December 14, 2007

Robots

Take-A-Seat Concept Has Your Library Chair Follow You Around Like a Dog After a Bitch on Heat

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 11:45 PM on December 14, 2007

This idea, by Eindhoven graduate Jelte Van Geest, is for a smart chair. Wave your library card in front of the chair's sensor and it will follow you around like a lovesick puppy, providing somewhere for you to park your butt while you flick through various tomes in the library. Now, is this where I write something about saluting our smart-chair overlords, or something? [Core77 via Fresh Creation]

Sony Ericsson Patent Depicts the Auto-Cleaning Future

Posted by Haroon Malik at 11:40 PM on December 14, 2007

Auto-Cleaning%20SE%20GI.jpgThose fellows at Unwired View have spotted an interesting Sony Ericsson patent application, which seems to depict an auto-cleaning function for mobile phone screens. The concept is simple; a cleaning blade is coupled to the opening/closing mechanism of a clamshell or slider phone. When the phone is flipped/slid open, the cleaning blade runs across the length of the screen removing grubby prints.The same process repeats in reverse when the phone is closed, keeping your screen in good viewing condition at all times. It's a good concept, much like communism is a good concept. Ultimately, it will end up making more problems than it solves. That fiddly cleaning utensil is sure to snap off, at which point the remnants of the device will end up scratching your sexy display. Even if it doesn't break, the cleaning process will soon get really annoying, unless it is super speedy, (which it definitely won't be). Either way, you're better off just washing your filthy, chubby, clammy, blotchy, putrid paws. [Unwired View]

Gadgets

Bill Gates Reveals the Secret of his Success—and Where he Had His Zune Tattoo Inked

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 11:28 PM on December 14, 2007

dreamybillgates.pngBill Gates has scribbled a piece for the BBC News website on what he reckons you need to succeed in today's world. As well as an ability to understand IT, surprise surprise, the Microsoftie talked about how a good knowledge of Math and Science was essential for people to get ahead in the 21st Century. Choice quotes, plus Bill's body art shocker, are below.

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Computers

Portable Home Theatre PC Concept Lets You Spill Buttered Popcorn on Your Keyboard

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 9:59 PM on December 14, 2007

micrsoft_portable.jpgJin Woo Han's design for a Home Theatre PC concept is certainly innovative. Somehow reminiscent of R2-D2, it has a built-in projector flanked by speakers that you can detach for optimum positioning. The slimline unit has retractable cords and a collapsible keyboard. Gallery is after the jump.

micrsoft_portable2.jpgmicrsoft_portable4.jpgmicrsoft_portable3.jpgmicrsoft_portable5.jpg

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Hardware

AMD Has Triplets; Three New GPUs Coming Soon

Posted by Haroon Malik at 9:50 PM on December 14, 2007

ATI%20R680%20GI.jpgAMD has just announced they shall be releasing three new graphics processors. The R680 is the new model grabbing all the attention, thanks to its dual 55nm processor core. AMD were clear in stating the 55nm processors are identical to those used in an earlier model, but the older RV670 GPU contained only one 55nm Phenom processor. The R680 will bring twice the fun with its dual core goodness and CrossFireX support.AMD are also set to revise two existing models, the RV610 and RV630, which will both be treated to new 55nm processors, but shall remain otherwise identical. We know that Phenom cores have had a tough time courting favour with the experts, and though the new AMD triplet seem great on paper, we'll reserve judgment till they are unwrapped and put to the test. The products will all hit next month. Happy New Year, gamers. [Daily Tech]

Robots

Breakdancing Robots Bring Joy, Mirth, Wham! to Hong Kong Mall

Posted by Addy Dugdale at 9:15 PM on December 14, 2007


This is how one Hong Kong mall welcomes in Christmas: getting a bunch of golden robots to bust a move for distinctly underwhelmed shoppers. Well, wouldn't you be, if you had to listen to a 20-year old Wham! song, bleep versions of Jingle Bells and the like? [Raw Video via Spluch]

