Guinness

UK man exterminates record for most Daleks

It's either the heartwarming tale of a man's passionate love for fantasy and adventure or a sad story of a lifetime's income terribly wasted. You get to decide.

Rob Hull of Doncaster, England, has been officially awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of Dalek toys and models. As of this writing, he possesses 571 of the evil alien overlords after 20 years of collecting.

In a real head-scratcher, Hull isn't a fan of the TV series that gave birth to his beloved Daleks, "Doctor Who." According to Guinness, Hull just liked the design of Dalek toys as a child. When his mother refused to get him one, he evidently vowed to own his own plunger-waving army one day.

Hull reportedly torments his long-suffering wife, Dawn, with the collection as it slowly overtakes their home and exterminates any sense of interior design aesthetic.… Read more

Guinness World Record for iPad typing broken

Just months ahead of when Apple is set to make tweaks to the software keyboard that ships with its iPad, the Guinness World Record for typing on it has been broken.

Fox News reports that the 15-year-old son of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is the proud new owner of a Guinness World Record for typing the entire English alphabet (A-Z) on the iPad's software keyboard. His time? 5.26 seconds, which beats out former record-holder Charlie Joseph McDonnell's 6.31 seconds set in late June of last year.

Fox says Saakashvili "spent months getting ready" for … Read more

This Day in Tech: Bin Laden's sneakernet

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET News for Friday, May 13.

RIP: Where our gadgets go when they die.

Bin Laden's sneakernet: How the al-Qaeda leader used e-mail off the grid.

We signed on to Tinychat: What happens when a group-oriented take on Chatroulette adds location sharing?

No surprise here: Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies receive Guinness World Records.

Freebie: Sure, it's Friday the 13th, but it could still be your lucky day to win 3D desktop speakers.

iPhone 4, App Store nab Guinness World Records

Apple's iPhone 4 and App Store have both received Guinness World Records, with the iPhone 4 becoming the fastest selling portable gaming system and the App Store getting named the most popular application marketplace.

These awards and others have been published in the Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer's Edition, which the company is promoting alongside a Guinness trivia app for iOS and Android.

Based on analyst estimates of 1.5 million units for first day sales, Guinness has dubbed the iPhone 4 to be the "fastest-selling portable gaming system," topping first day sales of Sony's … Read more

The 404 779: Where St. Patrick's Day is just an excuse to wear green (podcast)

The 404 Digest for Episode 779

We reveal the viral marketing company behind the Times Square video hack. Natali Morris brings an interesting question from the New Yorker about the secret of boyhood friendships. Check out Molly Wood's listing for a white 64GB Apple iPad 2 signed by the SXSW@CNET crew--all proceeds go to the Red Cross for the Japanese tsunami relief efforts! Video Voicemails from Emily in Toronto, Daniel in Colorado, and Rich from Cleveland--thanks, guys! Kodak Deal of the Day: Vizio RazorLED 32-inch 1080p LED LCD HDTV with Wi-Fi with free shipping for $449.99.

Episode 779 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Solar-powered vehicle speeds into record books

At speeds that would be thought of as nearly standing still at Speed Week, a solar-powered vehicle set a new land speed record by hitting a top speed of about 55 mph--on just the power of the sun.

The Sunswift IVy looks more like a space ship than a car with three wheels, a carbon fiber body, 400 silicon cells and a small cockpit for a driver. It was designed and built by engineering students at University of New South Wales.

The IVy produces about 1,200 watts--the same power it takes to run a toaster. It normally uses its … Read more

Woman claims fastest texter in the world title

As technology becomes more sophisticated, the world's texters can send their important messages and extremely personal photos at an ever-quicker pace.

Still, one British woman, 27-year-old insurance company worker Melissa Thompson, seems never to have thought it possible that she would become the Usain Bolt of SMS.

The UK Press Association reported over the weekend that Thompson was shopping with her boyfriend when she came upon a Samsung roadshow. Perhaps it came upon her because, before she knew it, she was encouraged to try to break the world record for speedy texting.

In order to win this title, her … Read more

U2 manager still thinks ISPs are freeloading

This month's U.K. edition of GQ Magazine contains a fairly substantial article from U2 manager Paul McGuinness in which he blames Internet service providers and technology companies directly for the falling sales of recorded music. As he notes in the article, he made a speech on this subject about two years ago and was roundly criticized by various "anonymous bloggers." I've never been anonymous, but I did point out some of the factual inaccuracies and weird assumptions in his speech at the time.

I can't speak for anonymous bloggers everywhere, but I've never … Read more

Scientists find asteroid probe, need can opener

Scientists have recovered part of a Japanese space probe that returned to Earth after landing on an asteroid to collect samples, and they're preparing to open it. At least The Andromeda Strain inspired them to wear helmets and body armor.

The sample container from the Hayabusa probe parachuted to a soft landing in the Australian Outback on Sunday. The fridge-size probe burned up in spectacular fashion on reentry (see the NASA video below).

There was no damage to the mushroom-shaped container, and the probe's heat shield was also found, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Hayabusa … Read more

Guitar Hero E3 attempt cheapens Guinness World Records

With E3 just two days away, I got a press release this morning announcing that some hot-shot, young gamer known as Ph3nom will be attempting a world record at the huge convention with the hit game Guitar Hero.

This isn't just any record attempt. Ph3nom, otherwise known as Danny Johnson, is going to boot up an Xbox 360 and try to break the Guinness World Record for the game.

To which I say: Who cares?

I mean, sure, maybe Johnson will top the current record--the release doesn't say what it is or who holds it--but I find it … Read more