Poor incandescent bulbs. They had about 100+ years of dominance, but now it's the era of energy-efficient compact fluorescent. And this triumph of the CFL has been archived for future historians in the most permanent record known to our culture: a T-shirt. If you'd like to see this clever garment actually be produced, make sure to vote over at Threadless. [Threadless via superpunch]
With recruitment levels sagging, the U.S. Army is going the hyper-interactive route with an experimental new store that's right out of the Apple playbook. That is, if Apple Genius Bar employees greeted customers with Apache attack helicopter simulators, full-scale Army vehicle mock-ups, and wrap-around 270-degree video screens, instead of those paperless receipt scanner things.
"If you think of a classic recruitment center, [all of] its forms and brochures are about as exciting as the post office," said Marc Babej, partner at marketing consultancy Reason Inc. "Why talk about it when you can demonstrate it."
So instead of campy handouts, potential Army recruits will get an accurate, interactive representation of what awaits them on today's battlefields. By the Amy's definition of "realism" that includes battle simulators, replica firearms and America's Army, the 2002 video game that lets players act out battlefield scenarios DOOM-style. In a word, games—not maiming and killing. The first interactive Army store location has yet to be established, a spokesperson said.
All I ask is, when this doesn't work, what's next? Never-ending WWDC Baghdad keynotes? Black turtleneck body armor? iPhone controlled UAVs? More "BOOMs?" What? [BrandWeek]
Filed under: Cellphones
There's still plenty of emerging details and news on the iPhone 3G kicking around, but here's what you need to know from the minor bits floating around over the past few days:
According to Ars, one AT&T attorney told the FCC yesterday that early termination fees we pay for leaving our contracts before the designated time are actually a great deal for us. His reasoning was that "ETF-backed term contracts give consumers the ability to lower their monthly charges and upfront handset costs in exchange for their promise to pay monthly charges for the life of the contracts or alternatively to pay the ETF in lieu of the remaining charges." On the one hand, that's a punch in the nuts. On the other hand, he kinda has a point.
By taking a subsidy on your phone up front (such as on the iPhone 3G), you're paying less in exchange basically telling AT&T that you're going to stick with them for 2 years. If you want to leave, you can pay that $175 and get out of your contract. In this case, with the iPhone 3G, it basically lets you walk away with a iPhone 3G that you can use on T-Mobile for $374. That's not too shabby.
But a recent AP report said that Sprint waived all ETFs to a government agency that was signed up with it, essentially because "the government will never, never accept such penalty amounts." [Ars Technica]
Even if you don't speak a word of Japanese, there's a lot of intensity and information to be had in this newscast of the tragic Akihabara killings last Sunday. I'd just offer up a word of warning before you hit play, as there's graphic material found throughout the clip.
Filed under: Digital Cameras
We can only guess what the ancient Romans might have thought about the latest revision of the Dungeons and Dragons rulebook (super approachable; they'd love it!), but we do know they were gamers. That's because an incredibly old, incredibly valuable Roman glass d20 was sold at auction by the famous Christie's auction house. For $17,925. Historians know the symbols are Roman, but have yet to figure out which game for which it was used. Any guesses, Gizmodo readers/ancient gaming history buffs? [Christie's]
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
And I was starting to feel unfulfilled by the stuff coming out of Google's labs. Its senior policy director, Richard Whitt, says that they're cooking up software that'll tell you if your ISP is screwing with or slowing down your connection because you're hogging too much bandwidth, and what exactly they're doing to it. (There's already some available, BTW, since Whitt didn't mention a release date.) But it's not necessarily because they believe willy nilly in net neutrality.
Google just thinks that you have a right to know what your ISP is doing. If your ISP won't tell you, you should have the tools to figure out. In fact, according to one article cited by Hot Hardware, when net neutrality first started becoming an issue, at first Google considered just going along with ISPs: "We would come out fine—a non-neutral world would be a good world for us." Do no evil, eh? [Hot Hardware via /.]
