We have featured a number of flight simulator devices and software over the years here on Geeky Gadgets, but this homemade one by Oakland Air Traffic Control Center in Fremont and a private pilot, is definitely the best DIY version we have seen.

Using the cockpit and nose section of a 1969 Boeing 737 aircraft, James Price of Pleasanton U.S. has constructed his very own fully functional flight simulator in his garage. Watch the video after the jump to see it in action.

The project took over three years to complete and Price has programmed the software and rewired all the instruments to make his flight simulator feel and react just like the real thing. Price told the San Jose Mercury newspaper:

“I don’t think it will ever really be finished…I will tinker with it for years to come. There is always some new technology coming along that is too irresistible not to add to my project. … This is pretty fulfilling. I can both practice and realize my dream to fly jets. Everybody has to have their crazy hobby.”

Its been reported that the DIY flight simulator may have cost as much as $150,000 to construct, but as you can see from the video below, its worth every penny. Great job!

Nokia has announced that they have started rolling out their budget Windows Phone smartphone, the Nokia Lumia 610 in Asia, with the device launching in the Philippines in the last week of April and then China, Hong Kong, Indonesia,Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam over the next few weeks.

As a reminder, the Nokia Lumia 610 features  a 3.7 inch WVGA capacitive LCD touchscreen display which has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, and it also comes with a a single core Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 800MHz processor, 256MB of RAM and 16GB of built in storage.

“The Nokia Lumia 610 will introduce Windows Phone to a new generation of smartphone users, offering something very different to the monochromatic smartphones filling shelves today,” said Jo Harlow, Head of Smart Devices at Nokia. “PeopleHub, Nokia services and quality apps – coupled with a fast and friendly interface – will make for a great smartphone experience at a great price.”

The Nokia Lumia 610 has a a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and an LED flash, plus a 1300 mAh battery, the device will be available for 189 Euros before taxes.

Intel has this week been showcasing its latest technology at the IDF 2012 Beijing. During which Intel has revealed its new Intel Letexo hybrid Ultrabook prototype, which is equipped with a sliding screen, and runs Windows 8 OS. The new Intel Ultrabook codenamed Letexo, has been designed to provide users with the best of both a tablet and a notebook in one slimline device.

The screen of the Letexo hybrid Ultrabook can be slide upwards to reveal the notebooks keyboard and then replace to hide it once against converting the notebook back into a tablet. Another features allows the screen to be pushed forward and propped up with a built-in stand, blocking access to the keyboard and serving as a small touch-based AIO PC.

Full specifications for the upcoming Letexo hybrid Ultrabook are still unknown at present, but its thought the device will be equipped with a Intel’s Ivy Bridge processor and will include a HDMI and USB ports. As more information is released by Intel we will keep you informed.

Gleaned from a Microsoft Product Manager’s LinkedIn profile comes the news that far from feeling the heat of Sony’s free PSN model, Microsoft will be rolling out additional measures aimed at bringing Xbox Live revenue up to an even billion. Details on the new strategy are not mentioned, but a Holiday 2012 rollout seems likely.

Microsoft’s Praveen Rutnam claims to have developed a strategy to “further monetize Xbox LIVE subscriber base that will be implemented for holiday 2012.” However, despite gamers closely associating Xbox Live with multiplayer games, it’s likely the new strategy will be targeted more at enhancing revenue from Microsoft’s push into living room entertainment content like music and movies.

Over the weekend a couple of job vacancies were posted by Microsoft, advertising for Software Development Engineers to work on Skype for Browsers. Confirming that a Skype web application is currently or will shortly be under development.

Within the job advertisements Microsoft hints that the new Skype web application, could be HTML 5 based, or at least not reliant on Adobe Flash. Making the new Skype web application available to a wider range of browsers and devices, including Apple’s range of tablets and smartphones, which don’t support Flash based applications and website.

The job advertisement posted by Microsoft states:

“Team at Skype is looking for passionate, team-oriented and self-motivated developers to help us bring Skype experience on to the Web.

You will have a chance to integrate existing Skype solutions on to the web with the support of the backend services build from the ground up using latest Microsoft technologies. Result of your work will be used by hundreds millions of thankful users worldwide.

You will work in dynamical environment with the team of true professionals participating in defining, designing, developing, testing and documenting one of the most popular applications of the modern world.

You will closely cooperate with colleagues developing Skype cross platform core library in Tallinn, Estonia, audio/video team in Stockholm, Sweden, User management team in Prague and web plug-in team in Palo Alto, US.”

For more information jump over to the Microsoft Talent Network for the full job descriptions : Microsoft 1 : 2 : 3

Looking to break the pattern of great games made into shoddy movies, EA has apparently decided to see what sort of film a shoddy video game might yield. Hopefully the film will steer clear of  Need for Speed The Run’s storytelling ambitions, and at least aim for Fast and the Furious-style entertainment.

Real Steel writers George and John Gatins have reportedly been hired by EA to turn its racing franchise into a screenplay, at least giving it a fighting chance of not ending up as yet another video game movie cautionary tale. Warner Bros., Sony and Paramount have apparently shown interest, though as always this early in the process, it’s far from a done deal.

