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JVC Offers Sneak Peek of GZ-HD3 HD Hard Disk Camcorder
Posted by Seamus Byrne at 11:52 PM on July 13, 2007
JVC flashed a tit at a few Japanese journalists, giving them a quick glance at its upcoming GZ-HD3 tapeless camcorder. The demo revealed a tiny shooter with a relatively large lens, packing 60GB of hard disk space that will yield five hours of HD goodness at its maximum quality. It should serve as a worthy little brother to JVC's GZ-HD7 tapeless HD camcorder we reviewed a couple of months ago, but this new one should cost about $500 less. Find out what you get for your $1200, and peek at another pic.
Today JVC introduced a pair of noise-canceling headphones that are said to lock out up to 85% of background noise, thanks to circuitry that "constantly monitors the noise cancellation process." It's also got a "double housing," better for physically insulating your ears from the world's more audible hustle and bustle.
This is the Stingray robo-sub, one of the competitors in the tenth Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition, which is taking place at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego this weekend. Rather confusingly, one of its rival's entries, from the U.S. Naval Academy, is known as Project Stingray, which you can see below. It's not as sexy as the one above, although the Academy boys get points from me for looking buff in their shorts.
Adobe is shilling for its Creative Suite 3 with a 7x15 ft. interactive wall outside of the Virgin Megastore in Union Square that debuts this morning. The display grants the closest passerby control of a slider button on the bottom that manipulates what's projected based on their walking speed and direction, producing different effects in the animation. It also reacts incidentally to the crowd around it, which should make the glorious pedestrian congestion in that area even more awesome.
Flying enthusiasts with $150,000 to spare can now build their own Spitfire aircraft from a pack. The Supermarine Aircraft Mark 26 kit, a 90 per cent scale model of the iconic WWII fighter plane, costs $146,750 - not to mention 1,200 hours of construction time.
The flatpack fighter is shipped to you from Brisbane with 700 hours' worth of construction already on the clock, but the rest is up to you.
It has taken seven years to construct, and at a cost of almost $180 million, but the Great Canary Telescope - now the world's largest stargazer - is up and running. Situated on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, off the African coast, the GTC is 4 per cent larger than the Keck telescopes at Mauna Kea, in Hawaii. Wanna look inside?
Two nights ago, 
This ring is another fashionable addition to the 
As a member of the iPod generation, you're probably used to the feeling of tiny plastic speakers being jammed into your ear canals. MadCatz decided that some consumers might be tired of that vaguely invasive practice and, after acquiring In Air Technology, went on to develop the AirDrives, a new hybrid style earphone that fits gently over the ear and places the earbud just outside the entrance of the ear.
Designed with both safety and comfort in mind, the AirDrives meet OSHA standards for all-day listening because of the distance they put between the ear drum and the audio source. MadCatz also claims this unique design drowns out less ambient noise than traditional earbuds or over-the-ear headphones, making them realistic for office workers, joggers or other users who don't want to zone out entirely while enjoying their music. Available in September, a kid-sized set will cost $70 while the one-size-fits-all adult version will be $100. [
We show you a lot of videos of stuff breaking, and it's all cool but it's all ugly. Well, here's some breaking news that's as pretty as it is shattering. Take a look at these photos by master photog Steve Strawn, who not only knows exactly when to release the shutter, he's probably pretty good with a broom, too. The prize-winning photo above is entitled "Breaking Primaries." After you check out a small sampling of more of his beautiful breakage in the gallery below, be sure to see the rest of his remarkable body of work at his website. How did he do this?
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I really wanted this game to be fantastic. Take most of the previous Final Fantasy crew—Hironobu Sakaguchi, Nobuo Uematsu especially, but even manga artist Takehiko Inoue and former Square employees—and throw in the Unreal Engine 3, bake for a couple years, and what should you come out with? In theory, a revolutionary RPG. In practice? A "Final Fantasy" game for the Xbox 360. Which is, I think, okay in the end.
In addition to having the fantastic Wii Party Station, Nyko also had a bunch of other accessories for all three consoles. First, a wireless Xbox 360 Guitar Hero guitar, which is still in the prototype stage and may not even make it to market. Their guitar may hit a whole three months sooner than the official Guitar Hero III wireless guitar, but there are a couple caveats. One, you need a wired controller to hook the whole thing up.
The iLive iHTD8817DT Flat Panel Docking System is a virtual surround sound bar that uses magnetically shielded 2 full mid/high range drivers and twin internal woofers. You can pretty much hook up whatever you want—DVD players, TVs, computers via USB, other audio players—but considering it has a specially built motorized tray that fits an iPod, we're guessing that's what iLive had in mind. The unit also has a headphone jack. Weird.