Computers

Apple Goes Claymation with PC and Mac for the Holidays

Posted by Adam Frucci at 4:00 PM on December 14, 2007

Apple's gone and turned good old PC/Mac representatives John Hodgman and Justin Long into claymation figures, just like the ones you remember from those sweet Rankin/Bass Christmas specials from back in the day. Sure, these ads are starting to wear a little thin, but this is pretty great. And I appreciate that Justin Long looks like even more of a dork in claymation form while John Hodgman just looks funnier and more likable. It just needs some Burl Ives and it would be perfect. [Apple]

Gadgets

Biokite: Is Flying a Kite Indoors Weird?

Posted by Sean Fallon at 2:20 PM on December 14, 2007

biokite.jpgThere is something a little bizarre about the idea of flying a kite indoors —but in reality, that characteristic makes the BioKite is ideal for the disabled.Thanks to a super aerodynamic structure and extreme light weight of only 10 grams, the BioKite can fly in completely windless environments. It can also be accurately controlled using the fishing rod and reel attachment. Just don't this sort of cutting-edge kite technology to come cheap. Available for 11,000 Yen or $110. [Product Page via Japundit via InventorSpot]

Games

Rockstar Wii Mod Starts Manhunt For Classy Consoles

Posted by Jason Chen at 2:00 PM on December 14, 2007

rockstarwii.JPGOur good friend Ramon of Samus and Zelda Wii mod fame has outdone himself again. This time he's created a Rockstar-themed mod especially for the guys at Rockstar, complete with a clear coating, laser-cut hand-polished Rockstar emblem, and LED lights. Hit the jump for a gigantic gallery of every single detail of this thing. And if we were going to buy a Wii this Christmas, we'd rather have one of his Wiis or no Wii at all.

IMG_1320.JPGIMG_1310.JPGIMG_1319.JPGIMG_1318.JPGIMG_1317.JPGIMG_1315.JPGIMG_1314.JPGIMG_1313.JPGIMG_1309.JPGIMG_1308.JPGIMG_1306.JPGIMG_1305.JPGIMG_1303.JPGIMG_1302.JPGIMG_1301.JPGIMG_1298.JPGIMG_1296.JPGIMG_1295.JPGIMG_1294.JPGIMG_1292.JPGIMG_1291.JPG

Gadgets

Polarised Mirror LED Watch For the Self-Obsessed

Posted by Sean Fallon at 1:20 PM on December 14, 2007

reflection_led_watch.jpgI suppose it goes without saying that the kind of person that would buy a mirrored watch is most likely obsessed with their own reflection. Either that, or they are a bunch of buck-toothed spinach eaters. Still, you can't take away from the clean design and the animated dot-matrix style LED display that can be turned on or off at the push of a button. Not my cup of tea, but I don't need a watch to tell me I'm looking dead sexy. I much prefer to continue living the lie. Available for $US159. [Product Page via Technabob]

Games

Wii Attracts Roaches Like Week-Old Pizza, Your White Trash Cousins?

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 1:00 PM on December 14, 2007

dtoidroaches.jpgJapanese entertainment rag BARKS is floating the idea that the Wii puts out a sound frequency that "calls out" to and attracts the dirty little creepy-crawlers—gokiburi, one of my favourite Japanese words, even though I hate roaches. It's probably bunk and (BARK admits it might be), but have any of you noticed your pad's become a roach motel despite maintaining the same standard of (un)cleanliness? The 360's bomb shelter-flattening fan would probably negate the effects if you're looking for a quick fix. Also!

