Daily News Brief: Bamboozled at BestBuy?

Posted 10/30/2007 at 5:59pm | by Paul Lilly

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Bamboozled at BestBuy

Taking advantage of BestBuy's in-store pick up option, one online shopper was expecting a full terabyte of data when he purchased Western Digital's 1TB hard drive. But when he tore open the box, he allegedly uncovered a few bathroom tiles instead. BestBuy wouldn't accept the return, advising the customer to take it up with Western Digital. Stay tuned, as we intend to follow this story as legal action unfolds.

Carmack's Firery Finish

Competing in Google's Lunar X-Prize competition in which participants vie for $30 million in prizes, John Carmack from iD fame was met with a major setback when his craft went up in flames. The Level 1 challenge that Carmack's team was competing in carries a $350K purse.

Liar on MySpace

It's not exactly news to expose a misleading profile on MySpace, unless it's one of the founders. But lest we make a mountain out of a mole hill, co-founder Tom Anderson merely fibbed about his age, listing himself as 27 when he first wrote his profile instead of 32 (his correct age at the time) in attempt to appeal to a younger crowd. Tom automatically shows up as a friend when new members sign up, which carries a bit of irony given the plethora of misleading profiles one is likely to encounter soon after. No word yet on whether Tom truly does enjoy long walks on the beach.

Robots Race for Pentagon

As part of a congressional mandate requiring a third of military vehicles to operate unmanned by 2015, the Pentagon began sponsoring a race in 2004 comprised of robot controlled vehicles. This year will see corporate sponsoners enter the fray, with a NASCAR-like flair. The final event will take place November 3, and you can watch it live online starting at 6am PST.

Google Phone Coming

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google's expected to announce the advent of Google-powered phones in the market place by mid-2008. Google's not making the actual phone(s), but providing the software and services for third parties to run with. Look for Google-powered phones to sport Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail, and other G-apps. They're also making a concerted effort to keep the OS open source, which could prove to be a boon to developers.

OLPC Gets XP?

The OLPC project, which promised a $100 laptop for developing countries, continues to increase in price, recently breaching the $200 mark. But while the price has gone up, so too might the value if Micrsoft is able to adapt the XP operating system onto the notebook. Microsoft's hesitant to guarantee they'll pull it off, but they have dedicated a "nontrivial amount of money" towards that goal.