News from New Zealand, and featured in the Sydney Morning Herald, is that it seems current social networking flavour-of-the-month Facebook has banned the use of the word Gay as a name - a resounding piss off to anyone who happens to have such a name.
Check out this transforming cellphone concept found over at Parkoz Hardware. It turns into a little bi-pedal bot, complete with twin miniguns. Definitely reminiscent of scenes from Michael Bay's Tranformers, with a little bit of Batteries Not Included, Short Circuit, and Robocop (ED-209, anyone?) Koreans get the coolest cellphones, so it figures their concepts are going to be kick-ass, too. Video of the miniguns chewing up a desk, post jump.
Using SimplifyMedia will allow you to add 30 of your friends' iTunes music libraries to your own and access them no matter where they are physically located. Right now the beta software is a free download and only works on PCs and Macs. If you do decide to give SimplifyMedia a whirl, be warned—the software sounds a little sluggish right now and includes one unforgivable pop-up.
This Incase Protective cover is the first piece of retail-bait I couldn't resist in the Apple store. The good: It's the sleekest of all cases in stock there, so it won't make your iPhone look like a Tonka truck; it's rubberized, available in blue, red, and grey; and has a neat topographical pattern all over it that supposedly helps grip; cutouts or ridges for all buttons; helps the iPhone fit snuggly in iPod docks.
The bad:
We just got a hands on with Nyko's Wii Party Station and we can safely say that it's crazy. Crazy awesome. It's got pretty much everything you want to have when you're having a Wii house party, and it's designed cheaply enough ($24.99) for every Wii-owning family to use as an accessory to enhance their gaming.
But the best part is, of course, the chip holder. Nyko told us that they were going to re-evaluate the design and increase the size (making it deeper and wider) to accommodate more chips. The amount in there is enough for one person, but as a party tray it's fairly under-stocked. But the idea is great.
If you thought the plastic-looking 
Just like with the MotoRIZR Z6, Motorola is taking an old phone and placing the ROKR moniker on it, essentially turning it into a badged music phone. This time they're taking the Moto PEBL U9 and making it a Moto ROKR U9.
It's got RAZR2-like music controls, mini USB headphones (no 3.5mm jack), and the same round PEBL design. PhoneScoop is guessing that the "9" in U9 will mean this is going to have 3G, like other 9-series phones from Motorola, but it's still unconfirmed. [
With the Darth Vader Back Buddy, the most feared fallen Jedi of them all will tote around your stuff in backpack form, ready to toss down a Force strangle at any who try to open it. Or, at least, his head will. This dark lord of the Sith will guard your lunch box for only 20 bucks, and it's guaranteed to be 100% wheeze-free. [
Following successful trials, British policemen are to be issued with head cameras while they are on the beat. The £3 million ($6.1 million) scheme, which led to an increase in the number of convictions of offenders when it was tried out in the south-western town of Plymouth, is to be rolled out throughout the country.
Three hundred police officers were given access to 50 cameras and body-worn video equipment, which they could strap on during day or night patrols. The visual evidence of crimes meant that it was well-nigh impossible for the perpetrators to get away with it, as was frequently the case. There was less paperwork for the police, less time spent in court, earlier guilty pleas and an increase in convictions.
Capcom, the developer behind multiple treasured video game series such as Street Fighter and Resident Evil, is forecasting yet another substantial price cut for Sony's Playstation 3. Said Capcom Chief Financial Officer Kazuhiko Abe to reporters:
This is the Digital Water Pavilion, designed by a bunch of MIT brainiacs for Expo Zaragoza in Spain next year. Its walls are curtains of water controlled by software which, in turn, controls valves that allow the water to make gaps at specific locations.
The pavilion, which will house a cafe, public area, and exhibition space, will be covered by a roof that lowers in the case of too much wind, and the front of the building will be used as a display screen, with text, pictures and patterns all being made by the water.
You like crafts, don't you? Of course you do. Well, get ready for a fun and educational craft project, my friends. First, get some tampons. Got 'em? OK, now make a flute out of the applicators. Done? Great, now go get yourself forcibly removed from marching band auditions. As the instructional website says, "the hills are alive with the sound of tampons!" Oh, and did I mention there's a video of someone playing "Ode to Joy" on one of these? Because there is.
Is there such a thing as the Nintendo Wii design effect? If so, the PlusMinusZero Toaster may well be a perfect exemplar of Wii-ness. Consider the evidence:
• It's small, white and squarish.
