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Data from shuttle Columbia hard drive recovered

Five years after the shuttle Columbia crashed on re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere, data recovery experts at Kroll Ontrack Inc. managed to recover data from a 400-megabyte Seagate hard drive that was on board.

The cracked component was discovered six months after the crash in a dried-up lake bed. But the data recovery team was still able to retrieve 99 percent of the stored information, Computerworld.com said.

A science journal in April published results of tests performed by astronauts on xexon gas which were stored on the hard drive.

If they are that durable, I’m going to take a hammer to the next hard drive I get rid of so no one gets my personal data, even if I think it’s broken.

There’s a slideshow of the damaged hard drive on the Computerworld site. Below is one of the images.

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Four and a half years to recover information on a hard drive. Sounds to me like Kroll Ontrack Inc. was bilking NASA for as much $$ as they could. If you want my opinion the black box should have been given to the FAA Investigators. They have a pretty good

... read the full comment by Full Metal Jacket | Comment on Data from shuttle Columbia hard drive recovered Read Data from shuttle Columbia hard drive recovered

It’s nice to see that porn has a new purpose,”charity”. I guess I need to do some research and see how much money the web is making versus how many new boobs are given away.Making money off of the misery of others is deplorable.What’s

... read the full comment by Brent | Comment on Web site helps women get breast implants for free Read Web site helps women get breast implants for free

I own multiple Dells and love them. Nice to see them offer up something with a little more style.

... read the full comment by Billy | Comment on Dell brings a bit of the beach to its laptops Read Dell brings a bit of the beach to its laptops

Good GRIEF!!!!

It may be pretty on the outside but as soon as you boot that thing it gets REAL ugly on the inside.

WHAT A JOKE! …..Hey can it run Mac OSX? NOT!

iJah420 says bye bye… Dell.

... read the full comment by iJah420 | Comment on Dell brings a bit of the beach to its laptops Read Dell brings a bit of the beach to its laptops

Web site helps women get breast implants for free

Only on the Internet.

There’s a web site at www.myfreeimplants.com that links women who want breast augmentation and guys who want to pay for it.

The women are allowed to post racy photos of themselves and the site gives updates on how much they’ve raised. There’s even a list of surgeons from around the country listed that do the procedure.

The brainstorm for the site came in 2005 at a bachelor party when some of the participants essentially passed around the hat to pay for a woman there to get implants.

You have to register on the site before you can see the women’s posted photos and interact with them electronically, although there are some before-and-after teaser shots (fully-clothed).

It asks that the men be respectful of the women on the site. “While you may request particular outfits for custom photos, the ultimate decision is up to the lady. We encourage you to both work together in a civil manner.”

Natasha is the face of the web site, and it’s official “spokesmodel.”

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Online content, straight from the sewer

For one city in Britain, superfast Internet service is going to stink.

H2O Networks, baed in Wales, will deliver fast Internet connections to Bournemouth via the sewer system. More than 88,000 homes and businesses will benefit from Internet speeds up to 100Mbps under the plan, a connection that’s a lot speedier than the current broadband services on the market.

H2O, which has been plotting its underground invasion for the last six years, plans to spend the next six months laying fiber-optic cables through the sewer system. The company hopes to create a nationwide network for consumers over the next few years.

Proponents say it’s a lot cheaper and more environmentally friendly to use Britain’s 360,000 miles of sewers rather than to dig up roads to lay fiber.

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Manny, Moe, Jack - and Michael

It looks like Michael Dell is getting into the car business.

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MSD Capital, the private investment firm for Dell Inc. founder Michael Dell and his family, said Wednesday it has teamed up with the former CEO of the Pep Boys auto parts stores to start a chain of premier car dealerships across the country.

Dell’s new partner Jeffrey Rachor will run MSD Automotive Partners from headquarters in Chattanooga, Tenn. No word just yet on where the company wants to open its high-end car lots.

Rachor served as president and CEO of Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack for about a year before leaving in April. Previously, he ran car retailer Sonic Automotive.

Dell, as one of the richest guys on the planet, can of course drive just about anything he wants. In a statement, MSD Capital partner Howard Berk said the investment house has been looking to get into the car business for several years.

Founded in 1998, MSD Capital exclusively handles the investments of Dell and his family. Currently, the New York-based firm has more than $12 billion in assets.

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Webgrrls comes to Boca Raton

The women’s Internet organization, Webgrrls International, is launching a new chapter in the Boca Raton/Fort Lauderdale area.

