War can be murder, sure, but that doesn't mean that you should kill the environment and/or your bank balance while laying your enemies to waste. KitGuru gets all thrifty in the light of a new revelation from Lockheed Martin. We've all been to outdoor concerts where the music etc is …
Read More »Low-priced, refurbished, guaranteed Corsair SSD?
We live in a price sensitive world, so when KitGuru noticed that Aria was offering 80GB and 240GB refurbished SSDs from Corsair, we decided to dig a little deeper and consider what actual value these offers have. We warn you, if you have been seriously considering putting an SSD in …
Read More »Software update threatens Knight Capital’s survival
With Windows 8 on the verge of release, ‘software disasters' are foremost on KitGuru's mind. News has surfaced in the US of A that shows the perils of automating mission-critical tasks. As 1,500 people at Knight Capital wonder if they will have a job next week, KitGuru checks its piggy …
Read More »Toyota recall 878,000 cars over suspension concerns
Toyota are recalling 878,000 cars due to suspension issues. 859,000 RAV4 sports utility vehicles and 19,000 Lexus HS 250h cars are to be recalled. The rear suspension arm is the cause of concern, and it could rust and ‘separate' if the suspension nuts are not tightened properly during the servicing. …
Read More »Can Tweet sentence cause a jail sentence?
In one of the most bizarre stories of recent times, a British teenager has been arrested for a tweet in which no one swore, threatened, made racial or sexual statements. KitGuru considers how free a country can be when you're not free to tweet an opinion. Right now, in the …
Read More »Ex-Marks and Spencer boss pushes new money
Sir Stuart Rose was asked to leave M&S with an £8 million handshake and, at 61 years of age, could well retire to a humble Yorkshire mining town – supping bitter and regaling locals with tales of retailing wonder. But he's not doing that. In fact he's getting quite dramatic. …
Read More »Canon to release EOS M 18MP mirrorless camera in October
Canon are going to release their new mirrorless EOS M camera in October. The 18 megapixel compact camera will have touchscreen control and be designed to fit easily in a pocket for maximum portability. The new camera features an APS-C CMOS sensor with an ISO range between 100-12,800. It will …
Read More »Microsoft moves aggressively against big boobies
Back in June, an act hired to entertain a Microsoft ensemble, decided to engage in some four-letter jokes, which caused the software giant some embarrassment. Now it's emerged that an ‘in joke' from its HyperV Virtualisation team has caused an issue. KitGuru examines this boob for size and impact. Someone …
Read More »Honda recall 321,000 vehicles
Honda are recalling around 321,000 cars and small SUV's around the globe because the doors may not close properly. The recall affects 314,000 CR-V small SUVs from the 2012 range and 7,300 Acura ILX small luxury cars from the 2013 range. The problems are related to the doors. Honda claim …
Read More »Foxconn to build $1 billion Indonesian facility
Electronics manufacturer Foxconn, is set to open a new fabrication plant in Indonesia, that will purportedly cost around a billion dollars to build. However once created, it's said that it will open up a million jobs for the local inhabitants. This would be a welcome investment in the region, where …
Read More »Hate Facebook Timeline? Vote with your wallet
Here at KitGuru, we run regular polls to know what you, dear reader, think. Sometimes the results are predictable and sometimes they are balanced. But every now and then, we get a huge surge in opinion – and it's all leaning one way. The single biggest emotion/response to Facebook's new …
Read More »Anyone can now order multiple Raspberry Pi units
Customers wishing to get their hands on the $35 Raspberry Pi mini ARM PC have had to register their interest with their partners up until today before they could place an order. Fortunately for everyone else, from now on it will be considered as a general delivery item which means …
Read More »Ford recall 10,000 Escape SUV’s to change the carpet padding
Ford Motor have issued a recall for 100,000 2013 Escape SUV's. The problem? They need to fix carpet padding that could interfere with braking. Ford say that the carpet padding is wrongly positioned and it could reduce space around the pedals and cause drivers to hit the side of the …
Read More »US of A begins converting phone boxes to hotspots
In cities across the globe, public phone boxes are cultural icons. From the classic 1929 Mackenzie Trench design (which Dr Who uses to jaunt around the universe) to the iconic red boxes seen across London, we have been used to seeing them everywhere. But what happens when we no longer …
Read More »nVidia hacked – warns users to change passwords
After a malicious attack on its forums last week, it appears that graphics giant nVidia is still fighting gremlins on a major scale and, at the time of writing, was not ready to let people back in. KitGuru uses good old spy satellite technology to uncover more of the truth. …
Read More »SSD companies target share of $50Bn market
IDC loves tracking stuff. When it's not too busy counting the PCs, laptops and tablets that are flying through the world's retail channels, it has smaller divisions that apply the same kind of ‘must know it all' mentality to other markets. Dan Vesset runs the Business Analytics effort and, right …
Read More »Mitsubishi sell electric car for under $30,000
Mitsubishi have released the 2012 i-MiEV at under $30,000 – the least expensive all electric car targeting the American market. The car is a five door model with a 126 miles per gallon equivalent rating from the federal government in city driving. This is higher than the Nissan Leaf, at …
Read More »BBC.co.uk outages – is it ready for the Olympics?
