October 8, 2008

Games

Carcade Transforms Car Window Landscape into Arcade Game

Posted by Jesus Diaz at 11:45 PM on October 8, 2008

Screw green engines and automated driving. This is what I really want: Carcade, a system that captures the window landscape in real time to create gaming stages on the fly. Created by Andreas Nicolas Fischer, Martin Kim Luge and Korbinian Polk--three students at Berlin University of the Arts--Carcade opens the possibility to never-ending gaming, with the potential to shut up kids doing long-distance car travel all over the world. Permanently. And only for that, my friends, these guys should get the Peace Nobel Prize.


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Screens

CinematographHD: Two Monitors In One Incredible Case Mod

Posted by Mark Wilson at 11:30 PM on October 8, 2008

When a video editor became depressed looking at his laptop, he did the only logical thing. He went to the garage, whipped out the welding torch and cooked himself up a portable system that could store a five-drive RAID0 array and two 22-inch monitors. Video is captured via unspecified HDMI-wielding video card and project output occurs through a Blu-ray burner. We don't know what the whole honking system weighs in at, but we do know that this 10-minute spark montage build video puts Rocky !, II, III and IV to shame:


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Toys

Fisher-Price Doll Reprogrammed by Al-Qaeda

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 11:15 PM on October 8, 2008

The hard-hitting investigative team at MyFox has just discovered the latest and greatest threat to national security and your children: Fisher-Price's Little Mummy Real Loving Baby Cuddle & Coo Doll, which is sold across the country, has apparently been hijacked by Al-Qaeda to reprogram your children into followers of Allah! If you squint your ears, one of the talking doll's catchphrases sounds like "Islam is the light." God-fearin' parents everywhere are horrified, or at least outside of this McDonald's and Pizza Hut. Why hasn't anyone been talking about the surge where we really need it, the heart of Fisher-Price??? [YouTube]


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Gadgets

Ovetto Recycling Egg: Garbage of Tomorrow

Posted by Mark Wilson at 11:01 PM on October 8, 2008

We don't know what travesties or revelations tomorrow will bring, but it will surely include the Ovetto Recycling Egg. A simple two-sided recycling bin allowing the separation of plastic and aluminium, you may be wondering, "why should I spend $US250 on a fancy trash can?" And we could only assure you that this is no trash can. It's a recycling egg. And it's clearly from the future.


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Gadgets

A Safe So Complicated That No One Will Open It, Ever

Posted by Mark Wilson at 10:45 PM on October 8, 2008

We think the Band Saw Safe is as charming as safes come, with various arrows rotating to confound would-be thieves from opening the box. The only problem is, even after reading the description five times though, we still don't fully understand how you actually open it.


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Toys

Buy a Lego Life-Size Replica of Yourself for $US60,000

Posted by Jesus Diaz at 10:30 PM on October 8, 2008

Lego Artist Nathan Sawaya--one of the only six certified Lego professionals in the world, three in the US--will do a full-size scale Lego replica of yourself for $US60,000. You just have to order it from Neiman Marcus, send some photographs, and Nathan will build your natural-size 8-bit version. Given his rates, that amount is quite reasonable and, coincidentally, our remaining budget for the rest of the year. Now I just have to come with an excuse to order one of myself and get another $US60,000 to buy one of Uma Thurman. Update: Nathan came to us with some specifics about this work.


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Computers

Acer 14-inch, 16-inch Aspires Are Built for WiMAX

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 10:01 PM on October 8, 2008

Now that the Baltimore's XOHM network is up and running, companies are scrambling to release WiMAX-enabled notebooks to capitalise on faster-than-EVDO internet. One of the first out the door is Acer, with two new WiMAX sporting Aspires. The Aspire 4930 comes with a 14.1-inch 1280x800 resolution CrystalBrite screen, 3GB RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a webcam, and retails for $900. The 6930 is all that (including the $US900 price point), but with a 16-inch screen instead. Both use Intel's Centrino 2-based WiMAX/Wi-Fi modules. Happy on-the-go downloading!


