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Digital City 82: New MacBook updates; plus RIP Ronnie James Dio

We join forces with Internet superstar Molly Wood to discuss some new MacBook updates (which were officially announced the day after we taped this broadcast). Other topics include the late, great Ronnie James Dio; the upcoming Evo uberphone; and we take a look at some more vintage laptops.

This week's video game giveaway is a copy of the cult favorite League of Legends for the PC; if you're lazy, you can fast-forward to the end of the show for details on how to get hooked up with that, or even drop by our Digital City Facebook fan page. … Read more

Archaeologists: Mayans were green builders

Archeologists and NASA scientists have "unearthed" a complete ancient Mayan city that employed a system of green urban architecture, the group announced Tuesday.

"The NASA technology aboard the Cessna saw beyond the rain forest and detected thousands of new structures, 11 new causeways, tens of thousands of agricultural terraces and many hidden caves--results beyond anyone's imagination," the group said in a statement.

The project was led by a husband and wife archaeological team from the University of Central Florida who have been in Belize manually excavating the ancient Mayan city of Caracol out from under … Read more

Digital City 81: Twitter hacks, iPad fatigue, and Wall Street's rogue trading robots

This week, we look at the recent stock market mini-plunge and figure out if fat fingers or rogue trading robots were to blame. Then, a bizarre Twitter backdoor hack briefly let anyone add celebrity followers to his or her account; and Dan and Scott debate "iPad Fatigue," which we define as a lack of new killer apps.

On the hardware side, we look back at HP's very first laptop, a $3,000 beast from 1984, and also look ahead at Sony's revamped Vaio P high-end quasi-Netbook.

This week's video game giveaway is a copy of … Read more

Digital City 80: Turning a WiFi iPad into an iPad 3G; the death of HP's Win 7 slate

This week we start by discussing the big car bomb scare in Times Square, and how our purportedly high-tech surveillance-heavy society isn't as high-tech as TV shows like 24 would have us believe.

There's still no confirmation, but after the HP/Palm deal was announced, the first thing we heard was the Win7 version of HP's upcoming tablet is on thin ice -- we examine the clues.

The iPad 3G is the other big story of the week. Dan and Scott checked out a couple of launch events last Friday, and we'll also show you how … Read more

Digital City 79: Metrocard/MTA secrets; plus, we test the new 13-inch MacBook Pro

This week, we take a look at high-tech goings-on at the MTA (the agency that runs NYC's subways and buses), including an explanation about how those Metrocard readers work (or don't work. as the case may be) and why the agency is suddenly opening its data feeds to app makers.

We've also got a couple of new laptops to dish about, including the latest versions of Intel's Netbook-like Classmate PC and the eagerly awaited 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to weigh in on a controversial California law restricting the sale … Read more

Digital City 78: Cable co's team up for NYC Wi-Fi; iPhone 4G leaks; and the new MacBook Pros

This week, we check out a new plan from cable providers Comcast, Time Warner, and Cablevision to offer reciprocal Wi-Fi hot-spot access in the NYC area--seems good on paper, but none of us have ever stumbled across a cable company hot spot.

The really big news is the purportedly leaked iPhone 4G, thanks to a prototype allegedly left in a bar. If you don't want to wait for that, it seems that Palm and Verizon are giving away Palm Pre phones for a hard-to-resist single penny. We follow this up with a quick look at the pros and cons (… Read more

Digital City 77: Google and Dell tablets; real-life gaming; and we read some hate mail

This week, we check out some iPad competitors coming from Google and Dell (among others), and take the room's collective temperature on the upcoming iPhone 4 OS.

Secondly, if you're looking to bring those video game skills into "real life," there's an upcoming round of Street Wars coming to NYC. London, SF, and other cities are also on the list, and the game itself is a grownup version of the college dorm classic "Assassination."

Finally, we look at a couple of recent CNET articles that have readers all riled up, and willing to … Read more

Digital City 76: Which 50 percent of the show are now iPad owners? (podcast)

This week, we find out which of our co-hosts went out and got iPads; believe it or not, it's 50 percent of the team. And it may be a bit early for such talk, but we're already looking at a few potential iPad killers.

And, just to give you a break from all this Apple action, we're hosting a special giveaway this week, a chance to win a very cool video game collectible: a life-size replica prop gun from the Sega action game Bayonetta.

Watch the show to see it up close, and for instructions on how … Read more

Digital City 75: iPad launch memos and the Alienware M11x gaming Netbook (podcast)

On this week's show, we dive into the top-secret Best Buy handbook for the Apple iPad launch; take a closer look at Alienware's 11-inch M11x gaming laptop; and see if David Mamet's rules for TV drama apply to video games such as Just Cause 2 and God of War III.

Speaking of everyone's favorite video game of the moment, we're giving away a copy of God of War III this week, so watch/listen for info on how to enter. Here's a hint, it involves our Facebook Fan Page.

Related links: >> Best Buy retail stores get iPads &… Read more

GM floats autonomous two-seater city car idea

General Motors on Wednesday unveiled its Electric Networked-Vehicle (EN-V), a two-seater urban transport concept vehicle it's developing in conjunction with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC).

The EN-V is not intended for highway driving, but for what GM refers to as "personal urban transport," an idea already taken up by several companies and academic research groups. Many feel there's a need for "last mile" transport or gap transport, a means of transportation that covers the area between where public transport drops off and an exact final destination.

Walking is already the obvious solution in many cases. But in severe weather, when touting packages, or in cities lacking extensive public transport reach, people still tend to take a car over public transport. Providing another option could be the key to getting people to leave those cars outside the city.

The EN-V aims to offer a solution to city traffic congestion, parking, poor air quality, and affordability, according to GM. Using the same platform, the car could come in three distinct looks: the Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic), and Xiao (Laugh).

The EN-V, which looks like a cross between a Smart Car and MIT's City Car, is actually a descendant of the Project PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility) that GM unveiled in April 2009. The PUMA is a two-wheel car built with Segway technology.… Read more