Sometimes we find stories that are just barely not interesting enough to become a full post, so they end up here in remainders. But sometimes we find stories that have a bizarre enough angle that we don’t feel right about ignoring them—like this one here, an Xbox 360 autographed by, of all people, Sarah Palin. Why did the former Alaskan governor and Vice-Presidential candidate autograph an Xbox 360 instead of, say, a piece of paper or a photo? We’ll likely never know. Is it worth the $US1 million asking price? That’s really up to you guys to decide. Us, we’re waiting on a Barry Goldwater-autographed Colecovision. [Purported Palin-Autographed 360 Listed For A Cool Million via eBay]

This fully-automated kitchen is actually really cool—you control it with a universal remote and the opening/closing motions are very slick and well-designed (check out the video here). On the other hand, there are definitely some downsides. It costs $US2,000 per lineal feet, so you could easily be looking at a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar investment here. The other downside, of course, is that the Anvil system is almost guaranteed to revolt and lock you in a cabinet once you’ve hit open and close thirty times because it’s just so pretty. [Crunchgear]

One of my favourite perks of this job is being able to work from anywhere. I like going to a local cafe and draining their poor internet connection for eight hours straight (thanks, The Coffee Den in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn!). For some reason, some New York City cafe owners don’t like me and my ilk paying $US1.75 for eight hours of internet and one medium coffee, and they’ve started tossing out long-term laptop users. We’re not really sure this is a huge trend, but coffeeshops are one of the best places to do your browsing while still feeling like you’re “out,” and we’d hate to see it become a real problem. Still, best do your coffeeshop internetting while you can. [Where Will The Bloggers Go When The Coffee Shops Kick Them Out? via Wall Street Journal via Crunchgear]

Hey look, it’s a DJ mixer for two iPhones! That must be worth a post, right? Well, maybe, if it wasn’t an exact copy of an iPod-specific mixer we wrote about literally years ago. It’s not like it’s a lousy product or anything, but come on, would it really hurt to update the design or something? At least they lowered the price by, like, $US20. [Likecool]

The price increases will be about 10% for plasmas, 10% for Blu-ray products, 4% for DVD players, 10% for DVD recorders, 15% for home theatre and 11% for Pro DJ. Not all products will be effected however, with Pioneer stating that their entry level Blu-ray player (the BDP51FD) and some of their entry-level home theatre systems will remain at the same price.

The real question here is whether all these companies will lower their pricing again once the Aussie dollar eventually bounces back. Fingers are crossed.

FedEx says they are delivering it this monday. Oh. Yes. [Think Geek]

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 21, 2008 – Sony today introduced a DJ-style shelf system with a dual dock for iPod® devices called XROSS FADE™. Perfect for mixing and playing music from iPod players, CDs and other music sources, XROSS FADE helps create the ultimate party soundtrack.

Part of the Muteki™ series of stereo systems, the XROSS FADE (model LBT-DJ2i) has an imposing presence and massive output that can fill nearly any room with sound, whether it’s in a home, a dorm, or even powering a block party.

This music system has 450 watts of total power output, so aspiring DJs can crank up the volume while still maintaining high quality sound. As its name implies, the XROSS FADE system comes with DJ-style features, including a cross-fader with monitor cue and a built-in two-channel mixer. With this feature, an upcoming track can be checked through headphones to be sure it’s cued properly before playing it aloud. DJs can mix two songs or fade into the next song without missing a beat.

With an interface and two scroll wheel mechanisms that allow for easy menu navigation similar to that of iPod players, users never need to touch their iPod players while scanning for the next track. The XROSS FADE system even has a USB recording function that saves mixing sessions to a USB device in the MP3 format without a PC.

For MP3 files, the system’s MP3 Booster+ feature improves audio quality by restoring sound that is lost during compression. For extra thump, the beat blend feature adds a layer of pre-programmed percussion, drum sounds and drum loops over the mix.

The XROSS FADE system includes traditional shelf system features, such as a CD player, an AM/FM tuner, and a line-in jack for listening to MP3 players. Users can mix music from these sources as well as their iPod players. The system converts CDs and AM/FM radio to MP3 files as well.

With its matte black and chrome finish and appearance similar to a DJ mixing board, the XROSS FADE system is designed to be a statement piece for the bedroom, dorm room or living room. It produces a booming, high-impact sound through a pair of two-way bass reflex speakers and a dual 7-inch subwoofer enclosure.

Each of the four ropes you see controls a different looped sample: drums on my left hand, keys on my right, with electronic bass and some kind of FX thing rounding it out. As you see, when I rock it solo—my giddy look notwithstanding—it just sounds damn good, but when the inventor himself joins in, it’s better still. Pedals on the floor restart each loop, so that you can tap it into place.

This is just one component of Michael’s Lost/Found project—in the video you can see another pulley contraption he uses to draw circles, creating literal “feedback loops” of sound. Chladil’s goal is not to make the next Soloflex, but to help non musicians access music making in a more natural, gestural way. For better or worse, that’s also the goal of the inventors of the Beamz laser lute. Fortunately for Chladil, not all appendages can be used to tug ropes (last we checked). [Ropeandpulley.com]

A built in remix feature allows 265 variations for each pattern and song, which gives more than 65,000 possible overall patterns. Further, the sound engine uses true analog synthesis throughout and the PC board has a new RAM chip, which extends the battery life from 1.5 years to a complete decade. Impressive. Unfortunately, US$750 is a little too much for us to pay for a novelty Death Star control panel, but the way synthesisers go, it’s not bad at all. [Bornrich]

It’s a good idea, and it sure would make for a pretty eclectic set to groove away to, but for that one fatal DRM flaw. They’re pinning their hopes on a temporary porting of the license, otherwise it would be limited to DRM-free tracks shame. We imagine it wouldn’t go down too well at foam parties, either, but you wouldn’t be able to hear your fave track from your soaked iPhone with all that foam in your ear anyway, would you? [New Scientist]