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Gadgets

Tutukki Box Is Like an LCD Truck Stop Bathroom For Your Finger

Posted by John Herrman at 9:15 PM on October 8, 2008

Insert your finger into the Tutukki Bako (Tutukki Box) and you probably won't feel much. Unless you look at the screen, you wouldn't know that you were clumsily stoking a tiny panda, a small, terrified man or even a woman's understandably unhappy face with an inappropriate-looking appendage. This lovely toy will superimpose a live digital representation of your digit on a couple of equally unsettling scenes and costs about $US30, though it's only available in Japan for now (and probably forever). I'm not sure what need or desire this fulfills, but if anyone knows please feel free not to let me know. Bonus screens after the jump. [Crunchgear]


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Entertainment

Disney Sucks the Magic Out of Films With 120 Pages of Blu-Ray Legalese

Posted by John Herrman at 8:30 PM on October 8, 2008

Sleeping Beauty is Disney's first classic animated film to make its way to Blu-ray, and it's loaded with legitimately compelling BD-Live extra features. Format War Central tried to check these out, but got smacked with a 57 page EULA followed by a 63 page Privacy Policy before they could view any of them. Also upsetting: the new ending, in which Princess Aurora, upon waking up from Phillip's kiss resolves to become a copyright lawyer for a large electronics company. [Format War Central]


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Online

ThinkSecret Creator Returns to the Internet, Still Talking About Apple

Posted by John Herrman at 8:00 PM on October 8, 2008

Remember Nicholas Ciarelli, the precocious tween who started a successful Apple rumour blog only to have it shuttered by the company's legal team? He's now posting on the DailyBeast, and he's got some interesting things to say about his favourite plaintiff: namely that since the negative PR resulting from Ciarelli's case, Apple seems to have realised the buzz-building value of early leaks and non-response to rumours. Nicholas might still be pretty young, but he's also still right. It's definitely worth a read. [DailyBeast]


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Games

Wii Ski and Snowboard Uses Balance Board, Looks Amazing

Posted by John Herrman at 7:30 PM on October 8, 2008


It isn't the first balance board-enabled ski game for the Wii, but it sure looks like it'll be the best. With the weird and richly varied balance board hacks cropping up all over the place, it's good — though late — for Nintendo to finally demonstrate a game that looks worthy of the device. [Kotaku]


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Online

BlackBerry Storm Emulator Available For Download

Posted by John Herrman at 7:00 PM on October 8, 2008

Considering the heaps of information available about BlackBerry's new touchscreen phone, including our full hands-on report, there will be little surprise left for consumers when the devices actually ship. Using BlackBerry's new Storm emulation software, released along with a suite of new development tools for the BlackBerry OS, you can take your dinner-spoiling habits one step further and actually use the device right now, albeit on your computer screen. As with the online G1 emulator some capabilities are disabled, but the software should give you a pretty close approximation of using the Storm will actually be like. UPDATE: It works, though it's Windows-only. [BlackBerry via Slashphone]


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Screens

3D Translucent Laser Display Will Turn Windows Into Billboards

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 5:15 PM on October 8, 2008

Sony has teamed up with the Max-Planck Institute in Germany to create a flexible, translucent display that creates 3D multi-colour images from laser beams. The all-organic screen uses a chemical reaction called photoexcitation to render images, where energy moves from the lasers to the screen and "turns on" the photons to emit light.


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Phones

BlackBerry Storm Tech Manual Offers Proof of iPhone Inspiration

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 4:35 PM on October 8, 2008

It's probably not a surprise that RIM definitely had iPhones on the brain while creating the new (and pretty awesome) BlackBerry Storm--but who knew they'd make it this obvious. In the vodafone technical specifications manual, the company's Storm is sporting a very familiar OS, and it's definitely not the regular BlackBerry's. Hmmmm. [BlackBerry UK]


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Computers

Asus G71 Gaming Laptop Uses Quad-Core Chip

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 4:05 PM on October 8, 2008

Asus has updated its G-series gaming laptop line with the G71, a notebook that sports Intel's new QX9300 quad-core processor. The computer comes with a 17-inch Crystal Shine display, an NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT GDDR3 512MB graphics card, and can be customised with up to 4GB of system memory and 1TB of hard disk space. Asus is also throwing in a 2mp integrated webcam and a Eee Stick--some casual gaming dongle that works a little like Sony's Eyetoy. Price and retail date are not yet available. [Akihabara News]