While it may be one of the world's finest and most respected news gathering and broadcasting operations, the BBC has never designed, set up and run a web site for the Olympics. KitGuru notices when things don't go 100% smoothly. With just 15 days to go, the world plus dog …
Read More »Digital tool kit launched to help prevent loneliness
Being connected and communicating with other human beings is not only good for you, it could actually help you live longer – according to the Government's Minster for Care Services, Paul Burstow. KitGuru sticks ‘When I'm 64' on the gramophone and Zimmers off in search of answers. Scan through the …
Read More »Xbox Live is down
Microsoft's Xbox Live platform has gone down. Apparently the software giant is aware of the problem as the service status page has been updated with errors and explanations, but no reason has been given for the downtime as of yet. It appears to have been unintended. At the time of …
Read More »Will AMD’s missing vital ingredient prevent cooking on gas?
Success in any market needs the right combination of products, pricing, players and placement. In simple terms, correctly marketing the right products into the right markets with the right team of people around you – and your success is pretty much guaranteed. But what happens when you have gaps in …
Read More »Analysts ponder 3% drop in chip market for 2012
While everyone seems to agree that 2013 will be lucky for most, 2012 is definitely turning into a disaster zone for most of the chip producers on the planet, in one way or another. Analysts at the Carnegie Group are now saying that they think they predicted 2012 to be …
Read More »Ex-AMD VP questions logic of chasing process shrink
One of the most dedicated chases in the IT industry is the one that Intel, nVidia and AMD engage in when it comes to process shrinkage. Indeed, with its vast array of fabrication plants, Intel's entire mantra is based on the idea of Tick-Tock: Shrinking a known technology, before inventing …
Read More »BMW gets in electric bed with Toyota
Walking along the streets of Belfast, you are constantly reminded that this is where Back To The Future's super electric DeLorean car was assembled. While no one is expecting time travel any time soon, we're definitely moving into a world of electric dreams. BMW had dreams of its own, which …
Read More »UK Nanotechnology industry secures over £20 million
The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (NanoKTN – www.nanoktn.com), one of the UK’s primary knowledge-based networks for Micro and Nanotechnologies, is pleased to announce that its support and guidance has helped the UK nanotechnology industry secure over £20M in funding and commercial sales. The NanoKTN is committed to assisting its UK …
Read More »Optical boffins create 50 GIGA pixel camera
Reports coming out of the University of Arizona say that a 75cm square cube of optical processing goodness has been assembled, with a jaw-dropping resolution of 50 gigapixels. KitGuru eyes its collection of low cost lenses and wonders if any of them will have the right screw attachment. Memory storage …
Read More »BT Infinity does badly in real world speed test
In the UK, we accept that broadband speeds can be variable, but we also expect a connection to exist almost everywhere we go. Recently, BT has pushed a wad of money into the creation (and marketing) of its ‘Infinity' product. It's supposed to deliver the very best experience possible – …
Read More »90 inch Sharp Aquos – biggest LED TV so far
I love a big television, and until this morning I thought my 50 inch Sony screen was worth a discussion. Not to be outdone, Sharp have released their latest Aquos television, weighing in at a whopping 90 inches. The new LED television (LC-90LE745U) is a full 1080p screen with Active …
Read More »Antec ramps up the AMPs for 2012/13
With a strong brand and excellent reputation for quality, Antec has decided to spread its (product) wings and launch a whole series of Antec Mobile Products under the banner ‘AMP'. KitGuru scans the line up and brings you the best bits. Pause for a second and think to yourself, “So …
Read More »Prevent Facebook using YOU to sell products
During a BBC documentary that aired just ahead of the Facebook IPO, one of the more worrying aspects of Facebook's future advertising policy was exposed. And quite shocking it was too. But there is a way around it. KitGuru shows you how to hide behind the sofa when Facebook wants …
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