I didn’t know this. Did you? Starbucks now has a total of 102 “campus units” — MINI STARBUCKS on American college and university campuses, mostly in libraries.

Original post by Mike

Filed under: Motorola, Sprint

We’ve yet to find an average joe (or jane) who just adores that two-year agreement they signed to receive a single subsidized device on day one, and while Sprint hasn’t been one to let folks off the hook early, it is trying a slightly different approach with Xohm. Reportedly, the carrier will be relying on “subscriptions,” which will enable customers to save more when paying for larger chunks of time, while not forcing them into anything long-term. On the same token, this also means that you’ll likely be paying full price for any hardware. Notably, the outfit’s CTO also made clear that Xohm “would not be backed by what the industry calls service-level agreements,” so don’t count on any kind of minimum bandwidth guarantee. As for pricing, the numbers are apparently still being worked, but it was suggested that the service would “probably be based on tiers.”

[Via TechDirt, image courtesy of BroadbandReports]

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Original post by Darren Murph

A new PC game shipping November 23 called BCFX (for Black College Football Xperience) is a lot like other 3D football games, except with HOTTER CHEERLEADERS AND COOLER MARCHING BANDS. The game tries to capture the unique experience of all-black college football games (using 40 of the 114 historically black colleges and universities in the U.S.). Like other games, you control extreme-action American football. But at halftime, you also control the band’s drum major in a high-energy “battle of the bands.” Here’s the best part: The half-time music is performed by real black-college bands.

Original post by Mike

The last thing you’d expect to be served at a place called the Linux Cafe would be “Windows Home Server Coffee.” But a Mars Magazine blogger says that Microsoft recently set up a table in the cafe to serve relabeled CANS OF COFFEE with Windows Home Server branding. This isn’t the first time they’ve done this. I told you in July, 2006, about Windows Vista soda. The Linux Cafe, by the way, is a real coffee shop in the Akihabara neighborhood of Tokyo established by a variety of people to promote Linux.

Original post by Mike

I told you Wednesday and Thursday that the people of Burma finally had a shot at fighting back against the socialist military dictatorship that rules the country, thanks to blogs, e-mail, camera phones, Google and YouTube — and how the government is trying to shut down these media. (WARNING: The following link opens a 15-megabyte PDF file.) Now a LEAKED REPORT embargoed until Wednesday, October 3, and written by the American Association for the Advancement of Science Science and Human Rights Program details satellite confirmation of numerous rumors about the elimination of entire villages by the Burmese military government.

Original post by Mike

Filed under: Peripherals, Others

Not even a week after startup WiPower boasted about its breakthrough in wireless power, Murata and Seiko Epson have announced plans to “jointly development a non-contact quick charging system.” Reportedly, the technology “leverages electromagnetic induction,” and both the charging stand and a given mobile device would be “respectively equipped with coils that generate power.” As for the production, it sounds like Seiko Epson will hone in on the “transmitting side, or primary side,” while Murata “will be involved in the production of the rechargeable Li-ion.” The overriding goal is to recharge a handset “in about 10 to 15 minutes in a non-contact manner,” which would purportedly push power transmission efficiency from current levels of 30- to 50-percent to nearly 70-percent. Oh, and we’ve already been assured that these “will not generate heat.”

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Rather than simply suing Apple, Steve Jobs or AT&T individually, Dongmei Li decided to throw all three under the bus. The suit, which was reportedly filed this week in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, accused the trio of “price discrimination, underselling, discrimination in rebates, deceptive actions and other wrongdoings for their role in the September 5th price drop on the iPhone.” As you’d expect, Li was one of the folks who waited hours on end to be one of the first iPhone owners, and apparently feels quite slighted by the slashing. Purportedly, the plaintiff is hoping to secure “compensatory damages in the amount of $1 million” in addition to other punitive damages, and if you’re up for a good laugh, hit the read link to browse through quite a few (more) comical gripes.

[Thanks, Mark]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Gaming

We’ve been waiting and waiting, and after months of speculation, a hardware revision, a couple limited editions, and even a new SKU, it looks like Microsoft is finally shipping “Falcon“-equipped Xbox 360s with 65nm CPUs. According to the eagle-eyed posters in the official Xbox forums, Halo edition 360s from lot #734 appear to be the first machines with the new chips, and the time-honored method of peeking inside the case with a flashlight should confirm you have the latest and greatest once you get your baby home. Check the read links for tons more info (and a fun little flamewar).

[Image from user JWSpeed in the Xbox forums]

Read — Original thread with pics of the new chipset
Read — What to look for to see if you’ve got a 65nm 360

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Original post by Nilay Patel