Phones

BlackBerry Storm First Hands On

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 4:01 PM on October 8, 2008

The very first time you touch the BlackBerry Storm—RIM's first all-touchscreen keyboard-free smartphone, just announced for Verizon Wireless—you will be startled. No matter how many times your fingers dance on the screen like you've been trained on every other touchscreen, nothing will happen. At least, not until you push the screen all the way down and you feel a click. Yes, the screen is a giant button, one you have to punch for basically every action, even every letter you type, completely breaking the touchscreen paradigm. Surprisingly, it works.


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Gadgets

Cylinder Solar Panels Generate More Energy For Less Cost

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 3:35 PM on October 8, 2008

Solyndra, a California-based solar start up, says it's figured out a way to make solar panels cheaper to install and better at producing energy--rolling them up. The company's solar panels are comprised of rows of cylindrical solar cells deposited on glass tubes, a new type of shape that purportedly lets them absorb more light during the day.


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Toys

Zombie Doll Will Eat Your Stuffed Animals' Braaaaaains

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 3:00 PM on October 8, 2008

This Halloween, instead of candy, why not hand out a couple of these cute zombie plushies? The Dismember-Me Plus can be torn limb from limb and reassembled to your heart's delight. It even comes with a cuddly mini-zombie brain! The adorable undead doll is now available now on Think Geek for $US15. After all, being a kid ought not to mean that you shouldn't be reminded that we're all heading towards an apocalyptic future. [Think Geek]


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Portable

Navman's Platinum S-Series Satnavs Bring Them Back To Speed

Australian Post Posted by Nick Broughall at 2:30 PM on October 8, 2008

Navman 300T.jpgIt's been a rough couple of years for Navman. Once the undisputed King of the Australian Satnav market, they got bogged down in a clunky design, slow software, terrible audio quality and average navigation. Now they're back and better than ever (at least on paper) with their new platinum S-Series range of satnavs.

Just like Mio (who now owns Navman), the new satnavs run Navteq's mapping, which means you get 3D landmarks, lane guidance and a pedestrian mode, plus a boatload of POIs. There's a new user-interface (Woohoo!), and a petrol efficiency mode, which navigates away from intersections that require you to stop and start frequently.

Navpix is present, although the new models don't feature a camera like previous models, instead relying on geotagged photos downloaded from Flickr. Depending on the model, there's an FM transmitter built-in so navigation commands come through your car speakers, and the 300T comes with the SUNA traffic channel updates (the S200 is SUNA capable).

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Phones

Best Buy Presentation Leaks Mobile Phone Ship Dates

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 1:45 PM on October 8, 2008

Oops, someone at Best Buy leaked a presentation that's revealed the ship dates for several upcoming handsets. For instance, the titanium version of the Verizon Blitz, now has a ship date of October 26th (it's only marked as Coming Soon on the Best Buy site. Other mobile phones dropping on the 26th include Sprint's HTC Touch Pro and black Samsung M540 Rant, AT&T's BlackBerry Bold 9000 and T-Mobile' BlackBerry Pearl Flip. Oh yes, the BlackBerry Storm's on there as well, with a ship date of November 16th. [BGR via Electronista]


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Robots

HAL Robot Exoskeletons Available for Rent

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 1:10 PM on October 8, 2008


The day for you to strap yourself into a robotic exoskeleton and fight crime the way your normally flabby limbs would never have let you has come! Cyberdyne, the Japanese company responsible for the HAL (hybrid assistive limb) prototype robot suit, is starting rentals this week. The price for being superhuman: about $US2,200.


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Press

Damn The Economy - Aussies Still Spending Up Big

Australian Post Posted by Nick Broughall at 1:00 PM on October 8, 2008

lcd shopping.jpgThe results of Canon's Digital Lifestyle Index were released today, and despite all the recent economic doom and gloom, the situation doesn't look too bad for consumer tech companies in Australia. In the first half of this year, we Aussies spent a total of $2.424 billion on gadgets, which is a 12.1% increase on the same period in 2007.