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets, Portable Video
The Germans who hacked a Wii Balance Board from Wii Fit to surf Google Earth have found a much more fun use for the peripheral – running around World of Warcraft. In this follow up video, Simon and Mattieu control a low level gnome exploring Ironforge, avoiding wolves and slamming into tree trunks. Now all they need to do is hack the Wiimote and Nunchuck to understand macros and I will be the fittest WoW player EVER. [Technabob]
Microsoft has released its second version of the Origami Experience, making it available as a free download for Ultra-Mobile PC users with Windows Vista. The OE 2.0 software includes Picture Password, Weather, RSS functionality, an e-mail client, calender and other web features – basically what you get with Vista, but more touch screen friendly. OE 1.0 was barely used, partially because UMPCs had yet to really catch on in January 2007, but also because it made them slow down to a crawl. Hopefully, they've rectified that problem this time around. [JKontherun]
In a move that will cheer up lovers of vehicles that can travel on both water and (very flat) land, students at a German engineering university have built a one-person hovercraft that uses an air thrust system to move and steer.
Folks over at the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences use a pneumatic propeller that pushes air through two channels. Each of the channels has a pair of flaps that behave like the thrust-reversing system of a turbo-drive to help a user easily maneuver left or right, go in reverse, and brake.
The way the project is set up hints that the students are looking to mass produce their hovercraft, though I'm not really sure how strong the market is for personal amphibious vehicles. Judging by the video on the site though, maybe they're planning on turning a parking lot into a hovercraft bumper car lot? Oh my god, I think I just stumbled upon the best idea ever. [Festo via Gizmo Watch]
Running a car on water has been the holy grail for car manufacturers for some time now, but it appears that a Japanese company named Genepax may have pulled ahead of the competition with a prototype vehicle that runs entirely on water and air. Their new "Water Energy System (WES)," generates power by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes using a proprietary technology called the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). The secret behind MEA is a special material that is capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.
Not surprisingly, Genenpax has kept the exact details of their technology under wraps, but they did say that their new process, while based on existing technology, is expected to produce hydrogen from water for longer time than any method currently available. Furthermore, WES does not require a hydrogen reformer, a high-pressure hydrogen tank, or any special catalysts to get the job done.
During a recent conference, Genepax unveiled a fuel cell stack with a rated output of 120W and a fuel cell system with a rated output of 300W—and there are plans for a 1kw-class generation system for use in both electric vehicles and houses sometime in the future. At this point, the cost of production on the water-powered vehicle engine itself is around about ¥2,000,000 (US$18,522), but they hope to drop the price to ¥500,000 (US$4600) or less if they succeed in bringing it into mass production. [Tech On]
Filed under: Transportation
The UK has just sent up a new communications satellite that's completed their Skynet, the highly-advanced network that's going to give them the ability to allow robotic military units at long range. You know, like in the apocalyptic vision of the future from the Terminator movies. The network's name in those movies? Skynet. Have you learned nothing, England?!
The system allows for communication both in the voice and data variety between basically any unit of the British Armed Forces, including computers talking to computers, probably about how best to murder their makers. For example, a base computer in cheery old London can communicate with the "Reaper," a robotic spy drone in Afghanistan, retrieving data and telling it where to go, and transmitting live video over the connection from the UAV. The sat also has solar sails which extend its life to 15 years, a special anti-jamming antenna is set on the receive side, while 4 steerable antennas can be aimed in a single spot to concentrate broadcasting ability.
Even worse is the fact that the whole thing is privately owned, with the British Armed Forces only promised a portion of the bandwidth rather than having control over the whole thing.
All I know is that we've got to protect John Conner at all costs, wherever he may be. [BBC via io9]
Sprint's sort of following in T-Mobile's unlimited family plan footsteps when they rejiggered their plans to include unlimited options for shared plans. Now, if you add an additional line onto one of their $99 Simply Everything Talk Share plan for $9.99, each line will be able to share unlimited messaging, email, data, GPS, and everything else besides actually using your minutes to talk. For that, you don't get to share your unlimited minute bucket, but instead have to pay additional for more minutes. Hit up their release if you want the details. [Sprint via WMExperts via Boy Genius]
Filed under: Robots
We've seen plenty of robots that attempt to display emotions, but none quite like this Pomi penguin bot developed by Korea's Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, which can emit two unspecified smells in addition to employing some more common means of letting you know how it feels. Those other options include a "heart box" on its chest that changes its heartbeat based on its mood, and movable lips, eyebrows and pupils that'll let it make faces at you, along with the usual sensors to follow you around, and voice recognition to help it recite some pre-programmed answers. Unlike some other similar bots, however, this one is apparently going to actually be commercially available by the end of next month, although there's no word on a price tag just yet.
