Thu 20 November, 2008

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Rented tubes should still be clear tubes

Canada's telecom regulators gave Bell Canada the OK to throttle peer-to-peer Internet traffic on pipes it leases to third-party ISPs.…

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Cartoon for Today, Nov 20, 2008
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Cracked
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SC08 A dense cluster of Intel Atoms

While supercomputer maker Silicon Graphics was showing off its existing Altix lines of Xeon and Itanium servers at the SC08 supercomputing show in Austin, Texas, this week, the most interesting thing the company touted was not yet a real computer, but a concept system, called Molecule.…

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Fox Business
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AP - A man says his cell phone saved his life. A stray .45-caliber bullet hit R.J. Richard's chest while he was mowing the lawn — hitting so hard he thought it was a stone kicked out by his tractor. He pulled out the phone. It fell apart.
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Some marketing genius decided it would be a splendid idea to plaster the subway station I arrive at in the morning with posters promoting Microsoft's "I'm a PC" campaign. So twice a day, five days a week, I'm face to face with one of the worst advertising spots in Madison Avenue's history.

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A recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has revealed that video game console usage across America stands at approximately 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year—which is roughly the amount consumed by the entire city of San Diego. In other words, we are looking at some serious dollars going down the drain when we leave our consoles running for hours on end (not to mention the environmental impact). Even Energy Star has recognized the problem and begun setting standards on energy consumption for these devices. Obviously, the short-term solution to the problem would be to save your game and shut off the system when you are done—but it's a bad habit that is hard to break. So, my question is: do you leave your game console running when you are not playing?

Results from "Do You Plan to Gadget Shop on Black Friday?"

Yes 18%
Yes, but I'm sticking with online stores. 17%
Yes, I will try online and brick and mortar stores. 11%
No 37%
Maybe 17%

[NRDC via Ars Technica via DVICE]

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Our friends at Kotaku managed to get their hands on the GameStop Black Friday circular and, not surprisingly, bundles are the major theme here. Some of the better deals include a .99 cent price tag for Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 2 (after purchase of Rock Band game or bundle over $50), Madden PSP Entertainment Pack or Ratchet and Clank Pack for $200, several Xbox 360 bundles (Arcade, Pro and Elite), the World of Warcraft Battle Chest for $20 and a host of discounts on games. [Kotaku]

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Apparel chain Gap Inc. says its third-quarter profit rose 3.4 percent as cost-cutting efforts like inventory control offset a sales slump.

Source : kansascity.com (subscribe)

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netbuzz writes "Meeting in Minneapolis this week, the Internet engineering community is debating whether to aggressively fashion and apply fixes for the so-called Kaminsky bug in the DNS discovered this summer, or to simply let its threat stand as motivation for all to move with greater speed toward DNSSEC, which is considered the best long-term security solution. Problem with the latter approach is that DNSSEC has been in the works for a decade already, no one is confident it will be universally embraced, and the Kaminsky flaw is causing real problems today.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Stocks have plunged again to levels not seen in more than five years as hopes fade that lawmakers will soon put together an aid package for U.S. automakers.

Source : NY Daily News (subscribe)

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Doctors in Arizona thought a Phoenix-area woman had a possible brain tumor, but it turned out there was something else penetrating her brain – a worm.

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Looking to do your part to help reduce the U.S. expenditure on foreign oil with your next car purchase but hoping to not have to stifle your enthusiast leanings? Dodge may very well have you covered with its new EV sports car.

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The X Prize Foundation is looking for a new challenge for their next Energy and Environment prize, and they want Gizmodo readers to vote on it. The X Prize is an educational nonprofit prize institute dedicated to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity, like when Burt Rutan built and flew the world’s first private spaceship to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize. To propose the challenge for the next big crazy green idea, they have selected the best three from 133 videos:

The Capacitor Challenge

The Energy Independence X PRIZE

Energy X-Prize: Reduce Home Energy Usage

[Vote now]

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I have asked a more elequent writer to post on this, so you may see more on this later. I just want to do a basic rundown and roundup of reactions on it. Washington Post: For the first time, a federal judge today ordered the release of enemy combatants from the U.S. military prison in [...]

Source : Stop the ACLU (subscribe)

Explore : Guantanamo, Political Blogs, Politics

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Third beta, then release

The "standards-compatible" next edition of Internet Explorer has been bumped into 2009 by Microsoft.…

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For the first time, Katie Couric talks about her interviews with Sarah Palin on the Late Show with David Letterman.

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A lot of films get made these days, but it seems like more and more people are opting out of a $10 or $15 ticket to stay home and watch them on DVD. But this doesn’t stop a slew of talent-lacking directors from hogging all the limelight and posing as "Geniuses of the Cinema."

