Gearfuse

The Wiimote is much more of a versatile tool than I think even Microsoft could have imagined. People have hacked the Wiimote to create some zany and awesomely practical mods. But I think “lawnmower control” is a new one.

The Casmobot Lawnmower is navigated using nothing but a hacked Wiimote and the crafty engineering by several scientists at the University of Southern Denmark. The mower syncs with the Wiimote via Bluetooth, allowing the user to control the cutting edge, the direction of the mower and even allows you to set a autopilot mode, in which the mower only mows within a designated area.

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After almost a year in development, Microsoft today releases their freeware Microsoft Security Essentials, a free anti-malware product replacing the hot mess that is Windows Live OneCare.

All I can say is it’s about time that Microsoft, the creator of the BSOD, had a free anti-malware alternative. Kudos to Crazy Uncle Ballmer for getting the ball rolling, but really this should have been done years ago.

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Why search for your own employees when there’s a world of other people’s work staring you right in the face. Microsoft isn’t only stealing Apple’s retail business model. Word on the street is that they’ve been lurking around Apple stores for employees.

Microsoft has been hunting down Apple retail store managers, promising higher salaries and paid moving expenses. But managers might not have to move too far if previous reports are true. Apparently the Microsoft stores won’t be too far away from current Apple stores. But, the big question is, will they sell toilets?

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While sifting through images of iFixIt’s teardown of the Zune HD we noticed something quite peculiar. Inside of the casing was a dedication, an inscription reading “For our princess.”

As far as we can tell, this inscription is a dedication to a member of the Zune team who passed away during the production of the device. In return, Microsoft made sure a proper dedication was in order. Anybody know the complete story? Let us know in the comments!

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According to a hapless Microsoft employee, Microsoft overlord Steve Ballmer sorta kinda flipped out when he saw one of his own employees trying to snap a picture of him using an iPhone.

The story goes that Ballmer was making his entrance at a Mircosoft meeting held at Seattle’s Safeco Field. The employee attempted to snap a quick photo of the CEO, but before he could Ballmer had grabbed the phone from the employee and was threatening to smash the phone to pieces, much to the amusement of the crowd. Ballmer SMASH! The photo above is apparently a photo that was snapped from the iPhone as Ballmer brandished it above his head.

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Finally, an achievement anybody can earn, without even playing a game.

The Xbox 360 Achievement: Red Ring of Death t-shirt rings a little too close to home for us Xbox gamers. Microsoft might consider adding an achievement, at least something good could come out of something altogether sucky. And that’s how my console became airborne.

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What up south paws? Gaming controllers got you down? Lack the coordination in your right hand to successfully tap out the X Y B A buttons? Who decided to call it the “right” hand anyway. We say, it’s the WRONG hand. UNH! In yo face!

Master modder Ben Heck busted out this awesome swapped Xbox 360 controller, a controller made for people who have a difficult time dealing with the default set-up. The controller also includes an added X Y B A set of buttons on its rear.

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While the Xbox 360 still has a few years left before you can dump it in the gutter with Grandma’s ashes, you know that Microsoft is already working on the design of the Xbox 720, which is likely to include the motion-detecting Project Natal, I might add.

So… what could the Xbox 720 possibly look like? While this concept is a little clunkier and football-alicious than I imagine the final product will be (not to mention I don’t see an area for the Natal component) it’s still fun to play around with the idea of the 720’s design.

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Just because your mom used to collect all of those kitschy magnets on the family fridge doesn’t mean all magnets should be burned in a fiery pit. In fact, these Xbox 360 controller magnets could find themselves holding an honorable spot on my fridge.

Each set is $20, so it’ll hardly make a huge dent in your pocket. But it might offer a considerable boost to your dating life. Geeky chicks love this kind of crap.

Link [via] (Thanks Dan!)

This is a potential game-changer. In a real stunner, Microsoft and Yahoo! have announced an agreement which will attach Microsoft search engine Bing will now power Yahoo! In return, Microsoft will receive advertising and sales power from Yahoo! in their Bing and Yahoo! search results. The agreement will last at least 10 years.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the agreement will provide “the scale necessary to more effectively compete, attracting more users and advertisers, which in turn will lead to more relevant ads and search results.” Can this agreement take down the Google machine? Probably not, but it can surely cause a dent in their revenue. Hit the jump for the BNO press release.

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