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Yeah, it's a gimmick, and really something that enthusiasts, or I should say, something that people with expendable incomes can enjoy. I say aim for a respectable card and you'll probably end up spending less and have acceptable to really good quality.

that's not always true, there are plenty of cases where a middle of the road crossfire/sli combo will perform the same or better than a top of the line single card (it's subjective because there are some things that each setup does better) and save you money at the same time. Usually the trade off to that is having to spend money on a more expensive motherboard with two pci-e 16x slots, but sitting on slickdeals.net long enough will often times yield pleasant results.

I'm sure it can't be any better/worse than when saab was going to go to Koenigsegg, i personally think it'll be sink or swim. Either Spyker will make Saab absolutely awesome, or it'll tank in the first year, i don't foresee any middle of the road success.

It is actually a Six cylinder, but I needed to know if the Fuel injector cleaning would damage the engine or if its actually needed.

I'm not sure about what type of injector system the Buick Regal has, but since the car has a supercharger the owners manual, and the sign under the gas cap says premium unleaded only.

sorry, i switched subjects on you, my first sentence was regarding your buick, the remainder was regarding the new Mustang 5.0L V8. It was long rumored to have direct injection as part of Ford's greener efforts (like the new Taurus V6 direct injected twin turbo), but i suppose it never made it. I'm under the impression it'll probably find it's way on the motor in the coming years as hard pressed CAFE standards are ramping up to be.

Oil change and fuel injector cleaning are two unrelated systems, and it will do plenty of good not harm, I'd rest easy for this maintenance. As far as the 5.0L V8 being Supercharged and having 11:1 compression, i'm not sure, but isn't this motor direct injected? If it is, then lower compression isn't necessary to run a blower (or a turbocharger), 10:1 is the new 8.5:1 in direct injected vehicles because of the cooling properties of the fuel on the cylinders during compression. Admittedly 11:1 seems a bit high even for a direct injected motor, but it might not be running very high boost to give it more low end.

That Audi comparison isn't even fair, of course the Audi is a better car in every possible way, but it also costs a small fortune compared to the HSV

The last-generation GTOs had always been imported from Australia.

but branded with Pontiac trim and emblems, i'm more akin to the Holden trim and emblems.

Are you going to turn it in to a GTO?

I here they Build a version of the Famouse car.

We have the GTO state side, but i'm more interested in turning it from a Pontiac into a Holden, the Holden body treatment (front bumper, side skirts, rear bumper) has (IMO) always looked better than the Pontiac doppelganger.

I think you could use the word awesome to describe the performance of the turbo Panamera, that thing is wicked fast I believe Car and Driver tested one and got acceleration times faster than the last 911 turbo they tested. That's fast period, four doors or not as for looks it's different. But honestly it looks way better in person, much lower and wider than you would expect plus in a dark color with nice wheels and a subtle body kit it does look pretty nice.

I think most people would find that super cars look much better in person, there are just some things that even the best photography can't do justice to. I saw a black R8 yesterday, and i've seen them before, but the owner was in front of it and he let me get up close and personal with it. That car is stunning, i've always admired it in a strange way, but also kind of thought it looked like a TT with more vents. After really getting a 360 walk around and being able to sit in it, that car is really worth the price tag. My friend (mechanic) noticed the same thing, it's easy to criticize a vehicle until you've experienced it on some kind of personal level. He used to think Ferrari's were viagra in a glossy red, but after being able to work on and drive a 355, his opinion has 180'd.

I think this one has some modding potential:

I bought one of those a couple of weeks before Christmas and still haven't opened it yet. I guess i should get around to doing that.