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The 2008 election voting patterns in the southern United States followed the big cotton production areas in 1860 which in turn followed the shoreline of the shallow tropical seas that covered the southern part of the US 85 million years ago.

This is not a political blog. However, this is a story I couldn't pass up: the story of how voting patterns in the 2008 election were essentially determined 85 million years ago, in the Cretaceous Period. It's also a story about how soil science relates to political science, by way of historical chance.

Headline I'd like to see in 96 pt. type in the NY Times: Obama Elected By Rich Loamy Soils of Cretaceous Seas.

(link)
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From The Washington Post : Incoming first lady Michelle Obama has tapped Jackie Norris, President-elect Barack Obama's Iowa state director to be her chief of staff. Norris, a high school government and history teacher and long-time Iowa Democrat, was former vice president Al Gore's Iowa political director in the 2000 presidential campaign and was finance director for former Iowa governor Tom...

Source : 2008 Democratic Convention Watch (subscribe)

Explore : Democratic Party, Politics

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Annika Sorenstam's farewell to the LPGA Tour could come two days earlier than she hoped.

Source : Miami Herald (subscribe)

Explore : Annika Sorenstam, Golf, Golf players

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Google
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A Brazilian has broken the record for surfing on the longest board after staying on a 30ft (9.16m) long surfboard for over 10 seconds. Rico de Souza, who broke his own record from 2006, said that it was a challenging but thrilling experience.

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It may cost more, but as a high-definition gaming system and a high-quality Blu-ray player, the PlayStation 3 slays the competition.

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The "sophomore slump" has been a term bandied about by music critics when describing a follow-up album that pales in comparison to an artist's unusually accomplished debut. When the pressure was on to live up to their own hype, these 25 albums delivered the goods.

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If you have an account with Mint, and you've enabled mobile alerts, you can now text "Bal" or "Balance" to 696-468 (MyMint) and receive a summary of all of your accounts. [Mint]

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KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is increasing the space between rows of seats on its planes. I'm not surprised - the Dutch are the tallest people on earth these days, as I discovered when I had to crane my neck around the Brobdingnagians in front of me in an Amsterdam movie theater. Like many Europeans, [...]

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MSNBC
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Hide those keys. A quick camera phone picture could unlock your doors.

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AP - A monarch butterfly has a chance at completing its species' famed migration to central Mexico thanks to some tiny cardboard splints, a bit of contact cement and a trucker from Alabama.
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AP - Police are trying to figure out who keeps leaving chunks of meat on the town common, and why. Police said residents have been finding butcher-quality cuts of meat on the common for about five weeks. In the most recent incident, a resident discovered a large piece of raw, unwrapped meat, along with what appeared to be a liver and some bones on Tuesday.
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WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Researchers said Thursday they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer's books. The findings could put an end to centuries of speculation about the exact resting spot of Copernicus, a priest and astronomer whose theories identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of...

Source : Arizona Republic (subscribe)

Explore : Poland, Warsaw

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BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage has apologized to a fan whom he sent a profane e-mail to following Monday night's game against the Buffalo Bills....

Source : Arizona Republic (subscribe)

Explore : Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Football, Ohio, Sports

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Costco offers its members the AOC Envision 22" 720p Widescreen LCD HD Television, model no. L22W898, for $229.99. (Non-members pay $11.50 more.) With $14.99 for shipping, that's the lowest total price we could find by $55. Sales tax is added where applicable. Features include a native resolution of 1680x1050 (720p), 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 300 cd/m² brightness, ATSC (HD), NTSC, and QAM tuners, one HDMI input, and VGA, component, and other video inputs. Deal ends December 14.
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AP - Thousands donned aprons and hair nets Thursday outside Seoul's City Hall in a bid to make the world's biggest batch of kimchi, the spicy pickled cabbage that is Korea's best-known dish.

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AP - Law enforcement authorities arrested an 81-year-old man who illegally sold powerful prescription pain relievers. The arrest followed a raid on a home Monday by the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement.
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George Steinbrenner, one of the most notorious owners in professional sports, has officially relinquished control of the Yankees, naming his son Hal as head of the organization. The announcement came from Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig following owners' meetings where Hal Steinbrenner was unanimously approved as new owner. Hal, who runs the financial side of the Yankees, will...

Source : Gothamist (subscribe)

Explore : Cities and Towns, New York City

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dealcoupon has additional new coupons not listed above from these merchants: Target, JCPenney.com, Home Depot, Circuit City, Amazon.com, Banana Republic, Kohls, BestBuy, New York & Company, Ann Taylor Loft, Dell Small Business, Dell Home, Lands' End, Backcountry, SportsAuthority, Victoria's Secret, FragranceNet, Aeropostale, Bloomingdales, Hot Topic, Kirklands.com, ThinkGeek, BabyCenter.com, Zales.com, and BrylaneHome.com. Click a merchant's name to see them.
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Thanks to last night's season finale of South Park, I finally know the difference between goths and vampires.

