Filed under: Storage

Toshiba's 500GB laptop drive is ready for the Christmas ball originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wii shortages at Christmas time are officially a crummy holiday tradition, like fruitcakes, gift cards for crappy stores and whiskey-soaked fake Santas. This year, though, it's because of pirates. No really. The Suez Canal is infested with Somali pirates (who've already stolen 1000 Wiis), so companies are diverting shipments around the Cape of Good Hope, resulting in a three week shipping delay. We've got one question for Nintendo: Where the hell are your ninjas?

Look, guys, if you really cared about the Christmas joy of children all over Europe you would let loose the ninjas. I mean, you can't spell Nintendo without half of ninja, so you've obviously got them. Ninjas kill pirates. And in this case, protect the innocence of millions of children. Because if "Santa" was real, couldn't he fly around dumb seabound pirates? We're asking you, for the sake of these kids, to not think about how much deeper your lake of gold coins will get from all the loot caused by the extra demand. Release the ninjas. Guard the Wiis. Save the children. [Yahoo via Gadgetell]

Filed under: GPS

The folks over at The NCC just hit us with details and pictures of their five new Goodyear-branded GPS models, three of which are due out in time for Christmas. Starting at $179.99 for the entry level, 3.5-inch GY130, and working their way skywards to $499.99 for the GY440 4.3-inch widescreen with Bluetooth and 12 months free MSN Direct, all models feature touchscreens, Instant Rerouting (the device calculates all alternate routes in a one-mile radius of the vehicle, so recalculation isn't needed if you get off course), a SiRF GPS receiver, turn-by-turn spoken directions and 3D view. There is plenty more to these units, however -- hit the gallery for plenty of truly breathtaking renders and check out pricing and stats after the break.

Gallery: New Goodyear GPS units for 2008

Continue reading Goodyear announces five more GPS units in time for Christmas

Goodyear announces five more GPS units in time for Christmas originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

(Credit: Digital Praise)

If you've been champing at the bit to play some Guitar Hero, but have found that the music contained therein just doesn't meld with your Christian values, you may be in luck.

Digital Praise, a maker of Christian computer games, has released Guitar Praise, which ...

Since Election Day, I, like many LGBT Americans and their allies, have felt torn in two. On November 4th I was overjoyed to see Barack Obama become President-elect of the United States, and incredibly proud that the LGBT community played a central role in his victory. I was full of optimism at the prospect of a real ally in the White House, a president who has mentioned and credited the LGBT community in every major political speech he has given since 2004.

But then I woke on November 5th, to discover that hope and change were not coming to all Americans. Amendment 2 in Florida, Proposition 102 in Arizona and Proposition 8 in California had all passed, denying civil rights to thousands of LGBT families.

And I found myself asking: How could our nation embrace a movement for change, while three of its states voted to reject the rights of an entire group of Americans? Could this be real? And what did this mean for the future of our LGBT community?

I've carried that last question with me for the past two weeks. And on Wednesday and Saturday I got my answer, when I participated in two rallies that responded to this injustice.

Neither event was organized by established, well-funded institutions. They were fueled by modern day grassroots efforts. Thousands came together through word of mouth, text messages from a friend, or internet organizing. They were joined together as a community by a desire for justice and equality.

On Saturday, when I took the stage at a rally outside City Hall, the crowd stretched so far that you couldn't see the end. It took my breath away. The number and dedication of those gathered rivaled any demonstration I've seen in recent history.

I started to look at the faces in the crowd. It almost moved me to tears when I saw the looks in their eyes -- their smiles, their energy and optimism. They were not defeated; they were empowered, fueled by the possibility and the wonder of equality.

Of course people are angry -- I myself am angry. But what is significant today is that our community has taken an anger that might have turned to bitterness, and molded it instead into strength and action. We need to take this strength to our state capitals, and tell them that we are full citizens and deserve to have full and equal rights under the law.