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Computers

Gun Metal Aluminum MacBooks Spotted at Apple Campus

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 12:45 PM on December 14, 2007

blackmb.jpgYou know we're getting close to MacWorld when the Apple noise shifts from steady hum to full-frenzied thrashing. Spooks report spotting an anorexic "dark grey" or "gun metal" 13-inch aluminium notebook prancing around campus, which could be a new MacBook model Apple's supposedly buying LED backlights for, a destined-to-die prototype or pure bunk. Personally, I think a darker aluminium would be nice pull-away from the now-cliched brushed metal aesthetic. Cheer or blast the new notebook look we know practically nothing about in the comments. [Apple Insider]

Vehicles

Insane Car Battery Hack

Australian Post Posted by Anna King at 12:30 PM on December 14, 2007

Wanna save hundreds thousands MILLIONS of dollars on car batteries? At absolutely no cost to you? Who wouldn't, what with our ridiculous petrol prices, rising interest rates and the soaring cost of living in general? Find out how!

Disclaimer: Gizmodo AU does not encourage or condone the actions of the film-maker, or the subsequent actions taken by people as a result of viewing the film. [Gagfilms via Metacafe] Thanks, Dane!

Gadgets

Open Mail Like a God

Posted by Sean Fallon at 12:30 PM on December 14, 2007

zeus_letter_opener.jpgNext time you open up that "past due" notice you can still feel like a bad arse with this Zeus lightning bolt letter opener. All junk mail and coupon flyers will tremble before you and your awesome power —not to mention mailmen, neighbours, kids, and small dogs (if things get out of hand). Available in solid or silver plated brass. Pricing upon request. [Product Page via Torc via Neatorama]

Gadgets

Anti-Social College Kids Build Autonomous Foosball Table

Posted by Benny Goldman at 12:10 PM on December 14, 2007

Four engineering students from Georgia Tech have built an Autonomous Foosball Table, quite possibly the key to my never-ending quest to replace the humans in my life with robots. The funny thing is, this thing isn't just a gimmick; it may soon become a decent foosball opponent. The table system cost about $500 to build, and combines a webcam, an 800MHz Pentium PC and servo-controlled paddles to move, twist, and kick. Here's how it works:

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Gadgets

Analogue Ring Doubles as a Microphone

Posted by Sean Fallon at 11:50 AM on December 14, 2007

analogue_microphone_ring.jpgThis handmade, sterling silver ring from Analogue Aesthetics features a built-in microphone and a standard 3.5mm plug. Surely you can imagine the sort of fun that can be had with a device like this—plus, if a verbal jousting match with a heckler turned ugly, you have the satisfaction of knowing that a punch to the face with this baby on would be devastating. Available for $US105. [Product Page via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Networks

Canadian Hoser Runs Up $85,000 Mobile Phone Bill

Posted by Sean Fallon at 11:30 AM on December 14, 2007

great_white_north.jpgHow do you manage to run up a $US85,000 mobile phone bill you ask? Apparently, 22-year-old Calgary native Piotr Staniaszek was under the impression that his $10 "unlimited browser plan" on Bell Mobility gave him carte blanche to use his mobile phone as a PC modem. Unfortunately, when a $60,000 bill arrived in his mailbox for the month of November he learned the hard way that this was not the case. The charges were later upped to $85,000 "because the company was charging him on a per-kilobyte basis."

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Gadgets

Wireless RFID Deadbolt System: Unlock a Door with Your Mobile

Posted by Sean Fallon at 10:30 AM on December 14, 2007

Using a Phidget RFID Kit, a Kwikset Powerbolt 1000, relays, a PC board, wire, and some basic software, a couple of guys managed to piece together a unique new wireless door locking system. RFID locks are nothing new, but this lock can be controlled via an RFID key fob, laptop or even a cellphone. As you will see, the concept demonstrated has potential but it still needs some more tinkering to be truly practical.

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Computers

OLPC XO Laptop's Interface Not So Intuitive?

