Lenovo intros ThinkCentre M78 with AMD A-Series APU and a starting price of $449

There's never a bad time for computer makers to update any part of their extensive PC lineup, and today marks Lenovo's turn to introduce a new tower as part of its voluminous M Series.



Engadget , Lenovo intros ThinkCentre M78 with AMD A-Series APU and a starting price of $449, Lenovo intros ThinkCentre M78 with AMD A-Series APU and a starting price of $449

GM opens China's largest proving ground

China's best-selling carmaker can now claim China's largest proving ground. General Motors, Shanghai GM, China JV partner SAIC and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) opened the $253 million facility in China that has more than 37 miles of roads, simulating 67 different driving conditions and nearly 250,000 square feet of engineering and repair space. It occupies a little more than two square miles in Guangde County, Anhui, about 130 miles from Shanghai. The grounds will soon verify the mettle of the many brands GM oversees in China, including Buick, Cadillac, Baojun and Jiefang among others.

2DayBlog.com , GM opens China's largest proving ground, GM opens China's largest proving ground

Researchers working on a remote-controlled cyborg policeman

Many of us have seen the 1987 sci-fi classic ‘RoboCop' which envisions a cyborg policeman with extra-ordinary powers.  Well, that may not be fiction for long. Researchers at at Florida International University are currently working on creating a robotic cop which could be controlled remotely. The project is being done in collaboration with a member of U.S. Navy Reserves and aims to build a robot which could then be remotely controlled by disabled police officers.

Ubergizmo , Researchers working on a remote-controlled cyborg policeman, Researchers working on a remote-controlled cyborg policeman

NES light gun gets a laser upgrade, fulfils countless childhood dreams (video)

While it's not the DL-44 heavy blaster we've been holding out for, this Nintendo Zapper is almost as cool. Using the classic Duck Hunt light gun from the original NES, the team at North Street Labs created their own laser pistol. Using a 445nm diode, some batteries, wiring and imagination, the light gun was painstakingly put together, complete with physical safety lock and custom aim-assisting heat sink. The end result is a bona fide laser shootin' gun, capable of not only setting alight matches from a distance, but setting the curtains on fire too (probably).

Engadget , NES light gun gets a laser upgrade, fulfils countless childhood dreams (video), NES light gun gets a laser upgrade, fulfils countless childhood dreams (video)

Burger Android Game App

Most game apps today usually appeal to those causal gamers. A majority of smartphone users usually just want to have a game app that they can play on whatever spare time they have. Some don't want to invest that much time playing a particular game. For such people, the Burger Android game app might provide that certain appeal for an engaging casual game.
The Burger Android game app is a simple yet engaging game that gives people that experience of serving burgers at a fast food joint. This burger serving game app may be considered both a casual and a time management game.

Gadget.com , Burger Android Game App, Burger Android Game App

BMW i3 sheds its skin, shows off carbon skeleton

Steve Dent contributed to this post.






Engadget , BMW i3 sheds its skin, shows off carbon skeleton, BMW i3 sheds its skin, shows off carbon skeleton

Microsoft extends free Windows Server 2008 support through January 15th, 2015

Now that its successor is available, you're unlikely to hear much excitement for Windows Server 2008 around IT water coolers, but that's not to suggest it'll fade into oblivion anytime soon. In fact, Microsoft has extended its mainstream support of the server OS - previously set to expire on July 9th, 2013 - through January 15th, 2015. The company will continue to deliver free security fixes for the operating system beyond this cutoff date, however maintenance updates will require the purchase of extended support from Microsoft.

Engadget , Microsoft extends free Windows Server 2008 support through January 15th, 2015, Microsoft extends free Windows Server 2008 support through January 15th, 2015

Lamborghini developing Urus while still awaiting green light

While much of the focus for Lamborghini at the Paris Motor Show was on its new strategy for the Gallardo line using styling cues to differentiate the rear-wheel-drive, all-wheel-drive and Superleggeria models, the Italian automaker is continuing development of its Urus SUV, even though it has not yet gotten final approval yet. Stephan Winkelmann, the firm's CEO and president, confirmed to Autoblog that he is confident the project will be approved by the VW Group, but has not yet received the final blessing and says much depends on the whether or not there will be a new architecture to underpin the vehicle.

Autoblog , Lamborghini developing Urus while still awaiting green light, Lamborghini developing Urus while still awaiting green light

Sony announces the NW-F800 Series, its latest Android based Walkman

Behold Sony's latest high-end Walkman, the NW-F800 Series. Available in three different flavors and with internal memory ranging from 16 up to 64GB, the NW-F800 is Sony's answer to Apple's iPod. Indeed the NW-F800 will come by default with Android 4.0, a Tegra 2 1GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and a nice little 3.5″ WVGA screen. The NW-F800 will be of course compatible with Google Play and will play, no pun intended, just fine with most applications available for Android 4.0.





