So these are some Halloween costumes from Japan that have front-mounted, alternative-universe, male packages in the form of a banana, worm, bouquet of flowers or matchstick. What makes this funny is that I’m pretty sure Japan doesn’t even celebrate Halloween. I wonder if they can custom-make these things. I can think of about a dozen ideas that could be just as funny, if not funnier. [Tokyo Mango]
The last time we saw anyone used a handkerchief was our dads when we were six, but this NosePouch seems to be as good an incentive as any to bring back the old pocket cloth. Instead of being made of one piece of flat material, the NosePouch has a little fold—or pouch—in the middle to catch snot and other refuse when you blow your nose. The catch helps hold much more nose saliva than regular handkerchiefs, allowing you to blow and blow until even your ears are unclogged. [NosePouch via Neatorama]
Dear Hackers: Here’s a personal challenge from me, Jason Chen. Make the iPhone work with the Nike+ Sport Kit. The current status now, when you plug the adaptor into the iPhone, is a message that reads, sadly “This accessory is not supported by iPhone.”
I can understand why Apple made the decision to make the Nike+ Sport Kit not work with the iPhone (providing a reason to buy an iPod Nano, preventing possible damage to a $399 device, differentiating products, whatever), but iPhone users still want this thing to work with their phones. After all, the phone’s flash-based, relatively small and light (if you use an armband), and should work perfectly with the kit—in theory.
Is making the kit work with the iPhone possible? Can you access the 30-pin accessory port with the iPhone? If you can, is it possible to interface with this thing using the iPod nano as reference? Is this a pipe dream, or could this possibly be done?
If enough people get behind this idea, there could even be a bounty set up to reward the hacker(s) that enable this. Let’s see where we can take this.
It’s no series of short films starring Clive Owen directed by film auteurs (minus Guy Ritchie), but BMW’s Virtual M3 Challenge is the latest way the car maker’s showing off how great their Bimmers are. The M3 Coupe game lets you pick cockpit, bonnet, bumper and chase-cam views, as well as configuring your car by customising the colour and rims. It may not be a PGR, a Forza or a Gran Turismo, but it’s free and lets you experience an M3 without actually going to college, getting a good job and managing your money wisely. [M3 Challenge via Luxvelocity]
We’ve had a few more tipsters share their knowledge on the upcoming NextG speed bump, along with firmer details on what you can expect from the update. One point is downgraded – uplink at 1.9Mbit, not 3Mbit. Still superior to wired uplink speeds.
- 7.2Mbit down, but we’re now hearing 1.9Mbit up. - A Sierra wireless USB card will be the first HSUPA device to launch. - 70% of current units, based on 6820 chipset, will be firmware upgradeable. - New pricing to coincide with the release (that’s a price drop). - Possibly as early as next week.
Thanks to those who’ve helped firm this up. With multiple sources now, we’re pretty confident this is only a matter of whether it is set for next week or the week after? -Seamus Byrne
This is one of those ‘friend of a friend’ rumours, but it’s harmless enough so we thought we’d share. An inquisitive reader was shooting the breeze with a Telstra techie recently, and was told that new HSUPA data rates are less than a month off from release. He mentions 7.2Mbit down / 3Mbit up.
Virtual Blackberry software also got a mention as being available in a similar timeframe, set for Windows Mobile 6 handsets only. Grains of salt ahoy on the timings, but it’s all something to look forward to for the NextG crew… so long as that ‘less than a month’ doesn’t turn into a year. -Seamus Byrne
Sarah at Lifehacker AU spotted this great video by Brit-expat-in-Oz, Yahtzee Croshaw, taking the piss out of the current war of the consoles. Should do a lot to entertain and annoy the fanboy in everyone. These Zero Punctuation videos are appearing each Wednesday at The Escapist. [The Escapist via Lifehacker AU]
Some feed hassles over the weekend, but we’re back in business. Here’s what was going on.
Scare your children with the Darth Vader bedside lamp. Not exactly the most comforting night light.
Video with Jeff Han talking multitouch, iPhone, and stuff. Blam catches up with the UI guru at Nextfest.
Entertainment cabinet with ventilation slots cools your junk without fans. It’s a lot cheaper to cut your own. A LOT cheaper.
Apple iPod touch review. Good in the face of greatness? I’ve ordered mine and I’ll share my take once it’s in hand.
Remember the complaint about PSP load times being somewhere between atrocious and genocidal? It looks like Sony wasn’t kidding when they said they improved load times in the new version, as seen in this video of Final Fantasy Crisis Core. The one on the right is the PSP Slim, the one on the left is the PSP Slow. Seriously, it’s like 1 second vs. 7 seconds on this thing. No guarantee that all games are like this, but hurray! [Gamebrink - Thanks Jeromy!]
Way less insane than the Robotic Piggy Bank we showed you before, this Bankabank piggy bank is made out of soft PVC and holds your coins in a nice, round, eye-pleasing container. No longer do you have to fill up sandwich bags, socks, and duct-taped bra halves in order to make the trek down to your local Coinstar—just throw a Bankabank into your bag and you’re done. Remove coins by removing the plug in the front. Forty-eight quarters will get you one. [ILoveUma via Yanko]
