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All Circuit City Stores Closing Permanently on March 8th


To an icon in the consumer electronics retail space, we wave goodbye. And for the hordes of employees already / soon to be looking for new uniforms elsewhere, we empathize. Circuit City has just announced that on March 8th, all of its stores will lock up for the last time. Granted, some locations have already shut their doors in permanent fashion due to stock depletion, but regardless of leftover wares, March 8th is the end of the line for the laggards. We'd say you might want to stop by your local outlet to catch any last-last-minute sales, but even at a penny, you're not going to want that open-box 4MB SD card.

[Via HotHardware, image courtesy of wbeebe]

Video Games

Kid Kills Parent Over 'Halo 3'



Remember that kid who kidnapped himself over a Wii? Or the loony teen who tried to hire a hitman to take out his parents after they denied him his PlayStation? Well, Daniel Petric, of Ohio, went even further, actually shooting his parents after they tried to take away his copy of 'Halo 3.'

Petric's mother was killed, but his father survived and was on hand to see his son's insanity plea rejected. Petric now faces a possibility of life in prison without parole, at the young age of 17.

We're sure some jerk out there will try to lay blame at the feet of the game itself, as someone always does. But Petric is clearly a disturbed young man. After committing the grisly crime, he fled the scene, taking only his copy of 'Halo 3.' The item could have been anything, a treasured baseball card, a movie. What drove Petric to kill was not desensitization, or even addiction, but obsession. And in that respect 'Tetris,' may be the most dangerous game out there. [From: AOL News]

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Computers

Circuit City Files for Bankruptcy



Even after shutting down 155 retail stores and announcing plans to cut around 17-percent of its 43,000 employees, Circuit City couldn't avoid the dreaded bankruptcy court. Today, the Virginia-based company (along with 17 affiliates) petitioned for Chapter 11 protection in Richmond as it attempts to survive under the crushing pressure from Best Buy / Wal-mart. Beyond that, details about the outfit's future are unclear, though Best Buy has reportedly stated that it "might take over stores that distressed rivals close." Please, no.

[Via Bloomberg, image courtesy of AFSmith; thanks Daniel]

Cell Phones

Driver Causes Fatal Wreck While Texting On Cellphone

Texting while driving is dangerous.

Here's a somber reminder of why it's important to pay attention to the road while driving.

A California woman was driving along a highway at 66 miles per hour when she crashed in to a line of cars stopped by a construction zone. Why didn't she see the line of cars stopped ahead of her? Because she was too busy sending text messages from her cell phone.

Many states and provinces in North America have banned talking on cell phones without a hands-free device while driving. Some states are going a step further, banning use of a cell phone while driving altogether. But fewer states and municipalities have banned texting while driving. Some are getting wise to this major and dangerous distraction, with Washington State leading the way.

A 2006 University of Utah study found that people driving while talking on a cell phone were as impaired as if they were driving with a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level. Another 2006 study by Liberty Mutual Insurance Group and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) found that instant and text messaging while driving leads the list as the biggest distraction while driving for teens.

From Textually.org.

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