Sunday, July 27, 2008
Home
Rockport Paper House Is Most Ambitious Papercraft Ever
11:30PM Gizmodo US Edition | Back in 1922, a mechanical engineer began building his summer home in Rockport, Massachusetts out of paper. Originally used just as insulation, Elis Stenman soon began to make furniture and decorations out of paper as well. What resulted was Rockport’s Paper House, which is remarkably still standing after 80 years. Stenman’s grandniece is now in charge of the house, which was turned into a museum in the 1930s. More »
Toys
New Star Wars: The Clone Wars Toys On Sale Midnight Tonight
12:00PM Gizmodo US Edition | Star Wars purists like myself are probably going to ignore everything The Clone Wars with an intensity normally reserved for busting best buddies out of their carbonite prisons, but in case you’re a geek that willingly and joyfully slurps up even the blackest dredges of George Lucas’ mega franchise, Toys R’ Us is getting ready to empty your wallets. At midnight tonight, hundreds of the toy purveyors’ stores will be opened to give fans a first shot at owning their own piece of Clone Wars memorabilia. Okay, I will admit–some of it looks pretty cool. More »
Peripherals
Smart Battery Will Warn You Before Your Mobile Phone Explodes
9:00AM Gizmodo US Edition | A new “intelligent” lithium-ion battery is supposed to prevent explosions and fire accidents by sending constant updates on its own health. Developed by researchers at NTT DoCoMo, the battery uses a 8-bit microcomputer “brain” to monitor its condition and relay the information to the mobile phone user. More »
Entertainment
Yahoo! Music Store Will Compensate Customers For DRM-ed Music
8:30AM Gizmodo US Edition | Yes, Yahoo! Music Store’s shutting down their DRM servers, but Big Purple’s said that it’ll definitely still be taking care of its customers. According to a Yahoo spokesperson, anyone who bought DRM music from the store “will be compensated for whatever they paid.” No word on timetables or what form the compensation will take, but possible options include cash back or an un-DRMed MP3 version of the same track. [Information Week] More »
Vehicles
Only 25 Tesla Roadsters Left On Sale For 2009
8:00AM Gizmodo US Edition | Tesla Motors has finally begun deliveries of its awesome 100-percent electric Tesla Roadster, but eco-conscious sports car fanatics willing to plunk down the US$109,000 need to reserve one quick. The company said it only has 25 production slots left for the second quarter of 2009. Locking in a reservation will cost a refundable US$5000. An additional US$55,000 will give you a set production slot and delivery time frame. More »
Gadgets
Working Scissor Cufflinks Are For Wealthy Cutters
7:00AM Jack Loftus | These solid silver, rhodium-coated scissor cufflinks are cutting edge and all, and very shiny, but at US$550 for the pair I think I’ll just rummage around the kitchen drawer and bend a pair of my own, thank you very much. Oh, what’s that? They open and close, just like real scissors? Sold! [A+R Store] More »
Science
Mythbusters Shark Week: Real Sharks Eat Robot Dog, Robot Shark Eats Real People
6:30AM Matt Buchanan | To find out if dogs are really homing snackycakes for bloodthirsty sharks, or if poking them in the eye with a pokey thing is actually a good idea, you could ask a dude in a lab coat, or like, watch Jaws. Unless you’re the Mythbusters–then you build a robot dog, surround it with doggy blood, piss and shit and dump it in shark-infested waters. And a 16-foot ROBOT SHARK. With serrated metal teeth and the same pound-for-bone-crunching-pound bite as a great white. But! If you stab it in the eye, you can make it stop killing you (I guess that’s one way to test the myth). You can catch a glimpse of this robo-Jaws in the vid below. galleryPost('mbsharkweek', 3, ''); More »
Gadgets
SimSail Land Sailing Simulator Offers Full-Sized Boats For Landlubbing Wannabes
6:00AM Jack Loftus | Philippe Kahn and his ambitious Pacific Cup sailing trip from San Francisco to Hawai’i got me all inspired this week to go sailing, but there’s one problem: I suck at sailing. In fact, the last time I went sailing was in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where I almost got smashed on the reef that protects the beach there. So you’ll excuse my excitement today over the SimSail, a full sized “land yachting” simulator for two. It’s not quite the same thing as sailing on the water, and it’s certainly not even remotely close to what Kahn’s up to these days, but for me, at least, it’s a start. More »
Computers
Gateway Shutters Online Store, Exits Direct PC Sales Business Completely
5:30AM Gizmodo US Edition | Gateway will now no longer be selling its PCs through Gateway.com and has shut down all its direct PC sales to become a 100% retail channel PC company. The move is only somewhat surprising–its newish parent company Acer has always focused on offering its goods through resellers. But seeing how Gateway was one of the original success stories for the selling PCs directly to consumers model, the shuttering of its online store is a little like the death knell of an era. [Cnet] More »
Gadgets