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Do people act rationally, responding to the most important emails first? Or do they send emails randomly, without any regard to efficiency? After studying emails sent and received from more than 3000 accounts during a 3 month period, a mathematical model was created that shows people send email randomly, but in cycles. How do you respond to emails?

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Gadgets James Bond used that you can use, too

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There isn't much time to act ... but we're actually starting to take action.

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duh P3rf3ss3r writes "The Associated Press reports that, after 200 years of speculation and investigation, the tomb of Nicolaus Copernicus has been found. Although the heliocentric concept had been suggested earlier, Copernicus is widely thought of as the father of the scientific theory of the heliocentric solar system. The positive identification was made by comparing the DNA from a skeleton's teeth with that from hairs in a book known to have belonged to Copernicus. A computer-generated facial reconstruction is said to also bear a resemblance to contemporary portraits of the scientist."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Filed under: Health & safety , Shopping & recalls The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 670,000 IKEA IRIS and ALVINE Roman Blinds. The blinds have an exposed inner cord on the backside, which is a hazard to young children. Earlier this year, a 1-year-old girl in Connecticut died after becoming entangled in one. This recall involves all sizes of white IRIS...

Source : BloggingBaby.com (subscribe)

Explore : Family, Parenting

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I've long suspected that the best job ever would be to work in product stress testing—because you basically get paid to break shit all day. Nokia sent over a bunch of info detailing how their test centers operate, leaving me fully convinced this would indeed be my dream gig. Not only do they run over 200 mechanical tests on these things, but where else could you play with a bunch of machines that bend, bake, humidify, spray, poke and drop phones? (And yeah, that phone in the picture above just got poked a million times...literally.)

Here's a look at a handful of different tests and what each one tries to accomplish.

Liquids

Nokia places a phone under a bunch of needle-sized water dispensers and then lets it drip all over the phone, which tests for resistance in situations like rain, or splashing from a pool.

The humidity simulation, which tests the durability of phones in up to 95% humidity, is helpful in determining if a phone will hold up in particularly damp areas like South and Central America, where gadgets don't have the longest lifespan.

Nokia also tests how the phone reacts to various liquids, creams and gels (lotions, hand sanitizers, etc...), since stuff like that tends to accidentally spill while sitting in a purse or backpack with the phone.

Sturdiness


Tests for bending and twisting are pretty straight forward and self explanatory. Still, you can't help but cringe to see a phone placed in such an unnatural position. Nokia says when you have your phone in your back pocket and you sit on it, it's susceptible to bending.

One of the cooler stress tests that exists is the Drop test—not only because it uses a giant friggin' machine, but also because they record the drops using a camera that can record 100,000 frames per second, which is 3,000 times faster than the normal video camera. The videos are then analyzed frame by frame, determining the degree to which a device becomes distorted upon impact. Check it out.

When Nokia drops a phone, they drop it from about the height of a shirt pocket onto concrete, since that's a likely scenario for dropped phones. They also attatch a phone under a steel device that pushes down 100 newtons of force.

Wear and Tear

Nokia has a series of wear and tear stress tests, when gauge the phone's ability to take bumps, scratches from daily use. Dust testing involves throwing a handful of phones in a dust filled box and letting everything co-mingle. How much dust gets inside? And do buttons stop working when foreign substances get under the surface? This is where you find out.

They also let phones roll around in a bunch of pieces of hard, pointy plastic to see where it might scratch, scuff or crack under duress. These pieces are like plastic chocolate chips and bite-sized pyramids, and they're pretty sharp. This phone met an unfortunate demise in the name of quality control.

***

Other weird tests include rubbing a piece of denim up against a phone to test the effect of friction when the phone rubs up against your clothes and subjection the phone to temperatures ranging between -40 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit; this determines whether or not the phone can survive in the most extreme conditions on earth.

When testing is finished, they have a battery of analytic procedures to determine how well or how poorly a phone held up. This includes analyzing a phone under electron microscopes, 3D X-rays and X-ray Spectroscopes to check for any related damage; possible micron-sized soldering cracks, component failure or any breakdowns in the materials.

As you can see, these tests aren't lightweight by any means, and most of my Nokia phones over the years have been pretty durable. What about yours? [Nokia on Giz]

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Sprint has asked some of its employees to consider voluntarily resigning by December 3rd in exchange for a compensation package. Says a spokesperson, "No one is being forced to do anything. There are no forced reductions. There are no layoffs in store. It's a matter of employees having the option to exercise discretion. No targets have been announced." IntoMobile says retail store employees and managers are not being included in the offer.

