Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

While we’re already fairly well acquainted with most of the Rock Band kit, the much-need Xbox 360 USB hub has so far been kept under wraps, leaving the amount of clutter soon to be occupying many a living room entirely up to the imagination. The folks at 1Up have now changed that situation, however, posting a slew of pictures of what they say is the finalized four-port USB hub. As you can see above, it’s a powered-hub, meaning you’ll have yet another cable snaking its way to your power outlet and, for those curious, it’s apparently made by a company called ViPowER. If that shot above isn’t enough to whet your appetite, you can find plenty more by hitting up the read link below.

[Via Joystiq]

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

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The BodyBugg armband is actually a calorie counter that utilizes bio-feedback sensors in order to provide a continuous running total of calories burned. It will be able to hold a maximum of a dozen days’ worth of data, so make sure you download all of that to a computer via USB before it overwrites older data. The BodyBugg is powered by a single AAA battery and has an optional wristwatch type display unit, retailing for $399 ($479.95 with the display). Would be nice to see the BodyBugg rely on kinetic energy to power it like Seiko watches instead of a battery, forcing the user to burn even more calories in the process.

Permalink | Comment | Uberbargain | Uberphones

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Since Ruby is a pure Object-Oriented Language, exceptions play a big role in the flow of control. Previously, you had the choice of rescuing exceptions at a local level or you could override the rescue_action method in your controller.

The former method gave you really fine-grained control of what to do in the case of an exception:

begin
    user.save!
rescue ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid
    render :action => 'new'
end

In this case, if the ActiveRecord::RecordInvalid exception is raised (the save! method will raise this if validation fails) Rails will render the ‘new’ action. It became clear, though that adding begin/rescues around the same methods is pretty time consuming and not very DRY - which is where the rescue_action became helpful:

def rescue_action(exception)
  if exception == ActionView::TemplateError
    render :template => 'errors/404'
  else
    super
  end
end

This (rather contrived) example will trap any ActionView::TemplateError and render the 404.erb file in the /app/views/errors directory. You are able to drop that method into any controller (including app_controller), but again, there is a lot of work involved in setting them up, making sure each controller performs the correct action for a given exception, which is why Rails 2.0 introduces rescue_from.

rescue_from is an attribute of each controller, and allows you to define a method to run when a particular exception is called. So the above example would become:

rescue_from ActionView::TemplateError, :with => :render_404

def render_404(exception)
   render :template => 'errors/404'
end

or if you prefer to use a inline block:

rescue_from ActionView::TemplateError do { render :template => 'errors/404' }

In the current PR release, the rescue_from technique can only catch exceptions of an exact type, so it wouldn’t catch sub-classed exceptions - if you had a custom exception called MyTemplateError that extends ActionView::TemplateError the above code won’t work. The good news is a patch to edge rails fixes this issue, so the release version of Rails 2.0 will work as expected.

This article provided by sitepoint.com.

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Filed under: Action, Drama, Thrillers, Casting, Deals, Sony, Newsstand

Since his Academy Award-nominated turn as a racist cop in Crash, the ever-reliable Matt Dillon has starred as Charles Bukowski’s alter-ego in the drama Factotum and played a hapless husband in the disappointing You, Me and Dupree. He also appeared recently in supporting roles in Kevin Bacon’s drama Loverboy and opposite Lindsay Lohan in the family comedy Herbie: Fully Loaded. That selection of parts has been typical throughout Dillon’s career, as he’s moved easily between the independent and studio worlds and is equally at home in both comedies and dramas.

Now The Hollywood Reporter says that he’s in final negotiations for two more roles, both crime-related. Dillon will play a detective who intercepts the plans of a group of bank robbers in Bone Deep. The article doesn’t say whether Dillon is working for the police or on his own, only that the robbers are trying to pull off a $20 million heist. John Luessenhop is set to direct; he previously made the prison drama Lockdown. I’m hoping Bone Deep will give Dillon a chance to play a sleazy detective, possibly related to his sleazy high school teacher in Wild Things. Few people combine sleaze and charm like Dillon.

Armored features another gang of thieves, this time “armored car guards who plan to empty their truck of $10 million,” according to THR. Hmm, does that mean they’re more modest than the thieves in Bone Deep? Will the two gangs run into each other while they’re trying to get away? No word on what part Dillon would play, but Columbus Short, who just turned down The Green Lantern, will co-star. Nimród Antal (the excellent Kontroll and the surprising Vacancy) will direct. Before those films come out, we can anticipate Dillon in Old Dogs, Nothing But the Truth and Cadillac Records.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Another unimaginative PMP for you this weekend, which happens to vaguely rip-off the design of the RAZR2. Nope, this doesn’t have a phone stuck inside: it’s simply a regular little PMP that features a 2-inch screen and controls that mimic the look of Motorola’s flagship. It also has an FM tuner, a speaker — hey, at least you could pretend that this is a speakerphone — and e-Book and gaming “functionality.” Don’t expect to see this in your local Wal-Mart anytime soon.

[Via PMP Today]

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

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Congratulations, halcyonTwilight! A winner is you! You get a copy of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions and a black mage chocobo plushie. Check out some of our big reviews and interviews from the previous week, and stay tuned. You’re going to get first official details on PS3 firmware 2.00 later this week. Finally, because we love you, we put the rest of the news after the break. Happy, now?

