Catastrophe Archive

  • NASA wants everyone to know the world will not end in 2012, m’kay?

    NASA wants everyone to know the world will not end in 2012, m’kay?

    Posted on November 10, 2009 | No Comments
    Listen, I don't care if you heard it from John Cusack that the world will explode from a global apocalypse on December 21, 2012. He's wrong and a bad actor. NASA, home of the smartest government employees, is going out of its way to inform everyone that they will still have to pay off those credit card bills in 2013. Sorry.

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  • California Cool Cars regs put the kibosh on radio, cellphone, and GPS reception

    California Cool Cars regs put the kibosh on radio, cellphone, and GPS reception

    Posted on October 13, 2009 | No Comments

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    We've seen plenty of tech over the years meant to mitigate our destruction of the environment -- from greener autos to Grateful Dead-themed cellphones -- most of which don't really ask us to tone down our consumer impulses all that much. But how about these new "Cool Cars" regulations recently adopted by the California Air Resources Board? By the year 2016, all autos sold in the state must have windows that prevent 60 percent of the sun's energy from entering the vehicle. To achieve this, windows are given a coat of glazing that contains microscopic specs of reflective metal oxide -- which will seriously hamper reception for your GPS, cellphone, and (this is of special interest to Engadget readers) white collar criminal-style work release ankle bracelet. As you can imagine, companies like Garmin are fuming -- although we suppose that if they play this right they can make a killing in the external car antenna business. It just goes to show you -- when it comes to environmental catastrophe, everyone's a victim.

    [Via AutoBlog]

    California Cool Cars regs put the kibosh on radio, cellphone, and GPS reception originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Proposed law would give White House ‘cybersecurity emergency’ powers over the Internet

    Proposed law would give White House ‘cybersecurity emergency’ powers over the Internet

    Posted on August 28, 2009 | No Comments
    Internet King and America's news editor Matt Drudge is freaking out right now, complete with his trademark scare quotes. (I swear, you could probably write a thesis about how Drudge influences the American media.) There's a bill that's currently floating around the U.S. Senate that would, in times of emergency, put the Internet, in a sense, in control of the White House. And then the government will make you eat fruits and vegetables! Tyranny!

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  • Here’s what’s wrong with the Palm Pre

    Here’s what’s wrong with the Palm Pre

    Posted on June 4, 2009 | No Comments
    The Palm Pre—you may have heard of it—comes out on Saturday, but all sorts of media “outlets” have already published their reviews; I don't know when our review will go up. And since it's my feeling that most of you already assume the phone is “good,” I've gone ahead and collected a few excerpts of the more critical points. You know, the part of the review that goes something like, “Now, the Palm Pre isn't perfect; we found a few problems with it. And they are...” That part. So let's get on with it.

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