Here's the perfect gift for the steampunk-loving, chess-playing DIYer

I have a fascination with these cold-cathode tubes commonly called Nixie tubes.  They are no longer made, but there are still some available.  They lend themselves to all sorts of steampunk applications today.  They can light up to display numbers or letters, so they lend themselves especially well to clocks, some of which have been featured on The Gadgeteer.  ThinkGeek has available a few chess sets using Nixie tubes.  The DIY Nixie Tube Chess Set kit contains 32 IN-15 Nixie tubes and all supplies you need to assemble an inductive chess board.  When you set the pieces on the board, the designation for the chess piece lights up.

The Gadgeteer , Here's the perfect gift for the steampunk-loving, chess-playing DIYer, Here's the perfect gift for the steampunk-loving, chess-playing DIYer

Mercedes recalls 2013 SL models over airbag fault

Mercedes-Benz is recalling 130 SL-Class roadsters built between January 16, 2013 and April 30, 2013 over concerns that the vehicle's airbags won't fire if a very light person is in the passenger seat. The issue rests with what's called the Occupant Classification System. The OCS is a system that figures out if there's an occupant in a seat based on the amount of weight being exerted on a sensor, and will arm or disarm the airbags accordingly.

Autoblog , Mercedes recalls 2013 SL models over airbag fault, Mercedes recalls 2013 SL models over airbag fault

Incapsula: Bots Make Up 61.5% Of Internet Traffic

Here is a rather interesting statistic, at least according to a new study by Incapsula – that 61.5% of all Internet traffic happens to be generated by bots. Just in case you were wondering, Incapsula happens to be a company that offers up cloud-based services to web sites. 61.5% is definitely a staggering number, but it did not happen just that way overnight. In fact, Incapsula claims that the figure had already hit 51% in March last year, which is already more than half of all Internet traffic.

Ubergizmo , Incapsula: Bots Make Up 61.5% Of Internet Traffic, Incapsula: Bots Make Up 61.5% Of Internet Traffic

UK man avoids fine after snail eats his car's tax disc

Cars in the United Kingdom are required to have what's known as a tax disc - a little, circular sticker fitted to the inside of a car's windshield. It signifies that tax has been paid on the car, and is roughly analogous to the registration stickers on some American license plates. In the US, though, we don't really have to worry about anything eating our registration stickers. A British repair shop did, though, when they found a snail snacking away on the tax disc of a Peugeot van they were repairing.

Autoblog , UK man avoids fine after snail eats his car's tax disc, UK man avoids fine after snail eats his car's tax disc

Oppo N1 now available for $599

Oppo N1 review | Discuss the Oppo N1 at AndroidForums.com's Oppo N1 section. Oppo promised the N1 would be available for purchase unlocked in the US today, and that promise was fulfilled. The Oppo N1 is now available for sale for $599. You can get the device in white in the 16GB configuration for that price, or opt for the 32GB model for $50 more.

The N1 is a rather interesting phone, with the Chinese OEM electing to go with one 13 megapixel camera that can be rotated 206 degrees.

Android Phone , Oppo N1 now available for $599

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, Oppo N1 now available for $599

Halo: Spartan Assault Headed To Xbox One Dec. 24 For $14.99

Microsoft announced its once exclusive Windows Phone 8 title, Halo: Spartan Assault, would start making its way across additional platforms. The title made its way to Windows 8 this past summer, and Microsoft announced it would be making its presence on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 this month. Well – we have some good news for Xbox One owners and some bad news for Xbox 360 owners regarding the title's release this month. Xbox One owners will be able to download Halo: Spartan Assault on December 24 for $14.99, Microsoft announced.

Ubergizmo , Halo: Spartan Assault Headed To Xbox One Dec. 24 For $14.99, Halo: Spartan Assault Headed To Xbox One Dec. 24 For $14.99

Samsung announces 10 million Galaxy Note 3s shipped

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is leaving its predecessors in the dust – it sold 5 million units in the first month of availability and now a month later the number of units shipped has reached 10 million. Note that the number of sales is probably lower than the number of shipments as those are supplies sent to retailers and carriers. Still, the numbers are impressive – the original Galaxy Note took 9 months to reach 10 million units shipped and the Note II took 4 months.

GSM Arena , Samsung announces 10 million Galaxy Note 3s shipped

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, Samsung announces 10 million Galaxy Note 3s shipped