The LGBT community's future is one of immeasurable possibility. It's bright and bold, strong and hopeful, and as limitless as freedom itself. Our community knows that our country is supposed to be the land of the free, where one can engage in the pursuit of happiness. On Saturday we once again demonstrated that we are committed to making it so!

We are saddened to learn that Christopher Lloyd’s home was torched in the current California Blaze. We get the following scoop from the cinder caves of Yahoo:

Christopher Lloyd says he has a “different awareness” after returning to his burned-out Montecito home. The “Back to the Future” actor told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he wouldn’t rebuild the $11 million home in the celebrity enclave northwest of Los Angeles. It was among dozens of homes lost in wildfires.

“You watch TV, you see these kinds of incidents happening here and there, but you look with a kind of detachment because it’s happening … elsewhere,” he said, walking through the rubble. “But suddenly to be in the midst of it, it’s a very different awareness.”

Live Video chat participant Savy89 has recently had her home go up in flames as well. Our thoughts go out to all of you that may be dealing with the fiery maw of mother nature at this moment. Sometimes she can be quite a bitch. The Movie Blog does not endorse or condone fire.

I can’t blame Lloyd for not wanting to rebuild. If my house was torched by wildfires, I think my next home would be somewhere different too. Every home needs a moat for this very reason.

Christopher Hitchens appeared on "Hardball" Monday night and voiced his strong opposition to Hillary Clinton being named Secretary of State.

Appearing with Peter Beinart of Time, who is for Clinton's appointment, Hitchens said, "This is the woman who played the race card on Obama... This is the woman whose foreign policy experience consists of making a fool of herself and fabricating a story about Bosnia."

He also brought up the Clintons' overseas fundraising connections and called the idea of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State a "ludicrous embarrassment."

A longtime critic of the Clintons, Hitchens wrote the 2000 book "No One Left To Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family."

WATCH:

The earth-shaking comeback of Britney Spears rolls on.

Our girl's got a hit single, an album ready to drop in two weeks, a brand new website, a hot airbrushed body, a tour in the works and lots, lots more.

Today's announcement: Britney will be taking part in one the biggest annual holiday traditions: the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree!

On December 3, the day after she turns 27 and her new album, Circus, hits record stores, Britney will be in the Big Apple for the tree-lighting extravaganza.

BACK ON TOP: Britney Spears' mega-comeback included some big wins at the MTV VMAs. Which are totally rigged and arbitrary, but that's neither here nor there.

What's still unclear is whether or not she'll be performing at the ceremony, or just hangin' around with host Al Roker for the NBC broadcast of the event.

We'd bet against her singing, since she sort of can't, whatsoever, in a live setting, but it's awesome that she's gonna be there in the heart of N.Y. City.

Speaking of Rockefeller Plaza, 30 Rock quotes are pretty funny. You should watch the show. It's actually pretty great even though it doesn't get much press.

Toronto, ON – A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of World Vision Canada d

Mid November and the run up to Christmas has long started, at least in the UK. All the towns and shopping centers (malls) have had their lights turned on by celebrities and everywhere is looking nice and festive.

Am I the only one who still has an advent calendar? Though I did buy one for all my friends too, most of which thought I was nuts, nothing new there?

Anyway, I'm hoping you're all feeling as festive as I am and if not then perhaps these themes will help get you in to the spirit. Or cause mutterings of Bah Humbug!

Please feel free to join in the Christmas Themes competition with the chance to win $300.

Credit to Lucap, Pandahetic and Aviman.

Christmas lights Theme

Christmas Tree Theme

Nokia Christmas Theme

Christmas Greetings Theme

A youth finds himself in a strange village, near the sea, in the cool of the evening. He does not know how he got there, or who he is. A beautiful young woman explains that he is dead; if he becomes her lover, she will return him to the land of the living. Though tempted, he chooses instead to travel further into the land of death, to the island of Athos where he will try to reach the summit of the Holy Mountain.