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American Wii owners who were disappointed by the exclusion of Dr. Mario from the US launch of the WiiWare service can finally enjoy a true Nintendo classic with the release of Dr. Mario Online Rx here in the States. It took them a while, but regardless, it is here, and it is pretty much what you would expect if you’ve ever played Dr. Mario before. The music is the same and the classic gameplay mode is there just as it was in the older incarnations of the game. With the exception of a Mario rendered in 3D rather than 2D chucking the pills down the screen; it is an exact port of the old releases. For those that somehow have never played or seen Dr. (Read the full post about ‘Review: Dr. Mario Online Rx for WiiWare’…)

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Trying to figure out if it’s worth it to upgrade to quad-core processors, but you you’d rather be emailing your friends funny cat pictures? Intel has you covered. Server inventories, power consumption numbers, and consolidation ratios are for suckers now that Intel’s quad-core ROI calculator is out. Details are sparse, but it’s probably enough to throw into a PowerPoint deck and impress the CTO though you might want to read the included legal message for all the details first.

Just plug in the age of your existing servers, how many you have, and figure out how many you want to have and Intel will tell you not only how much more powerful the new 45nm quad-core servers will be (hint: this is based on the age of your old hardware) but also your annual cost savings.

(Read the full post about ‘Intel develops simple quad-core ROI calculator’…)

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by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jun 10th 2008 at 2:42PM So much for Ballmer’s vision of a paperless world — that is, if the mighty nanofiber paper has anything to do with it. This new paper is made out of the same cellulose your regulation legal pad, but scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden were able to get the fiber so small and defect-free in this version — about 1,000 times smaller — that it’s more than seven times as strong. By breaking down wood pulp with enzymes and beating it mechanically and then treating the tiny fibers with carboxymethanol, they were able to get the new paper to a tensile strength of 214 megapascals (MPa) compared with the normal 30 MPa. (Read the full post about ‘Super-strong nanopaper is seven times stronger, 1,000 times smaller’…)

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Microcontact printing has resulted in a flexible organic TFT array, thanks to efforts by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Japan Chemical Innovation Institute (JCII). The 6″ square substrate can take pride in knowing that this is possibly the first product in the world to have such a small substrate with a micro pattern. Heck, it boasts specifications such as a pixel pitch of 127µm and a pixel aperture ratio of about 70%. With AIST hopes to see the TFT array being applied to an active matrix electronic paper, with the intention of rolling out an A4 prototype within 3 years’ time while commercializing e-paper by 2015.

(Read the full post about ‘Flexible Organic TFT Array’…)

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Imation has expanded its storage line with the new Apollo portable drive. Since there is very little to differentiate between one drive from another these days, Imation has decided to do something different by offering a thin and light USB hard drive measuring 0.5″ thick while tipping the scales at 0.35 pounds, encased in a durable yet sleek-looking brushed chrome trim. Since it is USB powered, there is no need to carry another power adapter on your travels. This is compatible with both Mac and Windows platforms, where each purchase is accompanied by a Total Media Backup software pack.

(Read the full post about ‘Imation Apollo Portable Drive’…)

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Good to see Belkin stay on top of the game by offering 3G iphone cases despite the handset not being released just yet. There is a whole bunch to choose from, and what you see on the right is the Formed Leather case that will retail for $29.99. All of the following cases will launch in US this July (presumably the same time as the 3G iPhone, with Europe, Asia and Australia to follow shortly after. (Read the full post about ‘Belkin 3G iPhone Cases’…)

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AverMedia is working on TV tuners as well as the corresponding software which will target Mac users, as the company takes the first step towards moving away from a Windows-only approach. This USB tuner will supposedly pick up analog as well as over-the-air digital broadcasts, not leaving out Europe’s DVB-T. Other Mac-specific features that can be expected include Apple Remote support and a viewing application that is not too far away in style compared to Apple’s pro software. There is no official naming convention to date, but this summer ought to shed more details. (Read the full post about ‘AverMedia Tuners for Mac Soon’…)

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by Chris Ziegler, posted Jun 10th 2008 at 5:00AMSo wait just a second here — you say you have to activate the iPhone 3G in-store, and unlimited data is going to run another $10 a month? With the new model comes an entirely new way of doing business, it seems, and that brings on a whole slew of new questions for the good folks at AT&T. Here are a few we’ve managed to ask so far, the official answers, and in some cases, information we’ve managed to gather on the side.

Will it be available as a Gophone (prepaid service)?
“No, only available with a two-year contract.” Pretty cut and dried there. (Read the full post about ‘The iPhone 3G on AT&T: we ask the burning questions’…)

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Lamborghini has officially unveiled its Gallardo LP560 with a base price of $288,943. Alright, it is powered by 560 horsepower 5.2L V10 engine, boosts from 0 to 100 km/hour in just 3.7 seconds and achieving the top speed of 200mph.
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Sanyo new Xacti HD1010 offers the HD recording in 1080i. It has the face detection feature which can detect up to 12 people at once.

(Read the full post about ‘Sanyo HD1010 Xacti’…)

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