Sunday, April 13, 2008
Music
LG T80 PMP Packs in Touchscreen, DVB for Europeans
11:00PM Haroon Malik | LG has just revealed the T80 PMP, which has the makings of a promising media player, at least for the Europeans. The T80 boasts a 3-inch, 260k colour (420 x 240) touchscreen, supports MPEG, MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, ASF, JPEG, TXT files, has an FM tuner, integrated microphone and a DVB-T receiver, which blows for anyone outside of Europe. The T80 will endure 5.5hours of video playback or 3 hours of TV viewing on a single charge, comes with a paltry 4GB disk space and assaults your wallet at €299 ($506). If you’re hot for the player, consider getting your import on. [Generationmp3 via PMP Today] More »
Games
Pandora Open Source Games System is Retro Gaming God
1:30PM Haroon Malik | The Pandora handheld has serious retro gaming in mind, and with a Linux OS, an ARM Cortex-A8 CPU, WiFi connectivity, dual SDHC card slots, QWERTY keypad, dual joystick controls, D-pad, TV output, USB mass storage mode and a 16.7M colour touchscreen display, it’s shaping up as quite a promising platform. More »
Design
Andre Kutscherauer Robot Art Reminds Us Not to be Cocky
12:30PM Haroon Malik | Check out these awesome CGI images, all put together by Andre Kutscherauer, a super-talented 3D artist. The works all include some form of evil robot madness, and with titles such as Brute Force, Selfillumination and Dandelion of Screws, how could we be anything but massively impressed? If you think we’re talking junk, as usual, dive into the gallery and be amazed by the fantastic art installations. For the record, that little light bulb was just asking for moth based trouble—we’d be surprised if he doesn’t have his head shattered in no time. That’s the problem with being too clever for your own good; given enough cord, you’ll plug yourself in…or something like that. [ak3d via io9] More »
Vehicles
Buran Space Shuttle Floats Along the Rhine
11:30AM Haroon Malik | The Buran space shuttle was once the apple of the Soviet space fleet’s eye. Unfortunately, it has now been reduced to floating peacefully down the river Rhine, where it will eventually come to rest at the Technik Museum Speyer in Mannheim, Germany. The great shuttle took to the skies only once during an unmanned test flight, but two decades later, the modern relic has gone the way of a crushed Buzz Lightyear—it’s realised it can’t fly, but at least it can put on one hell of an exhibition. Good on you, Buran. The images of the final float look stunning, and the video of the event, which is set against some seriously melancholic music, makes the whole event look like a sad and dignified funeral procession. Check out the pictures in the gallery below, then jump in to see the clip. Warning: have your hankies ready. More »
Entertainment
Penguin to Launch Ebooks Alongside Regular Releases
10:30AM Haroon Malik | The international publisher, Penguin, has decided to hop onto the ebook bandwagon, by promising regular book launches to be held in conjunction with their ebook counterparts. Unfortunately, the prices will not be lowered for the ebook varieties, but Penguin will offer direct downloads from their website. More »
Gadgets
Viatek CFL Makes Your Rooms Brighter, Less Smelly
9:30AM Gizmodo US Edition | If you’ve ever thought of your light bulb as a serious underachiever without enough features, maybe it’s time to spring for Viatek’s new Ionic 15 watt compact fluorescent. This bulb pulls double duty, both brightening up your life and cleansing the air, all the while saving you money on your electric bill. The CFL uses 15 watts to produce the same amount of light as a 60 watt incandescent, lasts for 10,000 hours, and cleans a 100 square foot area with its built in ionic purifier. All for just US$14.99 on Amazon. Now repeat after me – lazy light bulbs are for losers! [Amazon via Popgadget] More »
Gadgets
Sony Mylo 2 Software Upgrade Brings WMV Support, Other Stuff
8:41AM Haroon Malik | A software upgrade to v1.1000 is now available for the Sony Mylo 2. The update brings WMV file support, a games shortcut on the home screen and SHOUTcast widget compatibility. Get your upgrade on by hitting the link, and if you notice any other improvements, drop them in the comments below. [Sony via Pocketables] More »
Home
Solar Balloons Above Your Homepod – More Square Footage for Panels
8:30AM Brian Lam | Here’s a novel concept for mounting solar panels on balloons. They’re made of fabric coated with solar cells, and floated with a helium supply cable. A 10 foot balloon can, they claim, provide as much energy as a 25 square foot 2d panel. Greenie architect Joseph Cory and Dr Pini Gurfil, an aerospace engineer, are figuring out the right shape for wind resistance. Seems like a good idea, albeit complicated, which could pay off once solar cells are electrically efficient enough and low cost enough to be rolled out. I wonder for the worst: Has anyone thought of the cost of a BB gun? [inhabitat via io9] More »
Toys
WWII Star Wars Action Figures
7:41AM Gizmodo US Edition | Action figure customizer extraordinaire Sillof is at it again, following up his Steampunk Star Wars collection with a World War II themed line of figurines. Choice pieces include Han Solo in a bomber jacket, holding a German Mauser (which incidentally was the base for the prop used in the Star Wars movies) and a gorgeous rendition of a Stormtrooper, outfitted in armour and burlap. The gallery is below. [Raving Toy Mania]
Peripherals
