Mavizen' electric bike hits 130mph with Linux and WiFi

Mavizen, the manufacturing arm of the TTXGP (the Time Trials Xtreme Grand Prix -- a race for zero-emissions motorcycles) has just announced the TTX02 at this year's SEMA. A shining example of "EVs as consumer electronics" (the buzz-concept going 'round the electric vehicle scene) this guy is being billed not as a bike, but as a development platform --

shipping not only with a chassis and drivetrain, but with an open source Linux OS, web server, USB-based system bus, and WiFi connectivity. If you're looking to give the gang from Mission Motors a run for their money at the next TTXGP, hit the read link -- about $41,000 will get you in the game. Videos after the break.

Windows 7 sales 234% higher than Vista's first few days

Looks like Windows 7 is off to a much stronger start than Windows Vista, with the NPD Group claiming the first few days of sales saw a 234% increase over Vista's start. Part of that can be attributed to special deals and low-cost pre-sales -- total revenue was only 82% higher -- but it's hard to deny people are stoked for Windows 7.

Interestingly, the PC hardware growth was actually stronger for Vista than 7 (48% year over year compared to 68% year over year), but there are enough variables at play there to make sure Microsoft won't lose sleep over it. In fact, 7's biggest threat seems to be Microsoft's other products, since Windows 7 PC sales were up against 20% of PC sales being comprised of Vista and XP computers, compared to the 6% of non-Vista PCs sold during that launch.

engadget

Sony recalls 69,000 AC adapters due to shock hazard

Oh, Sony. You've been doing so well with not making things blow up lately. Even a seemingly minor fizzle turned out to be a false alarm. While it's not laptop batteries this time, it seems that Sony has run into a bit of trouble with some of the AC adapters used for its VAIO all-in-one desktops and docking stations.

Specifically, the insulation used in adapters for the company's VGC-LT and VGC-JS2 series desktops and VGP-PRBX1 and VGP-PRFE1 docking stations can apparently fail over time and pose an electrical shock hazard for users, although there have been no reports of injuries to date (and only four reports of any short circuiting). Still, it's probably a good idea to take Sony up on its offer for a free replacement. Hit up the link below for all the necessary details.

engadget

ASRock readying three Ion-powered nettops

The nettop might not be the most riveting piece of machinery out there, but ASRock's hoping to generate at least a small amount of buzz by outfitting its next trio with NVIDIA's Ion graphics technology. Reportedly, the Ion 330HT, Ion 330Pro and Ion 330HT-BD will all ship with a dual-core 1.6GHz Atom 330 processor, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 7.1 channel audio, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI / VGA outputs, six USB 2.0 sockets and a powered eSATA port.

The 330HT and 330HT-BD are both bundled with MCE remotes, while the latter also gets its DVD burner swapped out with a Blu-ray drive. There's no mention of a price or release just yet, but we're figuring that both of those points should be clarified shortly.

engadget

Ubuntu 9.10 'Karmic Koala' released

It's October 2009 which means something very special for Linux fans: a 9.10 release of Ubuntu. Today we see the launch of "Karmic Koala" featuring a faster graphical boot sequence (no more scary text scrolls), a revamped audio framework that improves sound control across multiple applications, and a new Software Center that visually simplifies the Add/Remove Applications tool.

These are just a few of the user-centric improvements meant to have a "transformative effect" on the OS experience and help bring "the world of open source closer to the user." It's available in desktop, server, and netbook editions now so get to it, before you know it you'll be updating to Lucid Lynx.

Engadget

MMS for iPhone 2G and tethering on OS 3.1.2

Let's be clear upfront that this isn't for the casual iPhone jailbreaker, but if you feeling like living on the edge, you can give your original model an added boost of MMS capability, or any device with OS 3.1.2 the power to tether. Highlighted in a series of tweets today by iPhone dev team lead MuscleNerd, whiterat (for MMS) and two-bit (for tethering) will get the job done, but both require tinkering with the baseband, which is exponentially more advanced and brick-inducing than, say, installing Cydia. Venture forth with the instructions beyond the read links below.

Engadget

AMD 's new Athlon II processors aim to go easy on the power

AMD has just outed a selection of new Athlon II procs, which do little to help it reclaim the performance crown, but will be of interest to anyone who likes to keep things minimal -- whether we're talking about prices or temperatures. Starting at $69 per chip (when bought in bulk) with the 2.7GHz dual-core X2 235e and topping out at $143 for the 2.3GHz quad-core X4 605e, AMD's new e-tagged processors operate within a 45W thermal envelope, as opposed to the relatively standard 65W TDP.

The Sunnyvale outfit makes some ill-advised claims of "up to 75 percent" better performance versus comparable Intel CPUs -- the small print tells us that number is derived from 3DMark Vantage while testing with different GPUs -- but we suppose until the Thuban six-core shows up, AMD will have to take performance gains from wherever it can get 'em, including its own imagination.

ATi Family's