idl3mind.net

Improving a legend isn’t easy, but it has happened. Introducing the 2008 Les Paul Standard from Gibson USA—an elegant revision of a true classic, with several upgrades and new features that make this new model the best Les Paul Standard ever produced.

Based on research from consumer feedback and a drive to uphold and enhance the legacy of the Les Paul, Gibson USA’s 2008 Les Paul Standard sets a musical instrument benchmark for excellence and achievement, beginning with a new asymmetrical neck profile that makes it one of the most comfortable and playable necks ever offered on any guitar. The neck also features an enlarged neck tenon for maximum wood contact between the neck and body.

Locking Grover tuners are also a first for the Les Paul, giving the 2008 Standard an improved gear ratio of 18:1 and making string changes a snap. All newly designed controls, including custom-made, gold-plated potentiometers made by Bourns, one of the industry’s leading makers of guitar electronics, give the 2008 Standard a new level of sonic clarity and intensity.

It’s also one of the first Gibson USA models to utilize the revolutionary Plek system—a computer-controlled setup that carefully measures and dresses each fret, accurately measuring the height between the fingerboard and each string, virtually eliminating string buzz and providing unbeatable playability.

A set of Gibson’s traditional Burstbucker Pro humbuckers help deliver the powerful punch expected from a Les Paul, featuring Alnico V magnets with slightly higher output and a more open sound, faithfully capturing the magic of Gibson’s legendary PAF pickups of the 1950s.

A chambered mahogany body gives the 2008 Standard enhanced resonance, and a plain or flame maple top pays homage to the Les Pauls of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Other new features include TonePros’ locking Nashville Tune-o-matic and stopbar tailpiece in chrome finish and strap lock buttons.

Each 2008 Les Paul Standard comes with Gibson USA’s standard black snakeskin case.

Play the new 2008 Les Paul Standard from Gibson USA and experience the evolution of the greatest electric guitar of all time.

The 2008 Les Paul Standard will be available at select dealers beginning August 1, 2008.

Click here for detailed specs, a photo gallery, and 360 imagery of the 2008 Les Paul Standard.

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We all know Han Solo blasted Greedo first (wiki link) and it was a travesty when they changed it in the re-release. And we also know Han was the first to blast Carrie Fisher. So what’s up with the shirt? Per my tipster, Jon:

Great, now that we all agree George, give me my fucking cleaned up version of the original trilogy on DVD and Blu-Ray you Ewok/Jar-Jar/CGI loving asshole!

Thanks Jon, now settle down lest us Star Warriors catch the same bad rap as those crazy raging Trekkies.

Scene Stealer [latimes]

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AT&T’s cellular Internet access will be more than five times faster in 2009 than it is this year, the company’s mobility chief Ralph de la Vega said today at Morgan Stanley’s annual Communications Conference. The executive says that the company’s HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network will be improved from the theoretical peak downloads of 3.6 megabits per second common across most of the network today to about 20 megabits per second in 2009.

In spite of the increase in speed, the improvement won’t require a major reworking of AT&T’s existing cell tower infrastructure and will primarily involve a software upgrade for the network, de la Vega explains. He adds that an interim HSPA upgrade to 7.2 megabits per second is already “in the labs” and that the company’s Option network cards are already capable of the 7.2Mbps speed.

This quick ramp-up in speed is why AT&T isn’t concerned about the expansion of Sprint’s Xohm and the unified Clearwire WiMAX service, he says. Although WiMAX will be available this year and is considered 4G, AT&T’s time-to-market for its upgraded 3G will allow it to offer competitive speeds across a wider area sooner than the new challenger.

The company official also reiterated AT&T’s plans to offer 700MHz 4G access through the Long Term Evolution standard by approximately 2010, when peak downloads should near the 100-megabit mark. Verizon also plans 700MHz LTE of its own but plans to launch slightly earlier, unveiling an early network in late 2009.

Both the improved 3G as well as 4G are considered essential by most experts for broadband-level services on cellular networks, including two-way video calling, permanent video downloads, and real-time online apps such as multiplayer games. De la Vega acknowledged that AT&T would have to shift its emphasis from traditional calls to Internet features in the process.

“The future is all about data,” according to the AT&T senior official.

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You’ve made it. You’re in the big city, living the dream. In an apartment the size of a small bathroom. With no kitchen in sight. Enter the Hansen Living Instant Kitchen ($TBD). This all-in-one unit contains everything you need — oven, gas jets, electric power, refrigerator and sink. Installation involves wrangling it up two flights of narrow stairs and hooking it up to a water supply and plugging it into an electric outlet. [via]

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