Saturday, May 3, 2008
Entertainment
Is Iron Man the Best Superhero Movie Ever?
11:00AM Jesus Diaz | Many of you have probably seen Iron Man already. Jason saw it on Wednesday and thought it was the best superhero movie this side of Batman Begins (but we all know Jason is a Bruce Wayne fanboy.) But we want your opinion: has Iron Man survived the jump from trailer to full-lenght movie, keeping its predicted status of best superhero movie ever? Your answers after the jump. More »
Robots
Rocky the Robo-Squirrel Scares the Hell Out of Timid Woodland Creatures
10:45AM Sean Fallon | Why we care to know how squirrels communicate is anyone’s guess, but it seems that this research is so important that a robot squirrel is being employed to live amongst the regular squirrel population. In fact, “Rocky” here (named after the cartoon character) is one of a growing legion of robo-creatures designed to study animals in their natural habitat. More »
Cameras
Crank 2: High Voltage Being Shot With Cheapo Best Buy HD Cameras, Still Ridiculous
10:30AM Matt Buchanan | Apparently, the only thing crazier than Crank 2: High Voltage’s plot (Jason Statham survives falling a thousand stories from a helicopter, thanks to his super adrenaline heart, which is stolen by a really old Chinese dude, and his mechanical replacement needs to be constantly zapped, hence the awesome title) is the cameras they’re using to shoot it. They’re straight from Best Buy and Circuit City: Canon’s US$1000 HF10 and XH A1 (now about US$3500), though they’re shooting with up to 12 simultaneously, and plan to destroy loads of them throughout the process. More »
Peripherals
DIY Glowing Video Tape USB Hub: Put an Old VHS Tape to Good Use
10:00AM Sean Fallon | Have any old VHS tapes lying around? Really? What the hell is wrong with you? That stuff should have been tossed ages ago. Anyway, since you have one, it might be a good idea to repurpose it into something useful—like a USB hub. As far as DIY projects go, this one should be simple enough—even for a novice. All you need outside of the tape is a USB hub, some LEDs, a small switch (optional) and some cables. It looks cool, and when all is said and done you can act all high and mighty about your herculean recycling effort. Additional image after the break. More »
Gadgets
Review: Livescribe Pulse Digital Pen/Recorder (Verdict: It’s Good for Notetakers)
9:32AM Adrian Covert | The Gadget: The Livescribe Pulse Digital Smartpen records your notes two ways: it creates digital copies of everything you write by hand while recording audio at the same time. It also goes one step further and links the two together, so you can quickly access audio by tapping parts of your notes. All of this is uploaded to your computer where the Livescribe software archives and makes your notes fully searchable. In addition, it offers features like a calculator, translator, and a paper piano that plays a mini piano you draw on paper.
Phones
How to Cover Your Text Message Tracks
9:30AM Matt Buchanan | It’s Friday, so the mass of stupid and regrettable (and maybe criminal) text messages you wished you never sent is about explode exponentially, as it does every weekend. Google, as you know, keeps your embarrassing search history for “AZN Squirrels Pooping on Bananas” or “Iron Man upskirt” for 18 months. But how long do Verizon and AT&T hang on to your shameful SMSes? Thankfully, not long at all. Sprint hangs on to your textual diarrhea the longest, for about two weeks, while AT&T dumps them after 48 hours, according to Slate’s Explainer. We hit up Verizon, who said a “couple days, tops.” There are a couple catches, though. More »
Toys
Jin Saotome’s Custom Action Figures Really Capture the Essence of Tony Stark
9:00AM Sean Fallon | The Iron Man movie may have short-changed Tony Stark’s legendary drinking problem, but Jin Saotome really captures the essence of his addiction with this boozed up version of our favourite party loving superhero. However, Saotome’s brilliant work is not confined to parody figures alone. As you can see from the gallery below, he brings a lot to the table. Hit the Wired link to check out more of his custom figures. [Wired] More »
Phones
Sidekick LX Getting Video Recording and Playback, Maybe YouTube Action
8:55AM Matt Buchanan | Here’s a snagged screen pointing to video recording and playback coming to the Sidekick LX in a future update. Nothing definitive on which codecs will be supported, but possibly H.264, which YouTube encodes videos in for Apple, meaning you might be able to watch YouTube videos. Or it could be a different one, and there’s no word on whether there’ll be a dedicated YouTube app. Regardless, video capabilities of some kind seem to be in the pipe. [Hiptop3] More »
Games
World’s Largest Foosball Table: You Don’t Have This Much Game
8:30AM Sean Fallon | Think you are a foosball champion? How about stepping your game up to the Table Football XXL? There is no information about how long this table actually is, but sufficed to say— you are going to need to bring some friends. In fact, two full soccer teams (22 players) could go head to head on this thing in what would undoubtedly be an epic foosballing showdown. Unfortunately, you may never get a chance to try your skill—the Table Football XXL is a one-of-a-kind item built as an advertising stunt for Amstel beer. [Airworks via DVICE] More »
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