We are really getting down to the wire here as far as Father's Day gifts are concerned, but there is still hope for finding that perfect present for hard-to-shop-for Dads. So, let's dispense with the normal fare like ties, golfing equiptment and GPS units (although GPS units are cool). Get something unique this year that he will always remember. The following guide will show you how.
Rich Dads:
Rich Dads are probably the hardest category of Dads to shop for. I mean, what do you give the man who has everything? Here are a few unique suggestions:
The UR-202 Wristwatch: Besides looking completely awesome, the UR-202 features a unique winding system that is regulated by compressed air. The winding is controlled using miniature twin turbines and the level of air compression generated by these turbines can actually be altered using a 3-position selector switch. Pricing information has not been made available on the UR-202, but if you have to ask you probably can't afford it. [Urwerk via Link]
Crystal Foosball Table: Your rich father may have a lot of stuff, but I guarantee he does not have something as fun and frivolous as a crystal foosball table with aluminum players. Again, the sticker shock would be too high for normal folk, so expect to shell out some serious bucks for dear old Dad. [Teckell via Link]
The Craftsman Professional Tool Set: Sure your father has tools, but does he have EVERY tool? This Craftsman Collection comes with 1470 pieces—enough to keep him tinkering until the end of time. Available for $$7,619.90 (before shipping). [Sears]
Motion Pro II Racing Simulator: If your father likes fast cars, chances are he would love a top of the line racing simulator that can run you in excess of $45,000 when you throw in extras like a panoramic screen, a six-speed gated shifter and custom bodywork. [CXC Simulations via Link]
Fun Dads
If your father has a sense of humor, the following gifts are sure to get a laugh:
Executive Ball Scratcher: What is the classy, executive gentleman to do when he has a very un-classy itch? This chrome plated ball scratcher is tough enough to do the dirty work, yet elegant enough to keep on a desk in plain view. Available for around $11.36. [Find Me a Gift]
Beaver Stuffing Kit: Most guys love stuffing beavers, and as much as you don't want to think about it, your father probably does too. So, give him what he craves with this beaver stuffing kit. Available for around $15 [Find Me a Gift]
Potty Putter: Golf balls may be a boring gift, but an entire putting system you can use from the comfort of your own toilet is another story entirely. Available for $19.95. [Baron Bob]
Control a Woman Remote: With functions like "cook," "clean," "remove clothes," "stop nagging" and a breast enhancer / reduction dial, this novelty remote is sure to get laughs—but probably not from your mother. Available for around $10. [Genie Gadgets]
Deadbeat Dads:
Let's face it, not everyone has a magical childhood because there are plenty of deadbeat Dads out there. If your father happens to be one of them, here are a few gifts that will tell him exactly how you feel:
Middle Finger Vibrator: This symbolic gift will tell him exactly where he can go and what he can do with himself. Available for $39.99. [Sex Toy Party]
Bed Snake Bat: Actually, this is more of a gift for that strip club waitress that your father dumped your mother for. Tell her to keep it next to the bed. If a bed snake should bother her in the middle of the night, she can whack it up good. Available for around $6. [Giftmonger]
Life-Sized Cardboard Policeman: This is the gift that will keep on giving. Put him on your father's doorstep, in front of his car, or just place it in his bedroom before the alarm goes off in the morning. Your father could go to jail for any number of reasons—it's all about keeping him on his toes. Available for $30.79. [Incredible Gifts]
Nothing: When all else fails, you could always get him nothing. But instead of simply showing up empty handed, bring him a packaged version of nothing. It makes for a more powerful statement. Available for around $7. [iwoot]
NXP's new softmodem will be the fastest in the world and work with a range of data protocols, including LTE, WiMax, HSPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS and GSM. While the modem's over-the-top theoretical speeds will be sharply limited by available cellular networks, its network-promiscuity will allow for actual global phones that would be able to connect to fast data services almost anywhere in the world. Expect the hardware to start turning up in phone starting Q2 2009. [SlashPhones]
In a silly PR move, Doritos is beaming an ad for their chips into space, apparently so aliens, when they invade, will attack the Frito-Lay factories first.