None of my cars are in that database, 00 Subaru Impreza Outback, 98 Audi A4, 02 Ford Explorer. If someone told me a G8 was half off i would run as fast as i could to buy it. Such an awesome car, i would probably get rid of the Pontiac specific body treatment and import over the Holden/Vauxhall parts with the money i saved.

also make sure your Local Area Connection is set to "obtain an ip address automatically" and to ensure your NIC is not malfunctioning, ping the loopback address. go to start->run, type cmd hit OK, in the command prompt type: ping 127.0.0.1 (if it says reply with four/four success, then your NIC is working). To ensure you're obtaining your ip and dns info automatically, go to Start->Control Panel->Network Connections (you may have to click "show classic view" in the upper left hand corner to reveal "Network Connections") then right click local area connection and hit properties. You'll see a scroll box that says "this connection uses the following options" with a bunch of check marks, scroll down to the bottom of that list and double click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), You should have the two radio buttons filled for "Obtain an IP Address automatically" and "Obtain DNS Server addresses automatically", if you don't, select then and hit OK for both open windows. Like Ghost Train suggested, ensure you have a working CAT5 cable. If you have the ability to web/telnet/ssh into the router/modem, then access it and check to see if DHCP is enabled on the external interfaces. Often times this is as simple as opening a browser and typing 192.168.1.1 in your browser's address bar then exploring your options in the router/modem. Also if you have another computer or networking device available to you, try to connect it to see if it receives an IP address and can route to the internet.

That's kind of what I'm not getting. Wouldn't the Pre or the Pixi be a better choice? Gorgeous OS on a limited number of devices on a single carrier. And if I'm not mistaken, Palm had an app store before Android.

For that matter, why the Droid specifically? Even if you accept the notion that Android is the de facto iPhone alternative, solid HTC hardware with their beautiful Sense UI like the Droid Eris or the Hero seem a lot more attractive than a brick from the same people who heaped piles of cheap RAZRs on us? Maybe that's why the Nexus One is getting so much buzz...

Maybe I don't get it because I don't hate the iPhone. I have zero interest in owning one, I'm not above pointing out its obvious flaws, but I can see why people like it.

The Droid Eris is a fantastic phone, my co-worker just got one and he loves it, i goofed with it a bit and it's Sense UI is pretty remarkable. It isn't without it's flaws though, some apps would crash the phone, and many menus that you would expect to be simple navigation are overtly complex, a lot of that fades once you get an idea of how the phone operates. I think a lot of the apps crashing the phone might be due to it having Android 1.5 instead of 2.1, which is expected to have an upgrade very shortly. I also got a long hands on with the Moto Droid and for a Motorola it's a huge step in the right direction, but the keyboard is absolutely useless and it weighs a ton, it feels like you're holding a brick in your hand. I looked up the specs and it doesn't weigh that much over most other smart phones but i guess the weight is balanced poorly because the sucker feels heavy. Build quality feels good, but with Moto's track record i'm waiting to hear reports of how it really holds up over time.

I hate how they portrayed John Connor in this film, he was nothing like they always built him up to be from previous films (calm, tactful, and reliable) he shouted and grunted for absolutely no reason (which was very annoying), had little in the way of tactics (let's just raid the main hq that sounds like a good idea), and was flaky and reckless. I like Christian Bale a lot, but i really didn't like him in this movie, i dunno if anyone else noticed, but he had a horrible lisp when speaking through connor's dialogue, not sure if it was on purpose, but it was painful to my ears. On the flip side though, the action scenes were fantastic, and the CG was definitely on point. Some of the designs that looked poor in concept ended up looking very good in practice. The films premise was actually pretty good, but i couldn't help but think that it would've turned out so much better with a different director and some better dialogue. Any scene where Bale had to speak was hard to sit through, i don't know if it was casting as much as it was crappy writing. I can only hope that once Cameron gets bored with 10ft blue cat creatures that he'll come back and maybe helm a Terminator flick.

Thanks for the info. And yea... I'm going for more of a "serious business" machine, don't care much for entertainment features. (Though a decent media player would be nice, which I think comes standard in most BB anyways). I will definitely check out the Curve.

