Thursday, May 15, 2008
Design
Nespresso Contest Could Make Tasty Coffee If You Knew How to Use Them
11:45PM Jesus Diaz | Nespresso—makers of single serve pseudo-coffee machines—have announced the winners for their design contest. The entries range from the abstract of the winner—”Untitled,” by Brice Genre and Hanika Perez, left—to the 2001-like spiffiness of the second entry—”Pearl,” by Andreas Diefenbach, center—to the completely absurd but pretty, as you will see in the full gallery with 21 concepts after the jump. More »
Games
PlayStation 3 Firmware 2.35 is Probably for GTA IV
11:36PM Mark Wilson | Sony’s latest firmware update (2.35) for the PlayStation 3 is available now. Nothing special here, as the firmware is only meant to “improve the stability of some PS3 titles.” And by “some PS3 titles,” Sony couldn’t possibly mean GTA IV… [Thanks tipsters!] More »
Gadgets
BLUE Bowl Shines Light on Your Fruit to Stop the Rot
11:36PM Gizmodo US Edition | This design concept from Ahmet Bektes, Koray Gelmez & Eda Kose uses “Action Fresh Blue” technology—apparently used in “many new refrigerators”— to keep your fruit fresh. It seems that this tech is essentially a blue light, which shines down from the bowl’s handle, killing bacteria. Hmmm: I’m sceptical. But at least it’s rechargeable, and has a nifty blue halo all around when it’s in action so your kitchen looks all 21st Century. If it really works, it might be useful if you’re like me: buying a lot a fruit when on a health-kick, and then just leaving it in the bowl to go mouldy. [Envee Apparel via Home Tone] More »
Gadgets
Offline Wikipedia Psion Mod is HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy V1.0
10:59PM Gizmodo US Edition | Instructables has this neat project which lets you pop an offline version of Wikipedia in your pocket. It’s a relatively cheap and cheerful hack, using a Psion 5mx handheld with a stripped-down Linux OS and complete—if slightly old— static HTML Wiki archive. If you’re not a seasoned Linux expert, don’t panic: apparently it’s relatively easy to do. Personally I’ve always thought of the iPhone as the HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy made real (minus the “hundred tiny flat press buttons”) but this is a much less expensive solution, with a dab of DIY satisfaction built-in. Now I’m just off to look up the recipe for a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster… [Instructables via BB Gadgets]
Games
Nintendo Billed US$21 Million For Patent Infringement
10:55PM Mark Wilson | A federal jury has ordered Nintendo to pay Anascape US$21 million for infringing on patents, and almost ironically, all of this has nothing to do with the Wiimote. Instead, their violations were for the GameCube, WaveBird and Wii Classic controllers. The news doesn’t come as any huge surprise, as during the last generation of consoles all three of the big manufacturers found themselves in hot coffee water for various controller patent issues—Microsoft just settled with Anascape for an undisclosed amount earlier this month. Nintendo is expected to seek an appeal using the argument, “It’sa not-ta me, Mario!” [Yahoo News] More »
Home
TiVo Lifetime Subscriptions Have Returned
10:24PM Mark Wilson | Those who hate the idea of a monthly prick on the finger compared to a one-time police baton to the groin will be pleased to know that TiVo’s Product Lifetime Subscription is back. The catch? It’s more expensive than it used to be…for some. More »
Robots
Robot Surgeon Performs Hair Transplants, Less Pain for Baldies, Claims Maker
10:00PM Addy Dugdale | A hair transplant performed by a robot could be less painful and give a more natural result, claims a US firm. Restoration Robotics has created an automaton that works in a similar way that other robot surgeons do when synchronising with the movements of a beating heart, and can bestow a full head of hair on a slaphead in around five hours. Restoration Robotics’ Frederic Moll, explains how his hair’bot works below. More »
Gadgets
Amex Digital’s iMON HD Mobile Media Centre Also Controls Your PC
9:58PM Gizmodo US Edition | Amex Digital’s iMON HD seems a pretty unusual beast: it’s a “portable media center” that acts as an IR receiver to control your PC, and also has a built-in VFD screen. This can display an equaliser or streams of useful info, like weather reports, news, your email and so on— a little like a low-graphics Chumby perhaps? There’s not much more info than this, so we can tell you it supports Windows Vista Media centre, it’ll come in black and white colours and has a remote controller, and that’s about it. [Akihabaranews] More »
Announcements
Addy Named Cool Geek of the Week, Spills Seeeecrets
9:41PM Jesus Diaz | Ever wanted to know more about the lovely, sweet, sexy, funny, and absolutely adorable* Addy Dugdale, Associate Editor, Disco Queen, and Pop Culture Smartypants At Large in Gizmodo? Then head to Born Rich and read her Cool Geek of the Week interview. Stay tuned for a Conan O’Brienesque “ADELAIDE! Seeeeecrets” segment soon. [Born Rich—*Full Disclosure: yes, she's my wife] More »
Random Stuff
