According to our good, dear, beautiful friends at Joystiq (and Radio Shack, incidentally) the Xbox 360 family is going to be seeing those rumored price cuts in the very near future. Falling right in line with that chatter we heard at the beginning of the month, a leaked Radio Shack circular seems to indicate that there will be reductions across the board for the console, with the 60GB version clocking in at $299, the Elite running you a cool $399, and the Arcade setup dropping to a totally affordable $199 (we’re looking at you, potential Xbox LIVE opponents). Sure this could all be some Photoshop wiz’s idea of a hilarious joke, but we’re keeping the fingers and toes crossed over here. Target date for truth? September 7th — so stay tuned.

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We’ve seen the boys and girls in blue disturb the peace on occasion, but this is just downright bizarre. It’s bruited that the city of Plano, Texas has complained to the FCC about a powerful new police communications system that’s being testing in Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville. The signals have the ability to reach some 30 miles away, and they’re driving the radio-controlled sprinklers that Plano uses at parks and road medians absolutely crazy. The whole ordeal has made for some pretty interesting conversation amongst those involved, with one Tim Smith, managing director of the Southwest Regional Communications Center, asserting: “Which comes first: watering plants or protecting police and fire?” If anyone catches grown men fighting about this, do us a favor and send in the video.

[Thanks, Travis]

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In operating rooms today, cancer surgeons are essentially forced to operate without any definitive way of determining whether or not 100% of the diseased tissue has been removed. Thanks to a radical invention by researchers in Massachusetts, that huge limitation could soon be a thing of the past. A new system, dubbed FLARE (Fluorescence-Assisted Resection and Exploration), involves a near-infrared (NIR) imaging system, a video monitor, and a computer. These tools are used to see special chemical dies (christened NIR fluorophores) that are crafted to “target specific structures such as cancer cells when injected into patients.” When these dyes are exposed to NIR light, the cancer cells light up, giving doctors an easy look at what they have left to remove. The team is gearing up to showcase the technology at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia — here’s hoping it can be put to good use in the very near future.

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Like many others, Eric Ruckman found that the DS controller add-on for Guitar Hero: On Tour left a bit to be desired but, unlike most folks, he didn’t just go back to playing on his console of choice — he actually went all out and pieced together a full-size rig out of a PS2 Guitar Hero controller. As you can see above, that includes a special housing for the DS itself (it’s still used for strumming), and even a built-in FM transmitter with its own screen, which lets him pump the audio through his home sound system. Still not impressed? Head on past the break to see it in action.

Continue reading Guitar Hero DS hack lets you shred on a full-size guitar

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We’re still having a tough time labeling Intel’s uniquely designed UrbanMax concept, but according to a company representative on hand at IDF, it was designed primarily to be used as a touch device. The gigantic touch panel machine (slate PC?) includes an 11-inch (1,366 x 768) display, a slide out QWERTY keyboard, a minuscule optical mousing device and Windows Vista behind the scenes. Feel free to check out the video waiting after the jump, and by the way, we dare you to tell us this isn’t totally an HTC Advantage X7510 on steroids.

Continue reading Intel’s UrbanMax concept device demonstrated on video

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Just over a year ago, we were all making bitter beer faces at FCC chairman Kevin Martin for not going along with a delightful sounding “free internet” plan. Now, it seems the main man’s tune has changed. During a recent interview, Martin stated that there was a “social obligation in making sure everybody could participate in the next generation of broadband services because, increasingly, that’s what people want.” He’s reportedly looking to attach a free mobile broadband requirement to the AWS-3 spectrum that’s set to be auctioned next year, which would require the winner to allocate 25% for gratis access. ‘Course, we wouldn’t get our hopes us for this to actually go down like it surely is playing out in your mind just now, but we won’t fault you for dreamin’.

[Via phonescoop]

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This one looks to have actually slipped into availability a few days ago but, for those that don’t make visits to Newegg.com part of their daily routine, you may be interested to know that the barebones version of MSI’s Wind desktop PC is now available to order for the low, low price of $139.99. That’ll get you the ever-present 1.6GHz Atom processor, along with Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics, 8-channel audio, a generous six USB ports, a 4-in-1 media card reader, a CF card slot, and VGA output, but no hard drive, RAM, or optical drive. Unlike the forthcoming full-fledged Wind desktop, this one also looks to only be available in basic black, but it does at least come with a stand that’ll let you use it upright.

[Via Computer Monger]

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Ready for some excitement in the form of watching a startup squirm as it waits for its product to gain traction? Take a glance at Peek, which is churning out a dedicated handheld that handles e-mail, a few chain forwards, and more e-mails when you’re done with that. At first glance, one may consider such a one-trick-pony quite ridiculous, but it’s hard to say what will end up catching on these days. The biggest problem facing Peek is the pricing: it’ll be $99.95 up front when it lands in Target next month, plus $19.95 per month to send unlimited e-mails over T-Mobile’s network. Of course, if anyone figures out how to load Opera Mini up here, the Bulls-eye Shop won’t be able to keep the shelves stocked.

[Via Silicon Alley Insider]

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Intel wasn’t exactly all that forthcoming with details about its next-gen Classmate PC when the subject last came up (describing it only as having both hardware and software upgrades), but it looks to have dropped its guard at this week’s IDF, with it not only dishing out details, but an actual unit as well. As you can see, this one’s a convertible, but Intel is quick to point out that it’s not the Classmate 3.0 some have been expecting — it’ll apparently exist alongside the current generation model. Also, as you might have guessed, there’s not a lot of surprises in terms of specs, with it boasting the same 1.6GHz Atom processor as every other netbook out there, along with an 8.9-inch 1024 x 600 display, an SD card slot, a pair of USB ports, and an SSD drive of unspecified size. Intel is apparently still promising to provide a few more details a bit later on but, in the meantime, you can bide your time by digging into the pics available at the link below.

Update: Check out a video from Intel after the break, and even more pics at jkkmobile.

Continue reading Intel shows off next-gen, convertible Classmate PC

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BenQ just let loose a pair of 16:9 LCDs earlier this month, but it looks like it’s intent on keeping all its widescreen aspect ratio bases covered, with it now trotting out two new, more conventional 16:10 models. Those include the 22-inch G2200WT and 24-inch G2400WT, which boast 2,500:1 and 4,000:1 contrast ratios, respectively, along with both DVI and VGA ports. The 24-incher also takes things one step further with an HDMI input, as well as a headphone jack to take advantage of the audio pass through. No word on a release ’round these parts, unfortunately, but those in the UK can apparently grab ‘em this month for £180 and £318, or roughly $334 and $590.

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