phantom

Microsoft said it's investigating a Windows Phone 7 software behavior that has the phone slurping up cellular data, even when the phone is connected to Wi-Fi.

The cause of this data use is not yet known, but the BBC points to a handful of reports that say it's a built-in feedback tool that's essentially phoning home.

If true, this type of behavior would not be out of place compared to other smartphone operating systems. In fact, Apple's iPhone came under similar scrutiny last year, with some users reporting large chunks of data getting sent in the … Read more

The Phantom Ray UAV got some air time today, with a little help from a jumbo jet.

Boeing's futuristic unmanned aerial vehicle took a 50-minute flight today riding piggyback on a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified 747 designed to ferry space shuttles from one terrestrial site to another. The aerospace giant had said earlier in the year that the Phantom Ray was on track to make its first flight, but this may not be exactly what it had in mind.

The first flight of the Phantom Ray, which is designed to fly autonomously, is now scheduled for "… Read more

Big thanks to Sony for sending us to last night's prescreening of "The Social Network". Of course, all three of us loved the film, and without giving away any spoilers, we spend some time at the beginning of today's episode of The 404 Podcast to discuss everything we loved (Sorkin's screenplay, Reznor/Ross's score, actor performances, etc...) as well as our suspicions about the truthfulness of the story, but with a 100 percent freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, you should definitely see for yourself!

It seems that at least one story on The 404 per week is dedicated to the movie "Hackers," and this week we're celebrating the 15th anniversary of the movie's 1995 release by running through Alexander Sotirov's Cyberpunk Style Guide.

The photoblog showcases some of the movie's best wardrobe choices, which includes a lot of multipocketed vests, latex leggings, rollerblades, and at least one cat shirt. Of course, Jeff's favorite scene featuring Angelina Jolie in a NJ Devil's jersey is always represented on the site as well.

It's hard to believe, but George Lucas and his visual effects teams at LucasFilms and ILM are actually re-re-releasing the six "Star Wars" films in 3D, starting with "The Phantom Menace" in 2012. After that, Lucas will release one "Star Wars" film per year in 3D, and Lucas says by 2012, enough theaters around the country will have the 3D technology to support a wide release.

Sounds like a plot to squeeze a billion or so more dollars out of the series, and while many fans were irate about the changes and additions to the beloved classics, apparently the 3D releases will also include even more never-before-seen footage. For die-hard fans who can't wait, the Star Wars films will also be available in high definition on 2D Blu-ray next year.

Boeing has won an $89 million government contract to build and fly an unmanned solar-powered plane that can--eventually--stay aloft continuously for up to five years. Yes, that's five years.

The defense contractor will develop the SolarEagle aircraft for the Vulture II program run by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as DARPA. Scheduled to get off the ground for its first demo flight in 2014, the plane will likely serve as an electronic sensor and military communications platform. But it could eventually turn into a less expensive alternative to communications and reconnaissance satellites.

"SolarEagle … Read more

Boeing on Monday unveiled a potential new eye in the sky, this one powered by hydrogen fuel.

The Phantom Eye, an unmanned aerial vehicle from the company's Phantom Works division, is expected to make its first flight early next year. Boeing is pitching the demonstrator UAV as a "first of its kind" aircraft that "could open up a whole new market in collecting data and communications."

A decade into the 21st century, surveillance drones are nothing new considering the now long-running successes of aircraft such as the Predator and the Global Hawk. What sets the … Read more

Personal computers have become mini entertainment centers, useful for listening to CDs, watching DVDs, playing games, and much more. Optical drives can get worn out with a lot of use, though, and CDs and DVDs are subject to wear and tear as well. A disc image is exactly what it sounds like: a virtual copy of a disc's contents that's stored on the computer, eliminating the need for physical media and the use of the optical drive. The average media player, however, can't handle disc images, and that's where Phantom CD comes in.

First, a word … Read more

Boeing will put its Phantom Ray flying wing into the air before the end of the year.

The aerospace giant says that the unmanned aerial vehicle, unveiled at Boeing's St. Louis facility on Monday, is on track to make its first flight in December. The Phantom Ray will be a testbed for unspecified "advanced technologies," and in a press release Monday, Boeing rattled off an array of potential missions for the aircraft, from the now standard UAV tasks of recon and surveillance to aerial refueling, electronic attack, and the menacingly vague "strike." (A separate Boeing feature … Read more

While plenty of people are still readily awaiting a sequel to Mario Kart DS or New Super Mario Bros., it didn't take Nintendo much time at all to shoot off a follow-up to its 2007 Nintendo DS Zelda adventure, The Phantom Hourglass.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, set 100 years after Phantom Hourglass and set in a very similar cell-shaded cartoonish universe, at first looks like it might be a pale shadow of the first touch-screen DS game, swapping out train travel for long boat voyages. We were a little surprised and skeptical when the game was first announced, especially since train travel sounds a lot more passive than sailing. After riding around with Link for a weekend, did our opinion change?

Scott: I admit, I was originally dubious about Zelda: Spirit Tracks' ability to be as good as its predecessor, Phantom Hourglass. However, to my pleasant surprise, Spirit Tracks is not only a true sequel to Phantom Hourglass, it's also equally good. In fact, in some ways it's even better.

To address first: the trains in this game are set on tracks that traverse a series of small towns and other locations, and pulling up at destinations is essentially the same as docking your boat in Phantom Hourglass. Actually, the train controls are a bit simpler to operate on the go. The rest of the game, including its focus on a central mega-dungeon that unlocks secrets throughout, is very reminiscent of the first DS Zelda. That's not so bad, though--we'd take more of Phantom Hourglass and less of many other crappy DS games any day of the week.

The storyline, which features evil trains, floating towers, and a floating Zelda spirit that helps haunt statues to do your bidding in co-op puzzle solving, is both bizarre and clever, and is closest to the N64 cult classic Majora's Mask in terms of how it feels thematically. Nintendo's greatest achievement is how it adopts charming dialogue and characters to sell us this absurd tale and not have it feel stale or stilted--it's what makes the Zelda games more approachable to a newcomer than some of Square Enix's numerous RPGs.

After a few hours of play, the train riding aspect fades into the background, and Spirit Tracks is about the things all Zelda games are about: finding small towns, unlocking side quests, getting weapons, conquering dungeon puzzles. It's as classic as any Zelda game before it.… Read more

Roughly a week ago, the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show wrapped up an exciting ten or so days of new cars being paraded around for industry insiders. A few days ago I presented a video clip in this blog documenting what Edmunds.com believed to be highlights of the Frankfurt festivities. One of the new cars coming out that caught my attention was the 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost. So I spent this evening doing some digging around on what this latest Rolls-Royce production model was all about, and this video is the best synopsis of this classy ride.

This video produced by … Read more