Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities, a US analyst has reveled suspicions that units currently being sold in America were “diverted supply from other areas (perhaps Japan)”. He claims this since “Wii sales remain strong, with an apparent increase in supply during the quarter. This increase is inconsistent with reports that Nintendo has had difficulty in increasing its manufacturing capacity”. For those not paying much attention the analyst believes that manufacturing resources are being transferred from other markets to the US market since the Wii is selling strongly and such a supply of units was not originally planned by Nintendo. You can either break out laughing at the obviousness of such a statement and begin planning your new, easy, high-paying job; or, you might just be impressed by how easily he could have overlooked such a thing.

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Unlike iPods the Zune peridodically shows up a prices that don’t seem to make any sense, while the last time was a simple (and now corrected) mistake you can now pick up a Zune from a ligitamte company for a mere $149.99 and $5.00 in shiping from w00t. If your intrsted act quickly as w00t sells products for a mere 24 hours at a time. At $150 this bargin is just that, a bargin. Perfect for picking up a great music player for yourself, but don’t plan on letting this off on eBay with the rush of other w00t custumers doing the same.

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All-in-one machines are both a blessing and a curse. On the bright side they other come with fancy features such as LCD screens, card-readers, and advanced software making it possibly to copy documents quickly. On the other hand these devices never do everything well so you have to pick from a good printer, or a good scanner. For those that didn’t fall into the trap that is all-in-one machines or have separate printers and scanners can now use iCopy to replicate the easy of coping on those machines. This Windows only software is free, requires .NET 2.0 or above (also free), a TWAIN-compatible scanner, and a printer. After installing the software you just need to select your scanner, printer, and settings. After that you can press the large blue button to make one-click copies.

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Water desalination is not nearly as easy as you would hope being that 97-99% of the water on earth is salt water and the majority of the fresh water is currently frozen in glaciers. The Watercone is a personal desalination device that can produce 1-1.7 liters of fresh water per day by turning salt water into fresh water using solar energy. The two part device uses the sun to evaporate water and then condense it into a separate second for fresh water. A major improvement over current filter methods; however, the presumed stability required will make this useless for those stuck in life-rafts as compared to deserted islands and deserts.

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Known for performance and quality ASUS already comes at a bit of premium price; but, to take it to the next step ASUS released design concept wooden laptops during early July. The first model merely features a wooden case without additional features. If you’re looking for something a bit more practical to go along with your wooden aesthetics pick up model two with a small soundstage sure to impress your friends regardless of your non-existent musical talent. Finally, if you want something more then nothing but less then useful you can pick up model three which includes an expanded keyboard area perfect for your extra CD or morning tea. No, the laptop is not be released as waterproof.

Read: Model One, Model Two, Model Three [Via]

Previously thought to be an unimportant “hole” the damage to the heat tiles on the Endeavour’s underside is now being classified as a divot measuring 3 inches x 2 inches x 1 inch deep. Considering the tiles themselves are 6 inches x 6 inches x 1.12 inches deep this hone may be a major companies to the shuttles integrity against the temperatures of reentry. On the other hand NASA has officially stated that the heat-resistant felt and aluminum frame of the shuttle are undamaged. Finally, the hole is in an area which is less-sensitive compared to the Columbia disaster. NASA managers have decided to add three days to the shuttle mission. In order to prevent excessive use of the fuel cells the shuttle will continue to draw power from ISS solar panels while docked.

Current evidence suggests that the shuttle could renter the atmosphere without repair to the divot; however with Colombia still in mind a spacewalk to repair the damage appears more likely. NASA has developed three methods of repair including a heat-resistant paint, heat-resistant putty which can be caulked in, and finally a plane which can be bolted over the damage.

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Fighting forest fires is both expensive and dangerous; as such German researchers have created the OLE pill bug. Designed to fight forest fires this robot is projected to scuttle at 6-12MPH on the forest floor using IR detectors as well as “biosensors” to stumble on fires. If there is a problem while fighting the fire the robot is designed to curl up and be protected from temperatures up to 1,300 degrees Celsius thanks to its ceramic-fibre compound shell. Once a fire is found the bugs fight it with an “impulse appliance”. To protect an area of 2,700 square miles approximately 27 units would be required.

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While you cannot currently order a RAZR 2 on any carrier most major networks have announced support for the RAZR 2 for its future launch. Major carriers include Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T. All three claim that you will be able to get the phone within the next few weeks. Sprint will be the first to offer the phone on August 22nd, while Verizon and AT&T will be launching the phone in September. With upgrades such as EV-DO, refreshed styling, and a large external display with touch controls put the RAZR 2 back into the luxury end of the market that the RAZR was originally released under. Pick up the phone for $300 with a $50 rebate on Verizon, or $250 on Sprint with a 2 year contract. It will cost you $300 to pick up the RAZR 2 on contract for AT&T. All of this begs the question, will  the RAZR 2 also become the cheap phone everyone wants on every carrier, or will this version holy steady in the small, but profitable, luxury market?

Read – AT&T’s press release
Read – Sprint’s press release
Read – Verizon’s press release

Toyotas recent road tests of its plug-in hybrid was inspiring to many as it provided a glimpse as to the future of automotive transportation, yet the future may not be as close as thought as Toyota has delayed the launch of its vehicles from 2008 until 2011 to deal with safety concerns from the lithium-ion battery that stores its power. On a related note GM has signed with A123 Systems in order to produce flat lithium-ion batteries for their soon to be plug-in electric vehicles (see: Chevy Volt). When asked if Toyotas delay would provide GM first entry into the market Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said, “I think that our No. 1 competitor has some problems with their technology, and I do think that it very definitely opens a window of opportunity for us to be first to market with a genuine plug-in hybrid”. Leaving the only remaining question being: Exactly how much earlier can GM get an electric car on the raod? Three weeks, or three years?

Read - GM signs with A123 Systems
Read - Toyota delays Plug-In Prius for 3 years
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The Air Force is finally accepting bids on its multi-billion dollars upgrade plan for its Global Positioning System. The satellite network currently used the world round for civilian use as well as for military use the United States and its allies. Lockheed Martin and Boeing are the largest companies submitting offers for the lucrative contract. The winner will be responsible for the construction of eight new satellites for the GPS III. The satellites will be required before 2013 when they are projected to be launched. The Air Force has also opened bidding on news ground-based GPS system also known as GPS OCX which uses current satellites for all its operations, the GPS OCX contract is valued at $160 million dollars in development contracts. Aerospace companies have been quick to support the new method of bidding directly for the government rather than the previous method of going through sub-contractors. This change presumably will make the bidding system fast and more open while removing the price inflection caused by the sub-contractor as the middle-man.

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