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 10:30 AM on December 14, 2007

olpchalp.jpgAnother entry in the swelling mound of reports that the XO Laptop isn't so noob-friendly after all—people needing help getting 'em going doesn't spell "sweet" on the ease-of-use front. This guy saw them on 60 Minutes, thought it'd be cool for his wife and kids, but he can't get the internets working on it and is contemplating sending the second laptop to needy children too.There are other verdicts, though. Has anyone here done the G1G1 deal? What's your take on the interface? [OLPC News]

Gadgets

Cordless Drill Modded to Become a Tesla Coil

Posted by Adam Frucci at 10:10 AM on December 14, 2007

I like me some tesla coils, so it's no wonder that I'm a fan of a power drill modded into a tesla coil. Sure, it's not playing the Mario Bros theme or playing out a scene from Red Alert, but it's still cool in my book. Who cares that a perfectly good drill was made that much less useful? It's cool. [TechEBlog via Geekologie]

Vehicles

Disappearing Car Door Revolutionises Paparazzi Upskirt Photos

Posted by Jason Chen at 9:50 AM on December 14, 2007

The parking spaces at my apartment are so narrow that I have to suck in my gut and shimmy like a burglar on a ledge whenever I get out of my car. If I had this disappearing car door, however, that would be totally unnecessary. We don't want to spoil the video by describing it here, but suffice it to say that if this were placed into cars that it would revolutionize boarding and de-boarding more than even the wing doors on the DeLorean. At the very least, the disappearing car door will provide a clearer view into Britney's birth canal. [Disappearing Car Door]

Entertainment

PS3 Divx Update Coming 'Very Soon'

Posted by Adrian Covert at 9:17 AM on December 14, 2007

ps3d.jpgWe met with Divx earlier today to discuss their upcoming plans, and one of the topics that came up was support for the PS3 console. According to the company, they expect the previously announced firmware update to hit the PS3 soon, which will enable full DiVX support for the console. Though no specific time frame was given for this upgrade, their particular emphasis on saying it was coming soon leads us to believe it's "coming in a week or two" soon, as opposed to "4 months down the road" soon.

As far as upgrade details go, the PS3 is DivX-certified, meaning not only is playback guaranteed to function properly, but game developers can also use the compression format for in-game cutscenes In comparison, the Xbox 360 merely supports playback of DivX-encoded videos [DivX]

Announcements

Breakfast Wrap: Best of Thursday Night

Australian Post Posted by Anna King at 9:12 AM on December 14, 2007

Pancakes.jpg

USB Wine Gets You Digitally Drunk
Anyone speak French? What are they saying? WHERE DOES THE ALCOHOL COME FROM???

Playing With Pleo the Pet Camarasaurus (Verdict: Neat but Pricey)
Well, sure, who doesn't want a small yet expensive, electronic, lazy-arse dinosaur for a pet?

Rayzer Triples Driving Visibility, Surprised Deers
For those who think using high beams on urban roads just aren't annoying enough.

Sasumamta: the Japanese Self-Defense Pole
Surely a taser would be more practical.

Pig Toy Gets Completely Squashed, Raises Like Terminator T1000
Meh. They're everywhere in China, in a variety of cute and dirty forms.

Drew Curtis Says NFSW Trademark Application is a Prank
We're all laughing with you, Drew.

Gadgets

Popular Mechanics Call Zune 2, Apple TV 'Worst of the Year'

Posted by Adam Frucci at 9:11 AM on December 14, 2007

allardzunes.jpgPopular Mechanics knows how to get people pissed off. They just released their "Worst of the Year" list, and while much of it is the time of crap that I've never heard of that I'm sure is lousy. it has some stuff on it that quite a few people might actually, you know, like. Such as Apple TV, Zune 2 and Pleo. What were they thinking?