"Sprint offers voluntary package to employees " [Fierce Wireless]
(Photo: Getty Images)

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ShoeBuy.com offers several luggage sets at lowest-we-could-find prices. Plus, coupon code "THANKSGIVING08" cuts 20% off. Each carries free shipping. Coupon expires December 1. The deals, after discount:

• U.S. Luggage Computer Attache (pictured) in Burgundy for $50.76
• Traveler's Choice Amsterdam 4-Piece Travel Collection in Navy for $82.36
• Pierre Cardin Chateau 4-Piece Luggage Set in three colors for $84.76
• American Airline Summerlin 5-Piece Luggage Set in two colors for $85.16

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In a settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, the online dating service eHarmony, until now limited to heterosexuals, has agreed to start matching men with men and women with women. The deal resolves a complaint by a gay man who claimed that eHarmony's failure to accommodate homosexuals violated New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination. eHarmony's lawyer said it believed the...

Source : Reason Magazine - Hit & Run (subscribe)

Explore : New Jersey

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Apress.com offers downloads of The Definitive Guide to Linux Network Programming Ebook for free. That's $35 off and the best deal we've seen on this ebook.
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Costco offers its members the Sony Bravia 40" Motionflow Widescreen LCD HD Television, model no. KDL-40WL140, bundled with the Sony BRAVIA DMX-NV1 Internet Video Link for $1,349.99. (Non-members pay $67.50 more, so sign up for a 1-year membership for $50.) With free shipping, that's the lowest total price we could find by $250 for the television alone. Sales tax is added where applicable. It features a native resolution of 1920x1080 (1080p), 120Hz refresh rate, 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, ATSC (HD), NTSC, and QAM tuners, four HDMI inputs, and VGA, component, and other video inputs. Deal ends December 20.
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Haband offers this Men's Fleece Hat, Gloves, & Scarf Set in Navy for $5.99. With free shipping via coupon code "X1G", That's $12 off and the lowest total price we could find. These one-size-fits-all accessories are made of polyester fleece. The gloves have MagicCling adjustable cuffs and grip suede leather on the palms.
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Today only, Amazon.com offers Activision's Guitar Hero 3 for Nintendo Wii bundled with two Nyko FrontMan Wireless Guitars for $54.92 with free shipping. (Add them all to your cart separately.) If you prefer, instead get Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for Nintendo Wii for $56.92 with free shipping. That's the lowest total price we've seen for these Guitar Hero 2-guitar bundles.
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Buy.com offers the Magellan Maestro 4210 Portable GPS Navigation System (pictured), model no. 980-0015-001, for $175.99 with free shipping. That's $74 under our April mention and the lowest total price we've seen by $4. Features include a 4.3" touchscreen LCD, AAA TourBook and 6 million points of interest, 3D maps, pre-loaded maps of the continental US, up to four hours of battery life on one charge, and USB 2.0 connectivity. Other GPS system deals are available, all with free shipping:

• Nextar W3-01 3.5" GPS for $74.99 at Buy.com
• refurbished Magellan Maestro 4250 4.3" Widescreen GPS for $119.99 at Buy.com
• Magellan RoadMate 1212 3.5" GPS for $157.99 at newegg.com
• refurbished TomTom GO 720 4.3" Widescreen GPS for $159.99 at Amazon.com
• new: Garmin nüvi 765T 4.3" Widescreen GPS for $464.95 at BuyDig.com

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Democratic leaders in Congress sidetracked legislation to bail out the auto industry Thursday and demanded the Big Three develop a plan assuring the money would make them economically viable. "Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money,"...

Source : San Fransisco Chronicle (subscribe)

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NEW YORK — The country's largest trade publisher, Random House Inc., has frozen the pensions of its current employees and eliminated them for future hires, the latest cutback in an industry hit by declining sales and anticipating, at best, a difficult 2009. "Effective Dec. 31, benefits in the Random House, Inc. Pension Plan will no longer grow _ but they will not be reduced," spokesman Stuart...

Source : The Huffington Post (subscribe)

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Once again, Dell Home knocks 15% off select Electronics and Accessory purchases, this time via coupon code "8BM53TB8R1DXC0". That yields lowest-we've-seen prices on several Xbox 360 Console Holiday Bundles, as listed below. Free shipping applies and sales tax is added where applicable. Coupon expires November 23. The systems, each of which includes LEGO Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda:

• Xbox 360 Pro with 60GB hard drive for $254.15
• Xbox 360 Elite with 120GB hard drive for $339.15

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According to its designers, this is the washing machine that you'll use in...well, sometime in the future. Called the Re-cycle Laundry Center, one pod washes, one pod dries and a third pod filters all the water to be reused for another load. Meanwhile, to eliminate the need for a pump, the user spins the rig like a big wheel to redistribute the water. We're not so sure that extraneous manual labor is in our vision of the future, but we do appreciate the concept's Triple-Xbox-Jet-Engine design. [Yanko Design]

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