It’s been a year since the PS3 was released, but TechBugTV and gametrailers.com have just figured out that you can tweak two settings to make the visual look not “washed out”&m—the main complaint people have when comparing PlayStation 3 graphics to Xbox 360 graphics on the same game. All you have to do is go to your RGB settings and change “Limited” to “Full”, then flip the “super-white” setting to “On” on TVs that support it. Even though YouTube’s vid quality looks somewhere between horrible and insanely horrible, you can still tell the difference in colours. [TechBugTV]
• The Queen of England created her own YouTube channel. I can’t wait to see her reaction video to 2 Girls 1 Cup. [BBC] • The United States will outlaw the sale of incandescent light bulbs in 2012. [NYT] • Australia’s national ID program got the ax before it could be implemented, thanks to the incoming Rudd Labor Government. [Ars Technica] • Villagers in Dalit, India are starting to get cell phones. The only problem? Since no electricity runs to Dalit, the villagers need to walk 12 miles every day to charge the phones. [IBN] • Have a Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating, or a great movie/Chinese food day if you’re not. Thanks to fellow IU alums We Are The Postmen for the video inspiration. [We Are The Postmen]
In an attempt to score herself a sweet new rack, this married mother of four managed to gather up two Wiis and 7 Guitar Hero IIIs for auction on eBay.
So I set out 3 weeks ago to find 20 Wii’s and sell them for $500-ish a piece like everyone else is doing to buy myself a Christmas.gift, a new set of boobs. You see mine are used, as in milk factory used. We-I am married-have 4 children and I have spent 8 years pregnant and nursing. I have promised myself for 2 years now that THIS YEAR I would get a new pair.
Sure, for one night a year Santa pulls it together and manages to come across as wholesome and jolly. But what is he up to during the other 364 days? Free time mixed with celebrity and geographic isolation can be a dangerous combination. Unfortunately, it appears to have taken its toll on our fat festive friend —as the following products illustrate.
When UK based electrician (go figure) Alex Goodhind found that he couldn’t make a cup of tea when his massive Christmas display was turned on, he decided to shell out £700 ($1600) to install a factory-strength 145amp power line to his home. The display took five weeks to put together, and it will run him about $1000 in additional electricity costs over the course of three weeks. Additional pic and info after the break.
Last week I told you about how Rhys Millen plans to do a backflip in a truck on New Years Eve. Clearly, such a feat requires a specially-built jump, as you can’t just lean back in a truck and have it do a flip. So here’s a look at the jump they’ve build which includes a “flipper” near the top to help launch the truck into a rotation right at takeoff, presumable keeping the truck and giant-balled man inside safe to land right-side-up. The jump will be broadcast live on ESPN on New Years Eve and, presumably, will be all over YouTube the following day. [Red Bull Experiment]
Good news procrastinators and slackasses! Have you still not bought The Orange Box or another appropriately awesome game for your best bud with an Xbox 360? No worries, just give them a shitload of Microsoft Points from the comfort of your lonely computer chair. As of yesterday, you can gift points from the Microsoft Points site, but you’ve gotta know their Windows Live ID—Gamer Tag transactions are on the way early next year.
The good news is, all you guys who have been dreading the use of Internet calling on airplanes may be in luck, because airlines and airborne service providers alike are considering a ban on Skype. The bad news is, they’re also considering a ban on that age-old lonely traveler’s companion, porn, says the AP. Here’s a list of soon-to-be-Wi-Fi’d airlines and what services they plan to ban:
• Australia’s Qantas Airways is testing high-speed net access by Panasonic Avionics Corp., which plans to block sites from “an objectionable list,” including sites that feature porn or violence. (Note to grammar nuts: we’re pretty sure they mean the sites are objectionable, not the list itself.) They may block Skype calls on the PC, but not on Wi-Fi handsets, which demand less bandwidth. Panasonic says that airlines could block incoming calls—and annoying ringtones.
In our first hairless wonderland feature, we took a look at how you could rid your entire body of hair using three simple gadgets. The Mangroomer, the Flowbee and the Philips Bodygroom allows you to make sure your back, head and crotchular regions are free of any unslightly plumage. But what about the most important part of your body; the part that everyone looks at during a conversation (no, not your jiblets—and the Bodygroom has that covered)? Yes, we’re talking about the face. And with the Braun Pulsonic or the Gillette Fusion Power Phantom, you can be sure your mug is as glossy as the top of Patrick Stewart’s head.
Charlie White and Stephen Schleicher present their definitive list of free software you can’t live without—download them all and start using them today on this week’s Coolness Roundup netcast. Then, get a hands-on evaluation of the good and bad points of the eStarling Wi-Fi digital picture frame, and hear Stephen’s gleeful rant about retailers who don’t know squat about the technology they’re selling. [Free Podcast at Coolness Roundup or at the iTunes Store]