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Phones

Moto Ming 2 Gets Sleeker, More Stylised

Posted by Jason Chen at 9:10 AM on December 14, 2007

motorola-a1600-motoming-2.jpgIt's been almost two years since the first Motorola Ming shipped, but the Chinese site Enet says its successor, the Moto Ming 2, will be shipping next February. According to Enet, the A1600 will have quad-band GSM, GPRS, a faster CPU, 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, AGPS, Wi-Fi, and run on Linux. Not many other details other than these, bit we do know that it's going to look quite sophisticated with its sleek black finish and silver backing. [ENET via Unwired View]

Cameras

Sony Twirl N' Take Camera Shoots One Picture Per 15 Seconds of Jiggling

Posted by Jason Chen at 8:30 AM on December 14, 2007

sonytwirl.jpgThis Sony Twirl N' Take camera seems like an interesting concept, even if its execution is somewhat strange. The camera is shaped like a pizza cutter that you roll back and forth to get enough energy to take a picture with. Roll it for 15 seconds and you'll be able to take a shot. Unfortunately, there's no LCD screen, so you can't tell whether that shot was good enough—which means you're going to have to spend another 15 seconds twirling and telling your subjects to "hold that pose" while you're vigorously pumping away. [Yahoo via Wired]

Games

Nintendo Wii Passes Lifetime GameCube Sales Already (In Japan)

Posted by Jason Chen at 8:10 AM on December 14, 2007

wiinumbers.jpgShowing both that they've learned their lesson and just how lousy GameCube sales were, the Wii has passed the latter's lifetime sales in just about a year's time. In the time period between November 27, 2006 and now, the Wii has sold about 4 million units while the GameCube has sold only about 3.9. And the GC came out on September 10, 2001. In comparison, the DS has sold just about the same amount of units as the Wii, with the GBA actually selling more than either of them. More fancy charts if you follow the link. [JoshuaJamesSlone via Go Nintendo via Kotaku]

Entertainment

Zune Social Gets Updates, Paste-able Profiles

Posted by Jason Chen at 7:50 AM on December 14, 2007

zunecard.jpgThe Zune Social, Zune's social networking site, just got a slight upgrade yesterday. Besides general stability and performance enhancements, there's navigation improvements that let you remove friends and view song and album information in send dialogues. The coolest thing is the Zune Gadgets page, which lets you embed a profile card (much like the Xbox Live gamercard) that shows the last few albums and artists you listend to. [ZuneInsider]

Vehicles

Bicycle With Unlimited Gears Inspired By Leonardo

Posted by Jason Chen at 7:30 AM on December 14, 2007

theridebike.pngThis DaVinci inspired gadget won't help you find a secret religious conspiracy and seduce a French lady, but it will help you get up and down mountains slightly easier. It's called "The Ride," and it's a bike that has a "NuVinci" transmission with ball bearings and metal disc systems to allow you to set the gear ratio at exactly the rate you want—essentially giving you an unlimited number of gears.

The gears themselves are made up of two rotating metal discs with tilting balls. The balls can roll to almost any angle, but the bikes cost $US2995 for the standard version and $US3995 for the Signature Series. Seeing as regular fancy bikes can cost a couple grand already even without infinite gears, this doesn't seem all that bad. [EllsworthRide via PopSci via Oh Gizmo]

Gadgets

CES to Feature Batman Bat-Gear, Giz Editors Happy

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 7:21 AM on December 14, 2007

Bat-Happy_Chen.jpgWe just got the heads up that Warner Bros. and Digital Blue were going to be showing off prototype Bat-Gear at CES. (Pause for tingling sensation to subside a little.) Every so often we dream of hanging a Bat-arang, Bat grenades and other items off of an official or unofficial bright yellow utility belt. God knows if this round of gadgets will be a disappointing lineup of Bat-branded crap, or if there will be some astonishing feats of design. The as-yet-unseen products will cover next summer's movie, plus the animated series and comic books. Here's the early word on the gear itself:

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Screens

Cinema Display Pulled From Apple Store Front Page: New Displays Finally on the Way?

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 7:10 AM on December 14, 2007

cd.jpgApple's plied Cinema Displays off of the online store's front page and stuffed them under a couple menus so it takes some hunting and a couple of clicks to get to 'em. That snubby little spark, mixed with the fuel they're old as balls at this point (over three years) has rumours of new Cinema Displays lodged in Apple's chimney all aflame.

Again.

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Gadgets