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Walyou

LEGO Doctor Who Set Goes on Sale in December

Posted: 06 Oct 2015 01:42 PM PDT

Whovians have waited a long time for a new Doctor Who set, and LEGO has finally decided to make their dreams come true. With the official launch set for December, it seems that the Doctor Who LEGO set will be available just in time for Christmas.

First spotted in a French Shop At Home catalog and then officially confirmed by the Danish toy maker, the Doctor Who set has made some hearts (though no double ones) skip a beat. Even though it doesn’t feature all of Doctors, there’s only one companion, and it could generally be considered a minimalistic set, it still brought a lot of joy to Whovians from all around the world.

Only Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s versions of the Doctor have been included, and the back of the box even depicts the regeneration of the LEGO Time Lord. While I loved Matt Smith’s Doctor and story line quite a lot, I found the 8th series to be quite dull, and I still can’t tell if it was the new Doctor or his companion’s fault. Even the story seemed unimpressive, but everything seems to be back to normal in the new series.

Speaking of the sole companion found in this LEGO set, it is none other than Clara Oswin Oswald, the soufflé girl (or the Impossible Girl, if you prefer). In terms of villains, we have two Daleks and a weeping angel. I don’t even want to know what would happen if these two monstrosities worked together to bring the Doctor down.

As mentioned before, the set could leave the impression that it’s rather simplistic, but in fact it includes more than 600 pieces, besides the six characters. Submitted to LEGO Ideas by Andrew Clark, the Doctor Who set with model number 21304 is nothing short of stunning. Besides the figurines, it features the TARDIS, which is bigger on the inside, obviously, and several accessories specific to each version of the Doctor. The exterior of the TARDIS detaches from the interior, and can be closed up to look like the traditional Police Box. Some Whovians hope that the Weeping Angel will have a demonic face, while others weep the absence of David Tennant’s Doctor, especially since the 10th incarnation is the most popular one.

The set is expected to go on sale on December 1st, a few weeks before the Doctor Who Christmas Special, where we’ll get the chance to see River Song again. The price of €59.99 in Europe and $59.99 in North America seems decent, for a set of this size. There are no details regarding the availability, and some think that it will sell out in minutes, which really wouldn’t be surprising. If you want to surprise a young Whovian with an incredibly Doctor Who gift this Christmas, the LEGO Ideas set could fit the bill perfectly, as long as the recipient is 10+ y/o.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the couple of Whovians who wedded in Doctor Who style, or the Gallifreycrumb Tinies: Doctor Who alphabetical obituaries.

Via: Brickset

Microsoft Launches Surface Book 13.5-Inch Laptop

Posted: 06 Oct 2015 12:48 PM PDT

Microsoft Surface Book 13.5-Inch Laptop 01

Having realized that tablets cannot completely replace notebooks, Redmond has unveiled a premiere in its hardware portfolio, and a new addition to its Surface line, in the form of a 13.5-inch laptop called Surface Book.

Microsoft has had its eggs in more than one basket, and even though neither keyboards, nor devices with a display are new to the tech titan, this is the first time the company announces a laptop. If anything, I really wish Microsoft would have chosen another, more original name for it. While the Surface denomination could make people think of no other company, the ‘Book’ part could bring Apple’s MacBook line to mind.

The first laptop ever built by Microsoft has a very industrial look to it, mainly due to the machined magnesium body and the unique hinges, which can only mean that whoever designed it did a very good job. The fact that Surface is still part of its name hints at the ability to fully remove the display and use it as a tablet. Then what is that differentiates this product from a Surface tablet with a keyboard attached to it? First of all, it’s the size of the display. Secondly, Microsoft targets people wanting “the perfect typing experience,” something that can’t really be achieved with a tablet’s attachable keyboard.

One of the main highlights of the Surface Book is definitely the 13.5″ display. If it were to only take the pixel density of 267ppi into account, people would probably say that it’s not a match for Apple’s Retina displays. However, Surface Book’s display is optically bonded to the glass, which should play a great role in how it looks.

Surface Book’s hinge, which is called a “dynamic fulcrum” by Microsoft, elevates the display at an angle when the screen is against the back of the keyboard. To fully detach the display from the keyboard, users need to press a button on the side.

Hardware wise, Surface Book is great, but definitely not mind-blowing, as it packs Intel Core i5 or i7 Skylake CPUs, an Nvidia GeForce GPU (the precise model hasn’t been disclosed, yet), two USB 3.0 ports and an SD card slot. I definitely would have expected Microsoft to equip its first laptop with USB 3.1 Type-C ports, but for some reason they figured it won’t be necessary, yet.

It may be because of the energy efficient CPUs that power the Surface Book, as the battery is said to last up to 12 hours, which is more than a work day, in most parts of the world.

Microsoft will start taking pre-orders for the Surface Book tomorrow, and the laptop is expected to go on sale on October 26th. Depending on the hardware configuration, people will have to spend at least $1,499 for one. Business users won’t even blink an eye, but students and gamers probably have better options.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Microsoft’s bone conduction headset that guides the blind through the urban chaos, or Cortana joking about Siri’s size in Microsoft’s latest ads.

Source and Image Credit: The Verge