They broadcast a 30 second video (what format isn't clear; I hope the aliens have VLC!) into space which was voted on by the British to best represent life on Earth, or at least the moments of life on Earth that involve trying to sell unhealthy corn chips. Peter Charles, Head of the "Doritos Broadcast Project" can apparently still sleep at night after saying "We also shouldn't be too surprised if the first aliens start arriving on planet Earth immediately demanding a bag of Doritos." If so, the universe is more doomed than I thought. [Physorg]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
I've been thinking about these stories on Jobs' health, because people keep sending me links. There are three reasons why the press, public and financial community would track Steve Job's health. None of them are good enough to justify making a story out of a person's sickness, which we reluctantly posted on yesterday.
Looking back, I think we covered it well, but today I'm seeing more newspaper features and even photo galleries checking up on Steve's health over the last 10 years and comparing photos. It's exactly the type of activity that makes a subject despise the press and it's a good reason why I sometimes hate the press, too.
For those of you not clear, here's why this a story: Fans of Apple gear may worry that if Jobs is sick, gear won't be as good. Finance people worry that if the gear isn't as good, or if Apple's leader gets seriously sick again, they won't make as much money and so, it is time to sell stock. The press? Well, the press, we follow it for the interests of the two previous groups who deem it a story. I get that. But I wish it wasn't tracked. Those reasons are all driven by profit, without much immediate good for readers.
Inevitably, some will ask if we would we cover this sort of thing if it was Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer? Gates and Ballmer aren't as integral to Microsoft as Jobs is to Apple, so I doubt anyone else would. The answer is that we might have covered personal issues like this in the past, but I'm happy enough letting go of it going forward out of respect. I mean, we've all had people get sick in our lives. Maybe it's best if we just let the stories slide.
Maybe I'm just being sensitive. What do you think?
You've probably seen the video above where people put cellphones around popcorn kernels and pop them by making a call. Turns out that it's a slightly disingenuous video by Cardo, a Blutooth headset manufacturer, in order to scare people into thinking that cellphones have that much radiation and they really need a headset. The viral video sure did raise awareness for the brand, but there are better ways of selling your products than to try and scare your customers into thinking they need it. [Cardo]
Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment
Just an update on that Vizio vs. the world tiff, one of the major shareholders of the company and major manufacturer for the brand, Taiwan-based Amtran, chimes in that it already paid royalties for the disputed MPEG-2 patents between the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008. It's important to note that the company apparently had not seen the details of the lawsuit yet and couldn't give details, but we'll see how this affects things between the cheap HDTV manufacturer and MPEG LA.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
I have actually been looking for a decent padlock over the last couple of weeks, but so far nothing has suited my needs. While many of these locks would do a fine job of protecting my stuff, I think I was waiting for something a little different. This siren padlock may be just the ticket because it locks up property and it is liable to have a thief shitting bricks when they hear the 100dB alarm.
When the alarm is activated, the padlock will emit a blaring noise for 10 seconds every time it is tampered with. So even if they could get past the hardened steel and zinc-alloy shell, it would hardly be worth the risk. Plus, it is one of the more affordable locks at only $20. [Siren Padlock via Toolmonger via Boing Boing Gadgets]
It's official: O2 and Telefonica users in the UK and Spain will get the iPhone absolutely free if they sign up for a 18-month plan with a $88 monthly cost. But how "free" is free? Is this really a better deal than AT&T's $1,975 24-month plan price? The answer is yes, absofrakinlutely. Those countries got really good deals, enough to convince me to buy the new version:
The total cost for the O2 18-month plan is $1,591, which every month gets you:
• 1,200 minutes of voice calls.
• 500 text messages.
• Unlimited data transfer in both 3G and Wi-Fi networks (at The Cloud and BT OpenZone Wi-Fi spots.)
• Reduced roaming rates.
Sure, having 24 months will get your total price to $2,121. But the fact is that, after 18 months, you are free to get elsewhere, and you are getting almost three times the voice call minutes, and 2.5 times the amount of text messages.
Compare that to the $1,975 iPhone 3G plan in AT&T:
• 450 minutes.
• 200 messages.
• Unlimited data transfer in 3G networks.
[O2 and Telefonica press release]
Filed under: Peripherals
A man in Singapore (where else) has been banned from owning a camera phone for a year after being caught secretly filming a woman in an airport bathroom. Actually, "secretly" is probably a strong word when you consider that the perp, 19-year-old Samuel Ong, simply slid his camera phone under the cubicle door to catch a few shots.