Most BB come with a lot of the same stuff (GPS, Wi-Fi, Micro SD, etc.) almost all of the AT&T BB's come with Wi-FI where VZ disabled Wi-Fi on all of their BB except the newest Curve. Only other big differences you'll find are Edge vs 3G, camera (or no camera), and touch pad vs track ball. I personally love the touch pad, but some users find it hard to get used to. Obviously the latest and greatest will appeal the most to you but if price is an issue, really any BB will do "Business" just fine. My work provides me an 8820 (this model is a couple years old now) that i put an 8GB Micro SD card in, and it plays music fine, has GPS, has wi-fi, but no 3g or camera. The battery life is mediocre and it's a bit bulky but i consider the 8820 an entry level device and BB's just get better from there. I have a 9700 that i use as a personal phone and aside from some minor quirks (it just came out a couple weeks ago) it's been a fantastic device.

Hey guys... any thoughts on a good Blackberry model for either Verizon / AT&T in the US?

I just got offered a full-time position starting next summer at a new company, but I don't get a laptop, so according to this guy I know who works there a BB is almost a must. I only have superficial knowledge on the e-mail push technology that RIM uses, so is there anything I should watch out for? I would hate to buy a device incompatible with my employer's e-mail infrastructure. Please advise. Thanks.

AT&T Bold 9700

Verizon Curve 8530

As long as they're running a BES you'll have no problem with any BB on their infrastructure, really any BB will do e-mail but the Bold with AT&T and Curve with VZ are the cream of the crop (in regards to latest and greatest), the BB's that try to cater too much to entertainment do a terrible job (i.e.: Storm). If the AT&T Bold and VZ Curve aren't your cup of tea then AT&T Curve and the VZ Tour are decent. The Storm is hit or miss with different users, for me it was a huge miss, but your mileage may vary.

Did anyone else pick up the AT-TE for $50 last week at TRU? I got one for my son for Christmas, never felt it was worth the $100 price tag, but at $50 i couldn't refuse.

I guess I was being a little vague in the title of the topic. It was a cute way of saying that he was the producer.

One hit wonder? I take it you didn't like Unbreakable all that much, am I right?

If he puts a weird plot twist from hell that only fans of his can understand, I'll wrap my head with duct tape to keep it from exploding when it appears in the film (insert Glenn Beck remark here).

Damn it, I mispelled "Nickelodeon" when I wrote the title for the topic post.

Unbreakable was just "OK" to me, i watched it once i want to say two years ago (I have a friend who's a huge M Knight fanboy with whom i watched it with) and i remember liking it, but i wouldn't reference it as a great film. The happening was too preachy, his other movies build up very well but he has no clue how to end his films. If he doesn't throw a huge twist as the climax then the movie just suddenly ends and is very anticlimactic. Signs was actually one where i liked it when i watched it in theaters, but i watched it again on DVD (with the same friend) and really really disliked it. I didn't realize how horribly cheesy the whole movie was, maybe the ambiance of the theater helped create a better mood for watching the film but watching it in a casual setting at work made me realize how bland the dialogue was and how long and strung on portions of the movie feel. M Knight bashing aside, i hope Avatar does well and he sticks to the established canon because the film practically writes itself.

I thought Manny Shymamalan was heading up this project? Aside from the sixth sense, M Knight doesn't hold a reputation for good films. I'm kind of worried to see a series i like translated to the big screen by a director who's a one hit wonder.

While the stripe design may be closer to "historically correct," I'm surprised they didn't go with something running the full length of the body. Would help to break up the slab-sided appearance of the rear quarters, visually. Front end looks busy, while the rear looks like blank billboards.

I guess consumers have been taken in by the automotive equivalent of a designing "slight of hand," so to speak; moreso with the Challenger and Camaro than the Mustang. In order to keep a sense of proportion, they have to have huge gaping wheelwells--which have to be filled out with some huge-normous rolling stock, upwards of 20" or more--in order to not to betray their portly dimensions.

