If you want to get a nice close-up view of bugs, the innards of gadgets or boogers, this EyeClops Portable Microscope could do the trick for you. Rather than forcing you to stick your eye up to an eyepiece, it’s got an LCD screen on board. It also comes with a thumb drive for storing your most exciting shots and then transferring to your computer for later viewing. It’s completely exciting, and you can get one yourself when it comes out this spring for $80. [DVICE via SlashGear]
Before winning the majority of Hollywood studio support, those partial to the Blu-ray format have primarily relied on a few points to make their case: more storage and rocketing sales at the ratio of 2:1 to HD DVD. Those are bullshit arguments. As consumers, we should have only been looking at what each format delivered and in that case, HD DVD was a more stable platform with more features on almost every disc that was offered in both. It’s a moot point now, because the platform with more content deserves to win, but here’s why I wish HD DVD wasn’t on its knees:
When Wilson compared the same discs in each format, Harry Potter and 300, HD DVD had many, many more features. Proof is in the pudding:
Stay in the yard, Cat. But stay away from the pool. My kids would be sad. [Product Page via Geekologie]
When we’re driving cross country, navigating the backroads of America with our trusty GPS unit, we always think, “boy, I wish this thing had fewer gas stations and more titty bars.” Hurrah for NUDAR, the site that hopes to catalogue every single nude, topless, pastie, bikini bar, nude beach and nudist resort in the continental US. You can contribute by sending in the location of nude places so people can download the “Points of Interest” to their GPS devices for use on the road. I’ll show you point of interest, baby. [Nudar (NSFW) via Fleshbot]
Sure, there are really slick tablets out there meant for artists and graphic designers, but writing on a tablet is still not the same as writing on paper. That’s why devices like this unfortunately-named WowPen keep popping up; they want to give people the ability to turn their pen-and-paper drawings into digital masterpieces.
Unfortunately, these things are currently better suited for writing and crude drawings than artistic masterpieces (unless crude drawings are your masterpieces, of course), so you’re probably still better off just getting used to using a tablet for now. This one involves sticking a USB device to the top of your pad of paper; it senses what you’re drawing, and you can hit a button to switch between drawing and using it as a mouse. Could be useful, depending on what you need it for. [Product Page via i4u]
Toshiba’s new G450 USB HSDPA is designed to primarily function as a USB HSDPA modem for data on-the-go, but in a surprise combo double-attack move it also doubles as a handy mobile phone. With its unconventional keypad and 96 x 36 pixel OLED display you’re unlikely to want to use it as your main phone, but you never know, it may come in handy. It does give you tri-band EDGE/GSM, 2100 MHz HSDPA and 300 hours standby time, with 3 hours talk time and three colours for around $330 in Europe. [Unwiredview]
newVideoPlayer("robotetris_gizmodo.flv", 475, 376,""); The Mekaniskt is a robotic Tetris, an arm that can suck pieces, moving and rotating them to make the perfectly fit in place using Nintendo NES-like controls. The only problem: the lines don’t disappear.
This problem begs for some kind of ACME disintegration ray to be installed at the bottom (or like some readers say, a conveyor belt. We like deadly rays better, though.) In any case, it comes straight from Sweden, the Nordic lands of Europe where Earth is ruled by blue-eyed Valkyries and vodka and salmon is the breakfast of the champions, so even if it wasn’t cool—which it is—that’s enough reason to talk about it. Discuss. [YouTube - The video was heavily edited from the original one. Thanks Scott!]
That free Xbox Live Arcade game Microsoft promised in compensation for the extended service downtime? It’s going to be Undertow, a game that popped last November. We feel for the poor developers who worked on this game, seeing as it’s being given away as a consolation prize. [Gamerscoreblog]
Its about time someone started applying machine intelligence to good things rather than the seemingly evil: the new JeJoue SaSi “personal massager” comes with built-in motion playlists and also actually learns what its lady likes in the way of sub-knicker action. And occasionally, just for kicks, it rocks a bit of freestylin’ to give you a surprise. Updated: NFSW demonstration video after the jump.
It starts with a case: This week, after one company preemptively announced a sexy MacBook Air sleeve before the Jobsnote, others have followed suit. Not only is there a real Manila folder case in the works, but others, from WaterField to Belkin, are launching their own lineups. Here are Belkin’s first hasty MBA-friendly bags. (They’re pretty, but almost too pretty. Is Belkin saying that the MacBook Air is for girls?) Like I said, the Bandwagonware starts with cases—easiest to fudge—but soon we think we’ll see companies like Belkin, Targus, Kensington, DLO and Griffin popping other goodies, from neon rubber protective skins to any number of competitively priced drives and dongles, just to fit in. [Belkin]
