Gizmodo Australia » new years eve

The Times Square New Year’s Ball Timeline

Mark Wilson — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:15:00 +0000

Last year, we published the 100 year timeline of the Times Square New Year’s Ball. Now we’ve updated it with Philips’ and New York’s newest, most dazzling time ball ever. (Click image for big version.)

The 2009 New Year’s Ball is 12 feet in diameter and weighs in at 5,386kg. It will blind you with 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDs—that’s roughly triple the 9,576 LEDs that the ball had just last year—shining 16 million possible colours through 2,668 Waterford Crystals.

And despite these barely fathomable numbers, the new ball is 20% more energy efficient than last year’s.

To celebrate the century-old tradition (and appease the tourists), the new ball will stay on display all year long in Times Square. So does that mean we can get drunk and celebrate in the streets all year, too? (Yes, yes it does.) Happy New Year! [Times Square Alliance]

Don’t Be That Guy With The New Year’s Noisemaker iPhone App Tonight

John Mahoney — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:45:00 +0000

While everyone else is getting drunk, doing all kinds of exotic drugs and making out, you could ring in the new year with a breath-powered virtual new year’s horn for your iPhone. But don’t.

I’m all for iPhone apps replacing real-word objects and tools that I would then no longer have to purchase, carry or dispose of. But festive New Years Eve blowers is where I draw the line. The countdown sure is handy though, if you can’t operate a digital clock. At least it’s free. [NYE Countdown - iTunes via Cult of Mac]

Telstra Set To Make A Crapload Of Money From Your New Years Texting

Nick Broughall — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:11:12 +0000

Hot on the heels of the news that SMS messages cost networks practically nothing to send comes a Telstra press release that they’re expecting Australians to send up to 76 million texts during the New Years celebration. Now, I’m no mathematician, but at roughly 30 25 cents per SMS message, that equates to a crapload of money. What’s more, they expect customers to send around 600,000 MMS messages as well, and we all know how expensive they can be. To cope with the extra demand on their network, Telstra has apparently boosted their network in certain key locations around key Australian cities for New Years Eve, so hopefully you’ll be able to both send your New Years messages and contribute to Sol’s retirement fund al in one go.

UPDATE: Jeez – you guys sure do get worked up. 25 cents or “roughly 30″ cents… either way, the result is exactly the same.

[Telstra]

NYC’s Permanent New Year’s Eve Ball Is the Largest Ever

Sean Fallon — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 22:20:00 +0000

At first glance, the new ball set to drop over Time’s Square this New Year’s Eve looks a lot like designs from years past. However, the updated ball is twice as big as previous versions (12-feet tall, 5,385kg) and it will be the first to be a permanent year-round fixture atop One Times Square. Besides its size, the ball is decked out with 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDS that are capable of generating more than 16 million distinct colours and billions of patterns. Essentially, it’s a giant LivingColors lamp kaleidoscope for the world. [Times Square NYC]