• Where other toasters go for bigger and better sets of toasting options, this one underwent a technical downgrade in the name of simplicity: It has a slider, a knob and just one slot for bread.
• Just available online in Japan for 8,400 Yen ($68), it's bound to be in scarce supply for some time.
There's just one final qualifier to make it a true Wii-scendant, however, one that we can't judge from the picture. Will the PlusMinusZero Toaster appeal to non-toast-lovers? Guess we'll have to buy a loaf of bread and find out. [
Indulge yourself in the blinkenlights of the '60s with this Multicolor LED Panel, harkening back to science fiction movies with computers consisting of panels of blinking lights, and maybe even tossing in a shade of Andy Warhol. And hey, this thing has LEDs in it. It's not as big as you think, though—at just 10 inches tall, its atmospheric effects are decidedly local. Still, it's kind of a cool accent light for $34.99. [
The more the wind blows, the brighter Firewinder glows. The concept utilizes a corkscrew with light wrapped around the edges of the spiral, which spins when wind strikes it from any direction, converting the power generated by this spin into usable energy. It's certainly a cool idea, and if found to be reliable enough for small lights or storefronts, the Firewinder might corkscrew its way off the cutting room floor and into our hearts. [
According to Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, there's a good chance that Wii shortages could last well into the holiday season and beyond. Yes, we're talking about a full year of product shortages. At this point, we're well beyond demand being so insane that they can't possibly keep the systems on the shelves and into corporate ineptitude territory. And with the inevitable success of the boring-looking-yet-appealing-to-your-mom Wii Fit, demand probably won't die down anytime soon. Get your shit together, Nintendo. This is pathetic. [
In a rather Zunesque move, Apple may be planning its own version of "the social" for the iPod and iPhone. An Apple patent, recently made public, details a system where Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as cellphones and MP3 players can find each other automatically, perform device-to-device transfers, share contact info, and access iTunes to buy new and shared music. iTunes on the go?
We hope so. The interaction that Apple has planned offers users far more choices than what the Zune allows for, as it looks like authorized iDevices will constantly trade between libraries if the user sets it up that way, creating a random shuffle of similar music you didn't have previously. And, of course, it enables you to toss down some coin if you like what you hear. It's a fantastic way to get people discovering and purchasing new music, not to mention keeping large-capacity iPods marketable, as they have more room to pull in foreign tunes. [
Hi there, Beatles haters. Please skip on down to the next post, and keep listening to that crappy music that will never measure up to the virtuosity and creativity of the musical entity that defined the 20th Century. Okay, now that they're gone, here's the next rumor in the saga of the Beatles and Apple, and this one has a Yellow Submarine-like iPod shipping soon with the entire Beatles catalog loaded on board.
This latest round of Beatles-on-iPod scuttlebutt comes from a music industry consultancy called Music Ally, which also somehow knows that this Yellow Submarine iPod will commemorate the date when all the Beatles tracks suddenly become available on iTunes. The consultancy adds that all these Beatles songs will be exclusive to iTunes for a month before they are offered on any other music download service.
We've been bamboozled by all these Beatles/Apple rumors so many times, we're not going to hold our breath waiting for this one. [
This Ionic Fridge Freshener looks to be the same size and shape as a garden-variety soda can, but it's festooned with evocative imagery, perhaps in an effort to convince you that it will actually get that horrible smell out of your refrigerator. What are you storing in there, anyway? Dead bodies?
This concept of ionic deodorization sounds mysterious and scientific, sure to convince the innocent that it will certainly do some good, maybe even kill a few of those horrible germs in the process. Maybe it does. We're big fans of that fresh, wonderful smell after a severe summer thunderstorm, and that's related to ions, isn't it?
There's something about summer and water that brings out the balls, and here's a case in point: the Waboba Ball, made of some kind of miraculous Lycra fabric that gives it the power to walk on water. It's pretty good at skipping and bouncing all over the water, too, and is certain to annoy everyone else in the pool. Go ahead, it's summer, and anything goes. Take the jump to see a video of this $10 palm-sized orb in action.
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This golf club concept is supposedly just for use on the beach, so you don't need to carry a whole set of clubs around, but I see no reason for it not to be just as practical on the actual links. It's a club with a rotating face, allowing for you to adjust that 5 iron to a 9 iron quickly and easily. It's a neat idea, and if the hollow body and mesh face were replaced with regular club materials I don't see why you wouldn't be able to bring this to Augusta, leaving your sassy caddie back at the pro shop. [