Rovio has done what all game makers dream of. They have made a game that is a runaway hit and it is a name that everyone in the world knows. The merchandise alone is approaching Star wars levels. It knows no bounds. Now the Angry Birds will have their own official sweets.
The company has partnered with Fazer sweets and soon you will be able to get your hands on some sweets in the shape of pigs and birds.

The company is already sending out sweets to the press. Sadly that didn’t include me. They look tasty and are a great treat to eat while playing your favorite game. We will see if they sell as well as the game itself very soon.

We already knew that Best Buy planned to close 50 of its retail stores by the end of 2013 and now we have more details. They have already closed two locations and six others will close their doors before the end of the year. The last 42 will shut down before May 12th.

Employees got the bad news this weekend and were told that the company will try to re-position or give them them severance packages. So I guess it could be worse for them. The company also wants you to know that you will still have nearby locations to shop at for all the latest gear.

As far as the 100 Best Buy Mobile stores it wants to setup, there is no news. We will probably hear about it later this year. Hit the link for a full listing of stores.

Unfortunately for some Mac users who have tried to use the Kaspersky Lab Flashback removal tool, in some cases the software released by Kaspersky has caused more problems than its solved.

Kaspersky originally released the tool to help Mac users after it was reported the Flashback/Flashfake malware, had already infected 670,000 computers worldwide mostly running OS X.

Unfortunately for some Mac users if they ran the software it can cause worse problems. Including erroneous removal of certain user settings including auto-start configurations, user configurations in browsers, and file sharing data. Kaspersky has now issued a statement explains:

“The Kaspersky Flashfake Removal Tool has been temporarily suspended. The company will release an updated version of the utility with the bug corrected and will send a notification as soon as it’s available.”

“In the event that users experienced problems due to the use of the Flashfake Removal Tool, they should contact Kaspersky support at techsupport@kaspersky.com or by calling Moscow at +7 (495) 797-70-32 for 24/7 help in English or Russian,” the company added. “Kaspersky Lab apologizes for any inconvenience caused by this issue and is working diligently to correct the problem.”

Apple has now released their own fix for the Flashback malware which is available as an update for Mac systems running Lion OS X. If you are running Snow Leopard or older versions. Apple suggests that you disable Java in the web browser’s preferences, section.

YouTube have today opened up their Partner Program to the masses allowing anyone within 20 countries where the YouTube Partner Program already exists to join up for free. Previously the YouTube Partner Program was exclusively available to content producers of popular content, but from today YouTube has now opened up the service to everyone.

The YouTube Partner Program has been created to provide content creators with resources and opportunities to improve their skills, build larger audiences, and earn more money.

Even though the YouTube Partner Program is now open to everyone, there are still a few features that are not rolling out on day one to all new comers. But YouTube explains: “We are working on making these and other features available to more newly-made partners over time,”.

YouTube Partner program is currently available to everyone in these countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States.

Sony unveiled their new Android powered SmartWatch back at CES in January, and the device has now launched and it will retail for $150, it is designed to connect to your Android smartphone.

The Sony SmartWatch connects to your Android smartphone via Bluetooth and you can manage a number of your smartphones function direct from the watch, including reading text messages, email, and even managing calls.

The Sony SmartWatch comes with a 1.3 inch touchcsreen OLED display with a 128 x 128 pixel resolution, and will notify you of incoming calls, texts emails and more by vibrating.

Google has today rolled out a new update to their Android emulator tool for developers to test and build Android apps. The update has added major improvements to the emulator, including a performance increase together with support for a broader range of hardware features, including sensors and multi-finger input.

Google has now also added support for OpenGL ES 2.0 allowing you to now play, run and test your OpenGL games inside the Android emulator. The new Android Emulator update also provides improved CPU performance, with floating point operation which has been available for system images since Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), allowing CPU operations to be emulated roughly twice as quickly.

The video after the break shows the interactivity of the Android launcher in the emulator in normal and hardware accelerated mode. More information about the new update to Google’s Android Emulator can be found over on the Android Developers forum.

Its not taken long since the unveiling of Google’s Project Glass eyewear for a number of parody videos to be created showing the funnier side of what the Google Project Glass project might be like. Check out the video after the jump for a quick glimpse at what the feeling might be like wearing the eyewear if it was to be loaded with Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

Google Project Glass which is thought to be renamed Google Eye are augmented reality glasses that are currently being developed by Google. The glasses would provide the users with a heads up display and running Google’s Android OS.

Unfortunately no information on just how far development has progressed with the concept at the moment. So it will be a little time yet before pricing or worldwide availability has will be released. But as soon as information comes to light we will keep you updated as always.

Microsoft has just splashed out over a $1 billion to purchase patents from AOL. The deal worth $1.056 billion will be sealed by the end of 2012 and AOL will exchange 300 patents to Microsoft who will be able to use them under a non-exclusive license.

The patents and patent applications relate to advertising, content generation, content management, multimedia and security. Tim Armstrong, AOL’s Chairman and CEO explains:

“We continue to hold a valuable patent portfolio as highlighted by the license we entered into with Microsoft. The combined sale and licensing arrangement unlocks current dollar value for our shareholders and enables AOL to continue to aggressively execute on our strategy to create long-term shareholder value.”

