Gearfuse

The entire tech world is a flutter with news that Steve Jobs has returned to Apple. As promised, Jobs said he would be back in June and rumor has it that he’s not back 100%, but rather, is helping interim CEO Tim Cook out and telecommuting through email according to a USA Today report. This is fantastic news not just for Apple fans, but for stockholders as well. It ensures their prized asset is still doing just fine and can continue to create products that are a smash hit. Because let’s face it, without Steve Jobs, Apple is only half the man it used to be.

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The other week, IBM was going to buy Sun and the world seemed to be in equilibrium. But that deal fell through and Sun was left standing in the middle of the street with its pants down. Lucky for J. Schwartz & Co., Larry Ellison’s Oracle Corporation decided to use flex its power and purchase Sun Microsystems for about $7.4 billion.

What does this mean? Aside from the consolidation effect this economy is having on a lot of companies, Oracle will now be positioned as one of the biggest tech companies to ever exist, especially by adding MySQL to its coffers after Sun acquired the company last year. Additionally, Oracle can now enter the hardware business (or get out of it) and bundle its software with servers and the like. A fine day as two tech giants collide.

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Black Friday is upon us and already the insane deals out there are making people act crazy. A worker at a Walmart in Long Island, NY was trampled to death after hundreds of people smashed through the entrance. A woman also miscarried after getting caught up in the ensuing rage. Says Walmart employee Jimmy Overby:

“He was bum-rushed by 200 people,” said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. “They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too…I literally had to fight people off my back.”

Jesus Christ. This is why I don’t do Black Friday and pony up the extra ten bucks for a video game.

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Get on over to Woot.com right now for awesome deals on awesome crap. The Woot Off will be going on all day, so make sure you keep checking their site for the good stuff.

Woot!

“Hi, I’m Vic Mackey from FX’s hit television show – The Shield. I’ve pawned off my traditional handbag in favor of something a little more…what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh, right, tech. I got this e-Volve Gadget Shoulder Holster because I was sick and tired of street gangs pocketing my iPhone. It’s got two pouches for easy access to my personal electronic gadgets, a zippered pouch to control loose items such as change, rubbers, and memory cards, a quick-release key chain holder and an elastic pen holder. The entire pouch is conveniently positioned underneath my arm. I don’t care how large your Peruvian drug ring is, you’re not taking my gadgets.

What’s that? You want my holster? Tough shit, get your own. They’re only $69.95. Good cop and bad cop have left for the day. I’m a different kind of cop. The tech kind of cop.”

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It’s the holiday season and you know what that means: toys! That’s why Toys ‘R’ Us is expanding its tech side by adding Apple iPods and Asus Eee PC netbooks to its inventory. The iPods will be sold within specially designed “iPod boutique” wall displays. iPod Shuffle,  Nano and Touch will all be available come next month, but for how long is anyone’s guess.

The netbooks will be available in Linux and Windows XP versions which are priced at $269 and $299, respectively. Has your kid been bugging you lately for a laptop computer? Netbooks are the affordable solution which provide all the basic necessities of computing without the superb specs. Even better, most kids will never know the difference.

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Even more architecture that resembles the “arcologies” of Sim City 2000 are sprouting up, this time in Singapore. Here, eco-minded architecture firm TR Hamzah & Yeang is designing this skyscraper it’s calling the EDITT (Ecological Design In The Tropics) Tower. This 26-story skyscraper will be constructed using various recycled and recyclable materials. Not only that, but the tower will include the most eco-friendly technologies ever to be incorporated into a high-rise building.

You name it, this thing’s got it. Besides the immense amount of solar panels that’ll generate 40% of the tower’s energy demands, this skyscraper will include an energy plant that will convert human sewage into biofuel, a rain water harvesting system and the ability to remove and add walls and floors just in case vegetation is growing out of hand. That’s every possible way to save our planet jam packed into one skyscraper. You’ll have to deal with a major case of bed bugs, but it’s a small price to pay for saving the planet.

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We’re digging this eco-friendly goodness from the folks at Windation Energy Systems. If you couldn’t guess by the name, they deal with organic means of producing wind energy. The developer of Windation’s latest wind turbine, Mark Sheikhrezai, was inspired by wind catchers used by the Persians to keep their interiors cool.

The concept is simple: wind blows into the top, then it’s directed downward where the wind turns a turbine that generates up to five kilowatts of electricity. That’s almost as good as saving the environment while working out, but even better because you can sit on your ass all day. We approve.

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Just a quick heads up that if you’re looking for a good deal today, Woot.com is having a Woot Off! Lots of awesome gadgets on the cheap!

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So, you want to work in the game industry. You want to live, breathe, think, screw and shit video games for the rest of your life. Unless you want to be a master of the custodial arts, game design is the last thing you’ll want to major in. As Frank Caron of Ars Technica points out, the game industry is a very brutal and competitive field. He offers some words of wisdom for those actively pursuing their dreams by suggesting more broad majors just so you have skills to fall back on in case the game industry’s doors were closed.

A few lucky souls may wind up producing art or doing programming for projects directly out of trade school, but for the vast majority, unemployment at the hands of a limited skill set will be the unfortunate reality.

Ouch. Thanks to Frank, if you want to get your foot in the door of the industry, you know what to do. Broaden your skills, whether it be computer graphics, programming or both. Last but not least, kiss as much ass as possible.  My advice? Become an indie developer.

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