our wildest dreams -- 20GB hard drive, 3.2 megapixel cam, 3-inch high res display, FM radio, and an alleged 24+ hours of continuous music playback -- we wanted to believe that the Nokia N97 was real. Alas, it turns out that a member of Nokia's developer forums dreamed up the superphone; the rest, as they say, is history. Hey, at least we still have the N95 to look forward to, right?[Thanks, Tyler]