This Camaro is on 18" x 10" and 18" x 10.5" wheels/tires, which ain't exactly small. But it still looks kinda silly.

No kidding, those 18's look like 16's on that car, it needs 20's to keep up with those wheel wells and probably a pretty good side wall to flesh out the rest. I'm a big fan of how these are designed, but finding a light and stylish 20 inch wheel (that won't bankrupt you) is still pretty hard, it'll be easier in the next few years since all of the new performance cars are using 19 and 20 inch wheels, but i can see why people are settling for this kind of look in the mean time.

I enjoyed the movie but the pacing is off from after the first 20 minutes of the movie. They go from a slow and steady story and character build up to a light speed fast forward to every event that they felt they needed to hit. It didn't allow you to connect with the characters and the characters don't go through any of the typical emotional stages you'd expect, and when they do, it fast forwards through it like it doesn't matter (especially in Tenma's case). You always felt like the characters were pulling emotional 180's and you couldn't figure out why. As far as the action, it was pretty well done, the dialogue was good during witty parts but the general dilaogue was very elementary (catered to its audience) and kind of put a damper on the film. That's not to say the film is bad, i enjoyed watching it with my son, the only parts that made me cringe were the parts with Dr Tenma and that has to do with Nicolas Cage's horrible voice acting, his voice is so very distracting and through every scene feels completely out of place. As long as you imagine a different voice in your head while Nic Cage talks, it's easily something you can enjoy watching with your kids, you'll probably enjoy it a lot less watching it by yourself.

Now see if I had a Challenger, I would so get those wheels and possibly the hood pins.

The wheels don't do it for me, maybe it's because they're on every GT Mustang i see around town so the look is spoiled, same thing goes for the hood pins being on every ricer car with a stock motor and a fart can muffler.

Edit:

I think the wheels would've looked better if the rears were a little wider, looking at the photos the rear proportions don't look right to me and i think it's because they used too skinny a wheel (or the offset isn't correct), or maybe if they staggered the rear wheels slightly (not ridiculously, but in a subtle manner).

I think it looks better stock than it does "moparized", they can keep their wheels spoiler and hood latches.

The back story still omits how he was able to get the talisman back from the machine, even with back story there are still some odd unanswered questions. Like how come all 8 dolls were alive and scurrying around while 9 was just left hanging about, furthermore, what took 9 so long to wake up in comparison to the other dolls. How was it that only the cat monster was the only machine left alive and that 7 so easily decapitated it, but then mentions how she was fighting a "war", i hardly consider decapitating one cat machine a "war".

You have to wonder what the endgame profit margin (after production, warranty and customer satisfaction issues) might be on these kind of cars . It cant be all that high.

I read somewhere that it can be very high, but it's either feast or famine. You have to imagine how much investment capital is needed for this type of business venture. Then you have to factor in time, research and development, production costs, manufacture relationships, the whole nine yards, which is far from cheap. So either you succeed greatly, or completely fail, i don't think there's an in between. If you ever see the people who start up these type of business' it's usually rich people or really intelligent people with rich friends, it's pretty rare you see your run of the mill hard working fellow with a good idea start an exotic super car business.

Visually it's a great film, but there are huge plot holes and aside from the main character you don't really care about the rest of the doll/puppet things. To be honest, it felt like you were watching a video game translated to the movie screen, the plot, characters, and even the script writing felt like video game dialogue, which is probably why you only care about the main character since he's the obvious focal point, they spend no time at all developing other characters. The other problem this film has is target audience, most adults won't watch it (except those who are fans of animated films), most kids can't watch it (it's scary by children standards), and most tweens won't understand it (the stories not complex but tweens are idiots). The highlight is definitely character design, which again, made it feel like a video game, you have your typical burly giant, your super fast skilled soldier, your clerics, your main character who becomes better through experience, the disenchanted elder, and a savant. Looks like they just ripped their character personas right out of a video game, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable, familiar if anything.