A Secret TV Panel To Hide Your A/V Skeletons [Secrets]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5606277/a-secret-tv-panel-to-hide-your-av-skeletons

Some people put safes behind paintings. Me, I just want to put my home entertainment accessories behind a secret wall panel. How hidden is it? Here's what it looks like closed:

Forget the Blu-ray player and cables, I'm stashing my valuables slightly less crappy possessions there as well.

Architect Dan Herchenroether put together this sweet set-up to save space in his cottage home:

Dan mounted the TV on a board that he hinged with gas springs so it would be easy to open and close when necessary. Additional space in the compartment is accessible from a panel on the other side of the wall that's totally inconspicuous when closed.

Dan, you're welcome over to my apartment any time. Just please bring a set of tools and some gas springs with you.

UPDATE: Reader Matthew (and several commenters) point out that this would be a major code violation in many areas. So know that before you start knocking down walls. [Apartment Therapy via Lifehacker]

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Google Says There Are 129,864,880 Different Books In Existence [Books]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5606342/google-says-there-are-129864880-books-in-existence

Google, who's been determinedly digitizing the world's books, thought it might be prudent to figure out just how many books are actually out there to begin with. They made a special algorithm, natch, and came up with 129,864,880.

This post on Inside Google Books blog explains the whole process. First, you have to decide what exactly counts as a book—Google's notion is pretty similar to the set of texts that ISBNs—International Standard Book Numbers—are attributed to.

But ISBN is a relatively new standard, having come around in the 1960s, and a relatively Western one, too, so there's a huge selection of books—old books and foreign books, largely—that don't have ISBNs.

So Google leapfrogged ISBN and pulled down metadata from some 150 sources, including "libraries, WorldCat, national union catalogs and commercial providers," and then eliminated the duplicates. That got them to 600 million records. After eliminating more duplicate holdings, microforms, maps, audio recordings and other assorted non-books, and after adjusting the number to account for serial publications, the number is 129,864,880. Hey, I've read a few of those! [Inside Google Books via CrunchGear]

Image credit Patrick Gage

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MSI ships Core i5-packin' P600 and S6000 laptops to egomaniacal cube dwellers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/05/msi-ships-core-i5-packin-p600-and-s6000-laptops-to-egomaniacal/

Call 'em suitable for business travelers (or whatever this guy is), or just call 'em classy -- either way, MSI has a new pair of 15.6-incher headed to North America. The P600 and S6000 don't differ much; by and large, the only thing keeping them from merging into one is the smaller battery (and thus, lower weight) of the S6000. Both units boast Intel's Core i5-450M processor, integrated GMA HD graphics, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 1,366 x 768 resolution panel, 3-in-1 card reader, 500GB hard drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, stereo speakers, HDMI / VGA outputs, a pair of USB 2.0 ports and an eSATA / USB combo jack. They're both rocking Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) under the hood, with the S6000 and its 4-cell battery starting at $799.99 while the 8-cell'd P600 goes for $829.99 and up. In other words, your corporate card can totally handle either... or both.

Continue reading MSI ships Core i5-packin' P600 and S6000 laptops to egomaniacal cube dwellers

MSI ships Core i5-packin' P600 and S6000 laptops to egomaniacal cube dwellers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hauppauge officially announces HD PVR support in Windows Media Center

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/05/hauppauge-officially-announces-hd-pvr-support-in-windows-media-c/

If you're thinking about going the Media Center DVR route but can't or won't get hooked up with a CableCARD don't forget there's another option available to pull in those premium channels now that the $199 Hauppauge HD PVR is supported as a TV recorder in Windows 7. There's been a few updates since the feature was added in beta back in June, which lets users select programs via the Media Center guide to be captured and encoded in MPEG-4 over the device's component video inputs (HDTV resolutions up to 1080i and 5.1 surround sound are supported) while the PC controls connected satellite or cable TV set-top boxes with an included IR blaster. There's still a limit of one tuner per PC and a thread over on TheGreenButton reveals the experience can still be a bit glitchy, but if you've just got to have Windows Media Center and NFL Sunday Ticket then some compromises will be necessary.

Continue reading Hauppauge officially announces HD PVR support in Windows Media Center

Hauppauge officially announces HD PVR support in Windows Media Center originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple iPod touch LCD screen with front-facing camera slot spied?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/05/apple-ipod-touch-screen-with-front-facing-camera-slot-spied/

You may or may not be aware, but Apple has a penchant for announcing new iPods in early September, as it has for years. With just over four weeks to go before the most likely (but nigh confirmed) press event week is upon us, expect the rumor mill to ratchet up appropriately. Here's one care of Mac Rumors; the gang's been sent some pictures from parts supplier iPhonerevivers that allegedly show a new iPod touch LCD screen And sure enough, in place of an earpiece is a slot perfectly suited for that oft-rumored (and possibly email-based) front-facing camera. It's not the first time we've seen this piece -- the resemblance to early July's leak doesn't escape us -- but these photos are decidedly fresh and from a different source. Mounting evidence... or are we all just being had? Wouldn't surprise us if we found out for sure before ides of September.

Apple iPod touch LCD screen with front-facing camera slot spied? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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