More and more games consoles, digital music players, digital cameras and multifunction devices are being sold than ever before, but at the same time, DVD players and single-function inkjet printers seem to be dying a painful death, mostly due to market saturation.

Flat-panel TVs are the biggest earners, thanks to dropping prices and big events like the Olympics. LCD accounts for more revenue than plasma (not really a big surprise there) and digital cameras are actually worth a crapload of money each year, considering their low cost relative to TVs.

The full press release is below the fold. It's fascinating reading if you've got a few minutes to spare:

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Phones

Blackberry Storm Goes Live On Vodafone With 3D Tour, Official Spec Page

Posted by Adrian Covert at 12:22 PM on October 8, 2008

Vodafone just launched the Blackberry Storm on their site (HUGE BOMBSHELL ANNOUNCEMENT), complete with a 3D image that offers a full view of the phone and a link to the Storm's spec sheet. Other than that, not a whole lot new here, just seems to (more or less) confirm what we already suspected. [Vodafone]


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Games

PSP Hack Turns Your Handheld Into a 2nd Computer Screen

Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 12:15 PM on October 8, 2008

You know what was the first thing I thought when I got my hands on a PSP? This screen would make a really great second computer monitor... No, I'm just kidding; never in my life would I think that. But apparently PSP homebrew developer Jochen Schleu did, and worked up a mod that lets you use your PSP as a 960x544 resolution passive display. The program works for both the slim and original versions if they're running on custom firmware, and will hook up to any computer that's running Windows XP. Vista users hoping for some tiny screen goodness are out of luck this time around. [PSP Updates via Kotaku]


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Online

Apparently Workers Like Porn At Lunchtime

Australian Post Posted by Nick Broughall at 11:30 AM on October 8, 2008

porn viewer.jpgI usually tend to ignore press releases from anti-virus companies - do you guys really care that another virus has been released into the wild? But the subject of the latest findings from Messagelabs caught my eye: "In the Workplace, Online Porn Surfing Prevails".

Apparently 85% of inappropriate content is being blocked by businesses, which means 15% of perverts out there are getting their daily fix of human nudeness at work. And according to the report, most of it happens at lunchtime:

Analysis of MessageLabs URL Filtering service shows an increasing number of businesses are blocking employee access to inappropriate web sites, such as pornography, during the working day. Most policy rules are set by organisations to block this content between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Further analysis reveals that 28.9 per cent of blocks occur between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., which is usually lunchtime for most employees.

There's no mention of how much appropriate content is blocked by this service though - I remember at a previous job, I couldn't read an article about Facebook because Facebook had been blocked at work - which kind of makes researching a story about Facebook difficult.

But in any case, looking up porn at work is a surprisingly growing trend. What about you guys - do you (or have you) used the work computer to browse for the pornography? Why? Let us know in comments...

[Messagelabs - Pic from SaintGeorgesDay]

Games

Square-Enix Teams Up With NeuroSky For Mind-Controlled Gaming Concept

Posted by Adrian Covert at 11:30 AM on October 8, 2008

Square-Enix and NeuroSky will unveil a mind-controlled gaming demo on Thursday at the Tokyo Game Show. The setup works with a Windows PC and the MindSky headset, and runs Square's software created specifically for this demo. The headset fits over your head with earmuffs and has one electrode that monitors brainwaves. The headset itself is compatible with many different platforms, but it isn't specified what level of control your brainwaves have over the game. Neurosky only says the headset it monitors your level of relaxation and concentration. The demo will take place in NeuroSky's booth at TGS. [BusinessWire]


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Peripherals

Silverstone Raven Gaming Mouse Has a Tumor on the Side, Can't Possibly Be Comfortable

Posted by Matt Buchanan at 11:00 AM on October 8, 2008

Silverstone's Raven gaming mouse looks really interesting at first glance, what with the giant, glowing and strangely hypnotic tumor bolted to its side. It appears to be a secondary scroll wheel, which sits next to the usual thumb buttons. And you've got another pair of buttons next to your middle finger. But when you think about the ergonomics, it just don't work. How can it possibly be comfortable to hold with that massive wart bulging out? Check out this top down view to see what I mean.

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Gadgets