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Toys "R" Us will sell a new Android tablet aimed at the younger crowd.

The 7-inch Tabeo tablet sounds like a lot of entry-level Android tablets. Powered by a 1GHz processor, the multitouch device comes with 4GB of built-in storage but can handle up to 32GB with a micro SDHC card.

Equipped with built-in Wi-Fi, the Tabeo lets kids browse the Internet, including Flash-enabled Web sites. A front-facing camera is included, as is an HDMI port so children can connect the tablet to a TV. The device comes with 50 preloaded games, books, and educational apps and offers … Read more

Before the U.S. Open tennis tournament began this week, I had never heard of 18-year-old Laura Robson (@LauraRobson5), even though she won an Olympic mixed doubles silver medal in London this summer.

To me, the women's game is dominated by the Williams sisters, Serena (@SerenaWilliams) and Venus (@VenusesWilliams), and a revolving cast of mostly unmemorable Russian players, except for Maria Sharapova (I couldn't figure out her official Twitter feed -- can you? Her site has a social section, but it only lists a Facebook account).

But 89th-ranked Robson, who sent former champ Kim Clijsters packing in … Read more

It was just a few weeks ago when my buddy Tyll Hertsens was raving about Colin Shaw's Sicphones amplifier Kickstarter project. Hertsens never steers me wrong, so I contacted Shaw, and a few days later I received the amp. Hertsens was right. This design uses a newly available SemiSouth silicon carbide transistor, and the amp sounds amazing. If Shaw makes his Kickstarter goal he'll be able to sell amp kits for as little as $229, and assembled amps for $279! DIY-ers can spring for just $35 and get the Sicphones amplifier PC board, assembly instructions, and parts source … Read more

U.S. Cellular today announced its latest smartphone, the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G. Available online for $179 after a $100 mail-in rebate, the handset arrives in retail stores on August 25.

In an effort to draw attention to its growing 4G LTE network, U.S. Cellular is offering a discounted price for consumers who live within its regional footprint. What's more, those markets expected to see 4G coverage by the end of 2012 get a sweeter deal, a $129 price tag after a $100 mail-in rebate. Sounds good, but what do you get for the money?

Details for … Read more

I have fond memories of the original Aragon 4004 power amplifier from my days when I worked as a high-end audio salesman. That was in the late 1980s and the big 200 watt amp sold for a lot less money than the reigning high-end amps of the period. The distinctive styling, with a "V" cutout in the 4004's chassis, made it stand out from rows of lookalike designs at the store. While the Aragon amps sold for a couple of thousand dollars, they were more affordable than most high-end amps. A few years after the 4004 arrived … Read more

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- If you want to know how U.S. Marines stationed deep in the desert of Afghanistan get highly accurate real-time weather reports, you have only to look to this stunning seaside town and some of its leading ocean scientists.

What started as a Marine's random comment about needing better weather forecasting because of the dangers of flying in extreme desert conditions quickly led to the development of a tool that can be set up just about anywhere by a couple of Marines in minutes. … Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The U.S. Navy spends a fortune every year on energy, so for a ship to complete a deployment having burned through just half the cash it had available for fuel is a very good sign of things to come.

For some time, the Navy has been saying many of the right things about its plans to go green, starting with a major biofuels initiative. And though a recent Wired report claims that the servicewide efforts have lost steam, the performance of the USS Makin Island could well be a bright spot.

As part of Road Trip 2012, … Read more

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.--I knew there might be firing in my direction. I was given protective gear. And they told me how to avoid getting in harm's way. And after all that, I still got shot.

Welcome to the Infantry Immersion Trainer, a system set up to help prepare U.S. Marines for possible future combat deployment. Set up in a former tomato packing plant at Camp Pendleton -- the West Coast home of the Marines -- the IIT employs "sets, sound systems and special effects -- including holograms and pyrotechnics -- to simulate [an … Read more

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--He might be the most famous airman in the history of the U.S. Air Force, and he's a graduate of the Test Pilot School.

In 1947, Capt. Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier, hitting Mach 1.0 in a Bell X-1 rocket plane 42,000 feet above this Mojave Desert outpost. And today, to commemorate the import of the event that ushered in the supersonic era, the aircraft hangs from the ceiling in the entryway of the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Yeager … Read more