Intel's X25-M 80GB SSD ships this week for $595

source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/08/intels-x25-m-80gb-ssd-ships-this-week-for-595/

by Paul Miller, posted Sep 8th 2008 at 3:26PM

If you'll notice, HP isn't using just any SSD drive to hit 24 hours of insanity with the EliteBook 6930p -- it's all about that Intel 80GB SSD, which has new optimizations to boost speed and apparently energy usage over current flash drives. Well, Intel also picked today to get all official about the drive itself, and it's clear those improvements and Intel's brand name come at a price: the 2.5-inch 80GB "X25-M" drive will retail for $595 when it hits this week. There's also a 3.5-inch version, the X18-M, but we're less clear on infos there. PC Per put the 2.5-incher through its paces, albeit with a slightly dated firmware version, and came away impressed, calling it the "top performing storage solution" period. We want.

Read - Intel releases pricing, details on solid-state drives
Read - PC Per's Intel X25-M 80GB SSD review

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Halloween Bubble Fogger Delivers Targeted Strikes of Fog-Filled Bubbles to Your Eyes [Halloween]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/385808018/halloween-bubble-fogger-delivers-targeted-strikes-of-fog+filled-bubbles-to-your-eyes

Halloween fog machines? Been there, inhaled that. Bubble machines? Still pretty cool, soap in the eye or not. But what if humanity had created a machine that combined the venerable fog machine with bubbles? Interest piqued? Consider it done!

According to the Bubble Fogger's Amazon listing, this marvelous contraption creates fog solution-filled bubbles and casts them out into the Halloween kitsch-filled ether that is your home in October. When the bubbles pop, most likely in your eyes or on stain prone furniture, they become fog. The kit includes both the bubble and fog solution, and will set you back $40. As far as over-priced, short-lived Halloween crap goes, that's kind of a bargain. [Amazon via Random Good Stuff]

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Mitsubishi 65-inch LaserVue Rear Projection 1080p TV Priced (Expensively) [HDTV]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/385919391/mitsubishi-65+inch-laservue-rear-projection-1080p-tv-priced-expensively

Last we left Mitsubishi's LaserVue 1080p rear-projection monster, we had size and shape, but price was a mystery. The mystery was solved today, as BitStream discovered the massive HDTV will set you back $7,000 when it ships later this month. There's still no pricing info for the 73-inch LaserVue, which was also revealed in June. The 7k figure is comparable to what manufacturers are asking for similarly sized HDTVs in the space, but this one has frickin' laser beams. And unlike military lasers, these create a feast for your eyes, instead of your stomach. [BitStream via CrunchGear]

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Fresh Pics of Collapsible, Portable Microsoft Arc Laser Mouse [Laser Mice]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/386030341/fresh-pics-of-collapsible-portable-microsoft-arc-laser-mouse

Thanks to tipster Alex, we've got some fresh hands-on pics of the new Microsoft Arc mouse, which we got a first look of back in July. The $60 mouse folds down to half its size for easy portability thanks to what the packaging calls a "strong metal hinge," and the glossy veneer, to quote Blam, is indeed "flip and drool" worthy.

According to Alex, the tiny USB dongle attaches to the underbelly of the Arc when not in use via a magnet, and there's a storage bag for travel purposes. The packaging quotes a 30-foot range, and jumping is non-existent, says our tipster. Thanks, Alex!

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Apple Admits British Man Invented iPod in 1979, Uses Him to Win Patent Lawsuit [IPod]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/386048402/apple-admits-british-man-invented-ipod-in-1979-uses-him-to-win-patent-lawsuit

There you have it folks. The real inspiration for Apple's game-changing iPod, courtesy of the world's unluckiest Briton, Kane Kramer, 52 (not including the fifth Beatle). You see, in the dark technological days of 1979, Kramer saw a beacon of light in his IXI. Capable of playing a mind-busting 3.5 minutes of music, the IXI prototype was Kramer's ticket out of obscurity. Sadly, when he couldn't raise enough venture funding to renew the IXI patent in 1988, the device became the Zune of its time, and was largely forgotten. Fast forward to the present, when Apple, fresh from making year-over-year record profits with the iPod, needed Kramer something fierce to bail them out of a lawsuit jam with Burst.com.

Apple called Kramer so he could serve as a consultant for the trial, and so his patents and drawings could be used to settle the suit out of court.

"I was up a ladder painting when I got the call from a lady with an American accent from Apple saying she was the head of legal affairs and that they wanted to acknowledge the work that I had done," Kramer told Daily Mail. "I must admit that at first I thought it was a wind-up by friends. But we spoke for some time, with me still up this ladder slightly bewildered by it all, and she said Apple would like me to come to California to talk to them. Then I had to make a deposition in front of a court stenographer and videographer at a lawyers' office. The questioning by the Burst legal counsel there was tough, ten hours of it. But I was happy to do it."

And now he'd be even happier collecting some of that multi-billion dollar iPod business, but so fa! r all he received was compensation for his time at the trial. The struggling furniture salesman, fresh from another failed business, is now negotiating additional compensation, but says he was happy to help whatever the outcome. Well, as long as it isn't more iPods...

"I can't even bring myself to buy an iPod for myself," he said. "Apple did give me one but it broke down after eight months." Hmm. Apple products seem to be doing that a lot these days. [Daily Mail]

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