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I’m not sure why you’d want HD DVD in your car, but just in case, Toshiba and Alpine have created this car-friendly duo which brings HD DVD straight to your dashboard. The player is accompanied by Toshiba’s touchscreen, which has the brains to sense when your finger’s shadow is hovering above the panel (that way you won’t smudge or grease up your screen). The unit is expected to come out in 2008. – Louis Ramirez
This is the work of Christian Aldo of Canada. It was part of a vinyl record art show, and he created this very steampunk-esque record player. The funny thing is that he had no idea what steampunk even is. As you may know, we are quite obsessed with it around these parts, and this record player is a mighty fine piece of art, but I just wonder what it would look like if Aldo actually designed it to be a steampunk record player. –Travis Hudson
Steampunk turntable [Boing Boing]
Memorial Day, that is a drinking holiday, right? Hell, nowadays what holiday isn’t a drinking holiday? On this long weekend make sure nobody touches your brew with this beer burglar alarm system. It is a proximity sensor that attaches to a sensor and will go off if anyone gets near the beer. It includes a standard siren or a voice alarm that sounds like a member of the mafia. Intimidating, indeed. $10. –Travis Hudson
Beer Burlar Alarm [Gadgetizer]
If you’re reading this, you’re probably not one of those lucky bastards who got in to Star Wars Celebration IV. Well, to make you even more green with envy, I just found the catalog of stuff you can only buy if you’re there. The magnets shown above are pretty sweet, part of a series of souvenirs and clothes done in that style. Follow the jump if the name Ralph McQuarrie means anything to you, and to see what else is making George Lucas richer than Croesus.
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Here’s that video of CNBC claiming June 20th is the day the Jesus Phone rises from the mist formed from the sputtering of millions of rabid fanboys. Almost all the gadget and Mac sites are writing about this, and incorrectly saying the source was an analyst. That’s just not true. Watch the clip.
Their source? NOT an analyst like the Mac blogs are reporting (from a message board). No, they got it from a Cingular phone store employee, which is not exactly a fountain of certain info. Of course, you’d expect the iPhone launch date rumormongering to come from Giz (proudly) and other gadget blogs, but look, CNBC didn’t even label this a rumor. Good thing no one reads this little “CNBC On the Money” thing. Not like investors or anyone who might buy lots of stock upon hearing the firm date.
But the 20th of June isn’t the only date people are guessing. And of course, we’ve got our own based on some new reporting. (YES, I SAID REPORTING.)
As I have become an adult I am turning into a bit of a tool hound and this is something that definitely needs to be added to my box of tricks. This Multi Meter does everything you could want. It is so much you even get it in a bulleted list!
• Locates concealed AC power cables • Locates concealed metal objects like pipes, nails, screws, cables etc • Incorporates a Laser Level • Incorporates a Spirit Level • Incorporates a ‘white-light’ LED Torch • Tests Light Bulbs including fluorescent and incandescent bulbs/tubes • Tests Cartridge Fuses, Diodes, Capacitors, Heating Elements etc • Locates breaks in an AC power cable • Checks polarity on two cable (no earth) AC appliances • Incorporates a ‘self-test’ battery check for added safety and piece of mind
Hell, I don’t even know what a Spirit level is, but I want it. The Multi Meter is available for $36. –Travis Hudson
Product Page [Via OhGizmo!]
Do you hear that sound? That’s thousands of nerds cheering loudly, then coughing uncontrollably, then reaching for their inhalers thanks to a court ruling in Finland that rules CSS protection for DVDs ineffective. Why does this matter? Because under Finnish law, cracking DRM is only illegal when it’s “effective”, and CSS has become so ineffective that it’s no longer illegal.
I gave the new TiVo Universal Swivel Search a spin in the past few days, and overall, it’s an excellent addition to the already user-friendly features on the TiVo interface. This is what I think so far:
1. I like the way you can find similar shows to the one you’ve entered, or find shows in which the list of actors have also appeared.
2. I’m also looking forward to seeing it linked with Amazon Unbox, and like the way you can also find programs that are on the Web using its easy relational search techniques.
3. I also like the way you can simply invoke a menu item and go on a merry swivel search, an experience that can turn minutes into hours just like surfing the Web.
4. I like how you can find similar upcoming shows to the one you’re viewing for recording. It’s like a manual switch for TiVo’s recommendation engine.
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Not everything is perfect, though.
5. To enter a live show or one that hasn’t been recorded, you still must use that inconvenient way of entering show names, where you must hunt and peck out each individual letter using the directional controls on the remote. It can take a while to type out something such as “Mission Impossible 3.” Plus, the damn menu is buried under Options in a show’s info page, requiring many clicks to get it going.
Media Center PCs have similar “Cast and Crew” and “Similar” searches, but nothing this sophisticated. That said, Universal Swivel Search is an first-rate enhancement, and we’re glad to see it already loaded up on our TiVo Series3 HD box. – Charlie White
If you have an I-Key from a 2007 Altima or Infiniti G35 jangling around in your pocket, don’t let it snuggle up to your cellphone. Apparently incoming and outgoing calls have the nasty potential to switch up or wipe out the I-Key’s internal code, leaving you with a sweet-looking but useless hunk of metal.
A new version of the I-Key that’s hopefully less bricktastic around everyday objects won’t come out until the fall, but you can get a new key from your dealer if you render yours stupid since they can’t be reprogrammed. Until then, it might be a good idea to keep AAA’s number handy. – Matt Buchanan
CheapyD from Cheapass gamer just did a super head to head video of all kinds of Japanese DS Styluses. If you’re at all interested at getting Styli that stretch, go on your finger, or clip onto your DS, then this is the video for you. It’s much better to let CheapyD do all your testing for you instead of spending thousands of yen on crappy ones. – Jason Chen
Cheapassgamer [via TechEBlog via Kotaku]