Akihabara News , Sony announces the NW-F800 Series, its latest Android based Walkman, Sony announces the NW-F800 Series, its latest Android based Walkman

Harman shows off its upcoming JBL docks and speakers, we go eyes-on

Harman announced a fair amount of JBL-branded speakers back at IFA, but that wasn't all it had to announce before the year goes out. Today we met with in the company in NYC, where it was ready to show off even more of its upcoming wireless and dock speakers. In fact, don't tell Harman that the 30-pin connector is on its way out, as its $199 OnBeat Venue (seen above and $139 OnBeat aWake are ready to pair up with your last-gen iOS devices.










Engadget , Harman shows off its upcoming JBL docks and speakers, we go eyes-on, Harman shows off its upcoming JBL docks and speakers, we go eyes-on

DisplayLink shows off adapters and docks from HP, Lenovo, EVGA and Targus at IDF 2012

With the proliferation of Ultrabooks, laptops are shipping with fewer ports and smaller screens. One of the benficiaries of the streamlined designs is DisplayLink, whose technology can turn a single USB port into a bevy of connections. At IDF 2012, the company showed off new gear from several vendors, including EVGA, HP, Lenovo and Targus. First, there's a handsome little puck from EVGA, called the UV Plus+39, that plugs into your laptop's USB 2 or 3.0 socket to grant you HDMI and DVI output at up to 2048 x 1152 resolution for $85.






Engadget , DisplayLink shows off adapters and docks from HP, Lenovo, EVGA and Targus at IDF 2012, DisplayLink shows off adapters and docks from HP, Lenovo, EVGA and Targus at IDF 2012

Toshiba outs two new 2.5″ Hybrid HDD with NAND Flash

Toshiba announced this morning in Japan two new Hybrid 2.5″ HDDs with the 1TB MQ01ABD100H and 750GB MQ01ABD075H.

Akihabara News , Toshiba outs two new 2.5″ Hybrid HDD with NAND Flash, Toshiba outs two new 2.5″ Hybrid HDD with NAND Flash

Chris Harris discovers new niche with Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake

There are a number of interesting tidbits in Chris Harris' review of the Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake, one of them being that he spends most of his seat time talking about the station wagon like it's a sports car. This isn't all that surprising if you limit yourself to the side of the spec sheet that lists "twin-turbo V8 with 557 horsepower and 531 pound-feet of torque, limited-slip differential and seven-speed paddle-shifted transmission.".



Autoblog , Chris Harris discovers new niche with Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake, Chris Harris discovers new niche with Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake

Apple ditched Google Maps over turn-by-turn navigation spat

. By now everyone knows about the glaring flaws in Apple's (AAPL) homemade maps application. The question, then, is why did Apple decide to launch its own maps app when it still had access to Google (GOOG) Maps for at least another year.

Boy Genius Report , Apple ditched Google Maps over turn-by-turn navigation spat, Apple ditched Google Maps over turn-by-turn navigation spat

Jonathan Ive tapped to design special edition Leica M for charity auction

Apple design chief Sir Jonathan Ive is in discussions to produce a one-off special edition Leica M that will be auctioned for charity, according to Leica owner Dr. Andreas Kaufmann. PetaPixel reports that Ive was expected to be on hand at yesterday's Leica press conference to make things official, but Kaufmann decided to make the news public despite a last-minute scheduling conflict. As for which charity the auction - guaranteed to pull in an obscene amount of money - will benefit, Pocket-lint says proceeds will go to Reporters Without Borders. The organization provides assistance to journalists in war-torn regions.

2DayBlog.com , Jonathan Ive tapped to design special edition Leica M for charity auction, Jonathan Ive tapped to design special edition Leica M for charity auction

Opt MagicQ MacBook Case and Stand Review

I recently traded in my 13″ MacBook Pro for an 11″ MacBook Air.  I love my new Air, but I did have to give up using the ChillBed stand (see related posts) I've been using with the MBP because the front lip of the laptop stand was too high for the very thin front edge of the MBA.  I missed the comfortable typing angle the laptop stand gave the keyboard.  I was also thrilled that the MBA was small enough I could carry it in some of my purses, but I wanted a case to protect it in my bag.  A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled on a very cool new MacBook Air case from a company named Opt.










The Gadgeteer , Opt MagicQ MacBook Case and Stand Review, Opt MagicQ MacBook Case and Stand Review