Webgrrls International is a global group for women which offers online and offline resources, offering a forum for women to network and to exchange job and business leads. As important, it helps women to learn Web-related skills.

Allison Nazarian, president and founder of Boca Raton-based Get It In Writing, heads the organization locally.

You can find the Webgrrls International website at http://www.webgrrls.com. It is part of the Cybergrrl Network of websites for women including Cybergrrl.com and Femina.com.

The first Boca/Ft. Lauderdale Webgrrls meeting will be held Thursday, May 22, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Art That Works Inc. at 270 W. Hillsboro Blvd. in Deerfield Beach. For more information, contact Allison Nazarian at boca-fl@webgrrls.com or call 561-989-8555 or visit http://www.webgrrls.com/boca-fl/.

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Dell brings a bit of the beach to its laptops

Dell has teamed up with Brooklyn artist Mike Ming to give one of its notebooks a surfer’s edge.

The special edition Inspiron 1525 will feature two of Ming’s designs: “Bunch O Surfers” (black-and-white) and “Sea Sky” (color). The laptops are available for order, and pricing starts at $699.

Dell laptop Sea Sky

The Ming-designed PCs are the first of what Dell plans to grow into a series of special art-edition laptops. More on Ming and the laptops carrying his design can be found here.

Dell laptop Bunch O Surfers

Computer makers have looked to spruce up their notebook designs to give them more appeal. Dell added several color options to its lineup last year. And Hewlett-Packard joined with MTV in a contest to find a design for an H-P notebook.

Apple, which has about the hottest consumer products out there these days, is sticking with plain old silver, black and white.

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CompUSA: Can you build your own computer?

This has got to be a geeks’ fantasy come true.

On Saturday, at its new Palm Beach Gardens store at 3942 Northlake Blvd., CompUSA challenges all comers in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast to put together a computer in the fastest time. There are spots for 10 people every hour to compete.

The winner from each heat will be invited back on Sunday for the final competition. The winner takes home a 32-inch Toshiba LCD TV.

The store will provide a cheat sheet of sorts. But we all know there are guys out there that do this as a side business to their day job. Already 100 people have signed up in advance.

My questions is: What’s the store going to do with all those newly assembled PCs?

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AT&T rolls out its Mobile TV in parts of Florida

AT&T Mobility is rolling out its Mobile TV service on Sunday for the first time in Florida.

Unfortunately, it won’t be in South Florida. Rather, the company is launching in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Gainesville/Ocala. But it can’t be too far off that we’ll see it here.

The service offers 24-hour access to television programming from CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, CNN and PIX, a Sony Pictures TV unit that offers films from the studio’s library.

The cost starts at $13 a month for a basic version. Its “Plus” version includes unlimited mobile TV programming and unlimited mobile Web browsing.

Has anybody heard anything about the quality of the picture? AT&T introduced a couple of new phones, the LG Vu and Samsung’s Access, that ares supposed to give a clearer picture because of their large screens.

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Dell releases its latest top-end gaming machine

Dell’s latest desktop wasn’t inspired by its environmental group. It didn’t come from the folks peddling those pretty pink laptops.

The new XPS 730 comes from that caffeine-amped, Crysis-addicted crew hanging out on the fringes of Dell’s leading edge, and it goes on sale today.

Dell XPS 730

To update its premier performance desktop, Dell added more computing- and graphics-processing power. The XPS 730 will support over-clocked and quad-core processors, and will carry and/or support some of the latest graphics engines. (For more specs, go here.)

The company also said it has tweaked its optional liquid-cooling system to pull more heat away from the new chipsets. It also retooled the cooling system’s pumps and fans to scale back when the PC is idling.

The air-cooled XPS 730 comes in silver and starts at $4,000. The liquid-cooled XPS 730 H2C comes in “victory red” or “stealth blue” and starts at $5,000. All models can be ordered with the X-shaped window into the guts of the PC.

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Shortage predicted for Intel Corp’s new chip, Atom

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Early demand looks strong for Intel Corp.’s Austin-designed low-power processor, code-named “Silverthorne.” Pictured right are three leaders of the Silverthorne design team.

Intel has branded the new chip “Atom,” and plenty of electronics companies are making plans to use it in new, smaller and low-power laptop computers and hand-held Internet-access devices.

Asustek of Taiwan, which already has made a hot-selling small notebook, says it expects a “severe shortage” of Atom chips this summer because so many personal computer makers have product plans involving the chip, according to a story in the Financial Times.

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