When the Wii U was first announced, most of the press was focused on the tablet-style controller. What people realized after the hype surrounding the controller died down, was that the specs of the actual console — you know, the thing that makes the games run — were a mystery. The only official bite of information we know about the console is that it will be Nintendo’s first HD console, and after playing Uncharted 3 then diving straight into the newest Zelda, Skyward Sword, my eyes can say that Nintendo finally adopting HD will be a welcomed treat. Now, however, “developers who have access to the console” have been leaked the specs, reports Wii U Daily.

You know the Internet is getting carried away with itself when NASA has to issue a press release just to assure everyone that we aren’t facing armageddon. What seems to be a rather insignificant story about a comet passing close (but not too close) to Earth has gotten wrapped up in doomsday predictions and run-for-the-hills hysteria. Never fear, life as we know it isn’t about to end. At least, not from anything that has to do with the Comet Elenin, which is set to pass by Earth some 22 million miles (35 million kilometers) away during its closest approach on Oct. 16, 2011.

The comet, more formally known as C/2010 X1, was first detected on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin in Lyuberts, Russia using images obtained from an observatory in New Mexico. Since then, Comet Elenin has been on track to pass by Earth on its way to perihelion, its closest point to the sun. While television and movies have made comets approaching Earth something to be incredibly weary about, NASA reports that there will be no influence in any way on Earth due to the comet’s passing.

Usually, a new iPhone releases every summer, causing a subset of iPhone fans to avoid upgrading because “the new one will just be out next summer, anyway.” Well, that time of year is only a month or two away, but there haven’t been too many rumblings of the next iPhone dropping anytime soon. An AT&T customer care representative may have the answer regarding the significant lack of rumblings, claiming that Apple informed AT&T that there won’t be a new iPhone in June or July.

The information comes from a MacRumors reader who talked to customer care because he noticed his eligibility date for a subsidized upgrade was pushed back by over five months without a reason. According to the MacRumors reader, the AT&T customer care representative provided the following statement:

Apple has informed us that they do not plan to release the iPhone in the June-to-July timeframe, though there will be a newer version in the future. Unfortunately, we have not been given a release time for the new phone. We will release this information on our website when it is available to us.

As always, take this information with a grain of salt or fifty, as this would be a fairly roundabout way for Apple to let the world know the new iPhone won’t be coming anytime soon.

(via Mac Rumors)

One of the most popular articles on The Huffington Post right now is about a Republican Congressional proposal called “HR 205, The Geometric Simplification Act,” which aims to make the value of pi “exactly 3.” Reading the article carefully, it’s pretty clear it’s satire: “‘It’s no panacea, but this legislation will point us in the right direction. Looking at hard data, we know our children are struggling with a heck of a lot of the math, including the geometry incorporating pi,’ Roby said. ‘I guarantee you American scores will go up once pi is 3. It will be so much easier.’” And Ron Workman has traced its origin to an ancient Internet rumor that was debunked by Snopes in 1998. (The real HR 205 under consideration by Congress now is actually about Native American tribal land-leasing.)

But here’s the thing: Thanks to the A.D.D.-enabling power of social media, all it takes is a truncated Facebook headline and excerpt for people to form an opinion about a story, and many of them don’t actually read it. (more…)

iPhone related rumors have been swirling (as they do) for the past few days, about the oft-predicted-and-never-delivered “iPhone nano.” In fact, we wrote about it just last week. Today, The New York Times weighed in on the subject making two interesting claims. Firstly, that a forthcoming iPhone will be cheaper, though not smaller. Additionally, and perhaps more tantalizing, is their claim that MobileMe will be refreshed, perhaps becoming a more robust free service.

Earlier this week some handicammed blurry footage of what we were supposed to take to be a PlayStation phone surfaced and a reasonable amount of ado was made. This is not that handicammed footage.

This comes to the internet courtesy of Engadget, and there’s even a little bit more after the break, giving us a look at the (currently empty) games menu.

It wouldn’t be Comic Con with out some major news about the big bad comic book movies coming out in the next couple of years, and this year Marvel is ruling the roost. When it’s not displaying the throne of Odin for anyone to get their picture taken on, it’s letting Joss Whedon do what he does best:

Get people excited.

Rumors circulated in the financial world yesterday that Apple was considering buying chipset designer ARM Holdings. The acquisition would have been huge for the mobile market, and constituted a stop the presses moment for the tech business world; ARM already produces most of the world’s embedded processors. Therefore, if Apple took them under their wing, it would spell big trouble for their competitors.

The market responded, shooting ARM’s stocks 8.1 points to an eight-year high as investors readied themselves for big news. The gossip, according to TechCrunch, was that Apple would buy them out for a cool $8 million.

And then they woke up.

You may be playing Pokemon in 3D that much sooner if the rumor mill is right, and the news keeps getting curiouser and curiouser. CVG, a UK-based gamer blog, is reporting that the upcoming Nintendo 3DS, originally (or still, for the skeptics) slated for an early 2011 release might see the light of day by this October, six months early and just in time for the Christmas season.

Electronics retailer Micro Center has received part numbers for four new Mac computers, which it says corresponds with three 15″ and one 17″ MacBook Pros. From MacRumors.com:

We’ve since received independent confirmation from another source besides Microcenter that those part numbers are real, and that we should expect new 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pros very soon.