December 3, 2007

Games

Nintendo Wii Knock-Off Vii Gutted, Laughed At

Posted by Jesus Diaz at 11:32 PM on December 3, 2007


Here's the official TV ad for the Vii, the Nintendo Wii knock-off that is taking China by storm. Or maybe not. The craptacular Vii doesn't even require CDs: it comes from the factory loaded with a Whole Bunch of Knock-Off Games™ and fake Wiimotes which probably would be as effective as the ones Addy used playing Wiimotish kung-fu. Impressive? Wait until you see its guts:

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Home

Cat Bed Made from Old Computer Monitor

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 11:20 PM on December 3, 2007


il_fullxfull.14997729.jpgGeek cats might appreciate this bed made from an old computer monitor and costing around $US40. The modder made good use of the letters from an old keyboard, as well, as you can see from the gallery below.

monitorcatbed8.jpgcatbedmonitor7.jpgcatbedmonitor0.jpgmonitorcatbed3.jpg

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Phones

Nokia's Patent Reveals Innovative Six- or Eight- Megapixel Slider Phone

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 11:04 PM on December 3, 2007


nokia-nseries-8-megapixel-imaging-slider.jpgMobile phone sites are speculating that these rather fascinating images from Nokia could mean an interesting addition to the Finnish company's N-Series. Rocking slightly more detailed drawings than your usual patent-application sketch, the pics show a slider phone with retractable flash. It could mean that Nokia is preparing to welcome a six- or eight-megapixel phone onto the market sometime next year. [Unwired View]

Home

ETree Light Makes your Pocket Say Ouch

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 10:19 PM on December 3, 2007


etree.png
Nimble Critters are a couple of designers from Central Saint Martins in London who focus on experimental and innovative work. Their ETree light could be the perfect alternative Christmas tree for those of you not overly enamoured of shedding needles.

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Announcements

Breakfast Wrap: Best of the Weekend

Australian Post Posted by Anna King at 11:52 AM on December 3, 2007

Phones

Andy Milonakis Shows Off His Blackberry Curve Drugs-Hiding Mod to Giz

Posted by Adam Frucci at 11:00 AM on December 3, 2007

Here's something I didn't expect to find when I checked my email this afternoon: a video by Andy Milonakis (of The Andy Milonakis Show fame) showing off his Blackberry Curve "mod" for Gizmodo readers. Thanks Andy! We hope you feel better and don't develop any sort of dependency on all that Ambien.

Gadgets

Ray Gun Wallet, For Future Spending

Posted by Mark Wilson at 10:00 AM on December 3, 2007

il_430xN.14497251.jpgFact: guns from the future belong on your person. And this ray gun wallet is the best way to score pocketable space weapons for at least the next decade years or so. Handmade by sandwiching the geek chic design along with Japanese newspaper clippings between vinyl, the wallet won't look like a laser-firing galactic dildo, but holding one in public may scare your friends and significant others all the same. Then again, you aren't trying to look "cool" cool, which is why you're thinking about laying down $13 for this wallet. [etsy via superpunch]

Peripherals

Ricavision VAVE100, Universal SideShow Remote

Posted by Mark Wilson at 9:15 AM on December 3, 2007

rica100_2.pngAs a Mac user, the one Windows feature I'm constantly a little jealous of is SideShow. Particularly, I dig devices like this Ricavision VAVE100. At its heart a powerful 20-device, backlit IR universal remote, the VAVE100 also sports a 2.4" screen SideShow compatible screen with Bluetooth connectivity. So you can have all those SideShow gadgets in what may already be your most used hand held device.