AOL is expected to sell stock from one of the subsidiaries as part of the transaction; resulting in taxes connected with the sale being rendered immaterial.

AOL is also planning to utilise approximately $40 million of existing deferred tax asset to offset charges related to its remaining patent portfolio, as well as forward a ’significant’ amount of the proceeds to AOL shareholders.

As well as unveiling their new all-in-one desktop PC systems. Toshiba has today unveiled its new range of Satellite L800 and C800 series of laptops.Toshiba’s new Satellite C800 entry-level line of Satellites has a little more design style than its previous version.

Its comes equipped with either next generation Intel or AMD processors, together with basic specs including DVD drive and USB 3.0 connectivity, with pricing starting from $399 and will be available to purchase in Q3 2012.

The Toshiba Satellite L800, is a step up from the C800 series range and has similar Intel and AMD processor options, and is available in a variety of colours including silver, black, white, red and blue. The Satellite L800 is equipped with a larger trackpad, together with optional Blu-ray, and prices are a little higher to reflect these features.

Both ranges will be available with a selection of screen sizes including 14″, 15.6″ and 17.3″ inch versions. The Toshiba Satellite L845 14” $449.99, Satellite L855 15.6” $499.99, while the Satellite L875 17.3” $599.99.

Toshiba has announced three new Android tablets, and the three devices are part of Toshiba’s Excite range and include a 7 inch tablet, a 10 inch tablet and a 13 inch tablet, and all of the tablets share similar specifications.

The three new Excite Android tablets are powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 quad core processor clocked at 1.3GHz, and each ones comes with 1GB of RAM and the latest version of Google’s mobile OS, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Other specifications on the Excite tablets include Gorilla Glass, a micro USB port, micro HDMI and a microSD card slot, although the 13 inch model will feature a full sized SD card slot instead of the microSD card slot.

The Excite 10 will go on sale in May for $450 and will come with 16GB of storage, the 7.7 inch model will go on sale in June and will retail for $500 and the 13 inch version will go on sale in June for $650 and will come with 32GB of built in storage.

The Nokia 808 PureView was announced back in February, and now the device has gone up for pre-order in Italy, with an expected launch date of May, and the smartphone is listed with a price of 600 Euros on Nokia’s website.

The Nokia 808 PureView features a 41 megapixel camera and a  4 inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 640 x 960 pixels and runs Symbian Belle as its OS.

Other specifications include a 1.3GHz single core processor and comes with 16GB of built in storage, plus a microSD card slot that can take up to 32GB cards.

The last thing we heard about the availability of the Nokia 808 PureView here in the UK was that it would be available in April, and we previously heard that it would retail for £465 including taxes.

It looks like Google is still planning on launching a Nexus tablet this year. It was first thought to be launching in May after production in April, bu now sources say that it won’t go on sale until July. The reason for the delay is because Google and Asus are trying to figure out how to manipulate the hardware so that the price can come down.
We previously thought that the new tablet would arrive for $249, but that’s not an official confirmation. The Kindle Fire is $199 and is selling great, plus there are still rumors of an iPad mini too, so they definitely want to compete and blow the lid off of sales if they can.

So getting the Nexus tablet on sale for a price below $249 seems like a must. The question is, can they do it?

Companies regularly have to cut costs in order to maximize profits, so sometimes extras have to go. In this case, HTC in an interview on Friday said that it won’t pack in Beats Audio’s earbuds or other headphones with at least some of its smartphones from here on out.
According to Product Executive Martin Fichter, the on-device Beats Audio processing will stay, but ordinary headphones at most would come in the box with models like the Evo 4G LTE and One series. It looks like customers just weren’t buying them for the headphones, so they will save some money.

Up until now Beats headphones came with phones like the Rezound and Sensation XL. The Beats headphones raised prices and made it difficult to compete. I don’t think most of us will mind since we all have headphones anyway.

Wikipedia has announced this week that a new update for its iOS and Android application will remove the Google Maps integration the apps both use, and replace it with OpenStreetMaps technology.

As well as adopting the OpenStreetMaps technology the new updates rolled out to both iOS and Android applications brings a wealth of new features and tweaks which brings both app inline with each other.

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. OpenStreetMap was founded in July 2004 by Steve Coast, and in April 2006, the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) was established to encourage the growth, development and distribution of free geospatial data and provide geospatial data for anybody to use and share. Wikipedia explains, that the move to remove Google Maps is to try and support as many devices as possible:

“Previous versions of our application used Google Maps for the nearby view. This has now been replaced with OpenStreetMaps – an open and free source of Map Data that has been referred to as ‘Wikipedia for Maps.’ This closely aligns with our goal of making knowledge available in a free and open manner to everyone. This also means we no longer have to use proprietary Google APIs in our code, which helps it run on the millions of cheap Android handsets that are purely open source and do not have the proprietary Google applications.”

For more information on the new updates and features included in both the iOS and Android Wikipedia applications jump over to the Wikipedia website bog post.