Features

• Jon Mak and the Inspirations of Everyday Shooter
  A list of the music that inspired the PSN game.
• PSP Fanboy interview: Alien Versus Predator
  Details on the upcoming PSP-exclusive shooter.
• PlayStation Fancast 12.5: Phone Call Edition

Downloads

• PS Fanboy Wallpapers: Volume 9
  Devil May Cry 4 wallpapers. For download on PS3 and PSP.
• Huge collection of new Gran Turismo 5 Prologue images
  37 new images from the upcoming racer.

Reviews

• Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)
  “With the best port of Symphony of the Night to date, it’s hard to pass this one up.”
• Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
  “Consider it the best reason to own a PS3 yet.”
• SOCOM: Tactical Strike (PSP)
  “One of the most compelling games of the year.”
• Wipeout (PS1)
  “There’s very little reason to pick up Wipeout from the PS Store.”

PS3 Headlines

• Would you get dragged to protect a PS3?
  GameSpot employee versus robber: on video.
• Bravo UK gets Uncharted special
  At least it’s not on SpikeTV?
• Resistance patches some old wounds, so to speak
  New patch adds rumble, in-game screenshots.
• PSN game Dark Mist revealed
  From the creators of Folklore.
• Sony considers selling 50% of animation division
  The Japanese company seeking to recoup losses.
• Gran Turismo creators make actual car interior
  See their work on the Nissan GT-R.
• Licensing indeed at fault for SingStar delay
  Don’t expect to karaoke any time soon.
• Uncharted ARG begins today
  Get involved before the game’s release.
• PlayStation customer care gets two awards
  At least Sony’s winning something.
• NY Times sings praises for Ratchet & Clank
  Mainstream media makes Insomniac’s latest their darling.
• PS3 Remote Start confirmed for firmware 2.00
  You can turn on your PS3 from anywhere in the world with your PSP. It’s very necessary.
• Capcom apologizes for Monster Hunter platform switch
  At least the Wii version will look as good as Monster Hunter PSP. Maybe.
• Blasto returns … in trademark form
  Don’t get excited. Phil Hartman is still dead.
• Reggie Fils-Aime thinks LittleBigPlanet is on the wrong console.
  Maybe it should be on Xbox 360?

PSP Headlines

• New York Giants star to promote PSP in new campaign
  And the “Annoying Guy” returns. Seriously, that’s his name.
• Europe gets Final Fantasy remakes in 2008
  It’s what the industry calls “throwing a bone.”
• Star Ocean limited edition PSP revealed
  Square Enix fans, get some more money to burn.
• Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G due in March
  Sony’s last Monster Hunter game EVAR?

PS3 Videos

• Best in Show at GT Awards gets immortalized in Gran Turismo
  The winning car gets to be in the next Gran Turismo game.
• Lost Planet on PS3 — sometimes no change is good
  Capcom’s PS3 surprise is so familiar.
• See the promise of PS Eye software
  The camera gets used in a variety of innovative ways.
• It’s a wonderful world: the Ratchet & Clank ad
  A good PS3 ad? Really?!
• Uncharted’s Halloween trailer features no pumpkins, only awesomeness
  Headline says it all.
• Ever wonder what a cheap PS3 knock-off looks like?
  We wonder what a cheap PS3 would look like.

PSP Videos

• New Metal Gear Solid videos look not-so-new
  But I guess it does feature Old Snake …
• Star Wars: Force Unleashed to feature exclusive levels on PSP
  Console owners will be jealous.

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The Diwali Function was held at the Andheri sports complex and the event proved to be a great event because most of the stars of Bollywood were present there. Even though stars like Priyanka Chopra, Esha Doel, Shahrukh Khan, Urmila Matondkar, Meghna Naidu, Nisha Kothari, Saif Ali Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Raza Murad, the latest sensational […]

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The impact of Halo 3’s September 25th launch has been reverberating for a month strong now, and besides record sales and sore thumbs, the game has also produced countless forum posts, blog entries, and other content from the online faithful. Our personal favorite is the Halo-3-inspired video, and there are plenty of robust genres available - we love a good pwnage (definition) or grenade toss clip, but we’re especially partial to those that make Master Chief (the game’s main character) dance. And sing. And generally become much more hilarious, despite certain incompatibilities (um, see above).

So here are our picks for the best pop music spoofs of Halo 3 thus far, complete with music video evidence.

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Photo by James Bowskill

A phone that seems to come out of L’Odeur de la papaye verte (Cyclo).

Photo by Patrick Gries

This one is more for a need that I witness around me! Adjustable isolation space by Robert Stadler.

Apparently one can notice a need for blocking out all peripheral sensory distraction while talking on the phone, hence the Auger-Loizeau’s Isophone.

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Filed under: Business, Beef, Stores & Shopping, Health & Medical

Cargill isn’t having a good fall. A month after recalling 840,000 pounds of beef because of E. coli contamination, the company is again recalling beef. This time it’s one million pounds of beef distributed to Stop & Shop, Giant, Weis, and Wegman supermarkets. The states involved include Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia.

Here is the info for this particular recall. If you have any questions, consumers are urged to call Cargill at 877-455-1034.

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