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Online

The Pirate Bay's Next P2P Protocol

Posted by Mark Wilson at 8:30 AM on December 3, 2007

The BBC just did an interesting interview with The Pirate Bay (thieves or philanthropists?) Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde. Here's a short, low-fi clip from the piece in which they discuss the future of their P2P protocol, a far more expansive project with more security for the end user. Hit the link for the complete interview for other interesting nuggets like their responses to why they run The Pirate Bay (technical challenge), if they pull content (child porn) and how much money they make (enough for beer after server upgrades). Hmm...just how much beer do these guys drink? [bbc]

Games

8 Reasons Why The PSP Will NEVER, EVER Overtake the DS

Posted by Mark Wilson at 7:00 AM on December 3, 2007


zelda-killing-psp.jpgOur own pantsing expert Jason Chen recently wrote up 8 Reasons Why The PSP Might Overtake the DS. It was a fascinating article with some worthwhile arguments. But alas, he was completely, entirely wrong. Jason's logic is the consumer electronic equivalent of Xeno's Paradox, perfect in theory...but clearly fallible in real world testing. So here our my 8 reasons why the Sony PSP (though a great handheld system), will never, ever take over the might Nintendo DS.

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Software

Windows XP to get 10% Performance Boost

Posted by Mark Wilson at 6:20 AM on December 3, 2007


prodotto_windows_xp.jpgAccording to software development firm Devil Mountain Software, Service Pack 3 for Windows XP is a "must have" update. Because when they ran Office productivity test suite on a preview version of SP3, they found performance boosts of 10%. So in case Windows users needed another performance-oriented reason not to upgrade to Vista, they just got one. [yahoo via lifehacker]

Computers

AMD Trashtalks Intel Big Time, Claims All Innovation

Posted by Mark Wilson at 5:40 AM on December 3, 2007


Ruiz_Hector16_sm_40846-A_01.jpgIn a recent interview with Gulf News, AMD's CEO Hector Ruiz took the gloves off and went straight for Intel's throat. Angry about Intel following AMD's lead in areas like X86-64 (64-bit) technology yet dominating the market, Ruiz let loose to the media.

"If you look at the last five years, if you look at what major innovations have occurred in computing technology, every single one of them came from AMD. Not a single innovation came from Intel.
Oh, but there's more!

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Games

Wii Fit Unboxed and Groped

Posted by Mark Wilson at 4:57 AM on December 3, 2007


Japan native CheapyD from gaming deals site Cheapassgamer got his hands on Nintendo's new exercise game Wii Fit and undressed it for the world to see. Verdict: we forget how thin the board is. While the concept resembles step aerobics, nothing about the experience does (from the brief trade show hands on we had). So despite this being yet another extra console peripheral--putting the cherry on top of the Rock Band sundae that we call our living room--it should fit under a couch with ease. [cheapassgamer]

Computers

Self-Healing Organic Transistors, Wolverine Electronics

Posted by Mark Wilson at 3:30 AM on December 3, 2007


FEB072098_hi_CIVIL_WAR_FALLEN_SON_WOLVERINE.jpgOrganic transistors are appealing for their cheap manufacture and flexible materials. But often when cooling, misaligned molecules trap electrons that destroy the chips' bandwidth. A new breakthrough in organic, pentacene transistors has found that when these chips are left to sit in a vacuum, the material "self heals" at room temperature, realigning the structure properly.

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Random Stuff

Steve Jobs to be Featured in Epcot Without Woz?

Posted by Mark Wilson at 2:47 AM on December 3, 2007


EpcotWoxJobs.jpgEpcot's SpaceShip Earth ride was a little dated, so it's been undergoing a major overhaul. And according to Distant Creations blog, a certain Apple celebrity will be making an appearance. Tinkering on a computer in his garage, the bearded "Jesus version" Jobs will be creating an early prototype Apple computer...alone.

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Random Stuff

Tesla Christmas Tree Makes Festivity Scary Again

Posted by Mark Wilson at 1:06 AM on December 3, 2007


TeslaXmasFinal1000.jpgTis the season to build repurpose crazy electrical contraptions for a little merriment. From Peter Terren, the same crazy Aussie who brought you hits like the Tesla "Eye of Sauron Anti-Theft Device" has now transfigured Tesla coils to a festive Christmas tree shape. The trick was pulled off by building a frame (held together with wire and fishing line) around a standard Tesla coil to shape the spark pattern. Colour was added after through simple colour filter projection. So no, no one has invented fabled green electricity. Hit the jump for two more astonishing pics.

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