Not surprisingly, the woman caught Ong in the act and reported him to the police. In addition to the cellphone ban, he will have to complete 60 hours of community service, undergo psychiatric treatment and observe a curfew as part of his sentence. Seems like he is getting off pretty easy, especially by Singaporean standards.[Reuters]
Filed under: Transportation
We already saw a demo of the next-gen version of Ford Sync, but it looks like what we saw was just a taste -- our friends over at Autoblog scored some shots of the 2010 Ford Fusion's interior, and it features a monster 8.5-inch touchscreen, which will also apparently make it into the 2009 F-150 pickup truck. It's not clear how much the system will control or how much it'll cost, but you can bet it's not nearly as sweet as the 1979 Atari Riviera. Hit the read link for a couple full size shots.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
This top-down Google Maps-based driving simulator is one step closer to our ultimate dream: simulated driving on any street, anywhere, based on data available from Google Maps/Google Earth. Geoquake's 2D Flash version may be really simple—you only have a choice of four vehicles and there's no actual collision detection—but it's got the right idea. When someone can take in street data and feed it into a 3D driving engine so we can simulate a trip to the Grand Canyon without leaving our desks, that's when we'll know the future has arrived. [Geoquake]
This top-down Google Maps-based driving simulator is one step closer to our ultimate dream: simulated driving on any street, anywhere, based on data available from Google Maps/Google Earth. Geoquake's 2D Flash version may be really simple—you only have a choice of four vehicles and there's no actual collision detection—but it's got the right idea. When someone can take in street data and feed it into a 3D driving engine so we can simulate a trip to the Grand Canyon without leaving our desks, that's when we'll know the future has arrived. [Geoquake]
Filed under: Cellphones
Let's say someone put a bomb on your bus and it can't go below 50 mph or it will explode. If that were to happen on a NYC bus you would probably be incinerated because the city has installed a new GPS device in thousands of local commuter and tourist buses. If the authorities get wind of a hijacking in progress, they can slowly stop the vehicle and prevent it from restarting via remote control. It may not work for "Speed" style situations, but for conventional hijackings, it could prove to be an effective weapon.
The GPS device is attached to the bus computer system and it relays information about its speed and direction to a dispatcher. In the event of a hijacking, the dispatcher can remotely slow the bus down and prevent it from being restarted—giving cops enough time to get to the scene. Apparently, slowing the bus down gradually is intended to give terrorists extra time to rethink their position before doing something drastic.
Financing for the system has been made possible thanks to funding from the Department of Homeland Security. So far, the device is on 3000 Grey Line double-decker buses, 80 DeCamp buses and plans are currently underway to equip 3000 New Jersey Transit buses. NYC transit is currently in the pilot stage for the program, but they are expected to follow suit with their 4500 bus fleet sometime in the near future. [New York Post]
Let's say someone put a bomb on your bus and it can't go below 50 mph or it will explode. If that were to happen on a NYC bus you would probably be incinerated because the city has installed a new GPS device in thousands of local commuter and tourist buses. If the authorities get wind of a hijacking in progress, they can slowly stop the vehicle and prevent it from restarting via remote control. It may not work for "Speed" style situations, but for conventional hijackings, it could prove to be an effective weapon.
The GPS device is attached to the bus computer system and it relays information about its speed and direction to a dispatcher. In the event of a hijacking, the dispatcher can remotely slow the bus down and prevent it from being restarted—giving cops enough time to get to the scene. Apparently, slowing the bus down gradually is intended to give terrorists extra time to rethink their position before doing something drastic.
Financing for the system has been made possible thanks to funding from the Department of Homeland Security. So far, the device is on 3000 Grey Line double-decker buses, 80 DeCamp buses and plans are currently underway to equip 3000 New Jersey Transit buses. NYC transit is currently in the pilot stage for the program, but they are expected to follow suit with their 4500 bus fleet sometime in the near future. [New York Post]
We just talked to AT&T's President of National Distribution Glenn Lurie, who gave us all the pricing and activation details for the iPhone 3G, which won't be getting special treatment anymore. It will be using all AT&T's standard voice and data plans, which means $30 for unlimited 3G data for consumers, $45 for business users, on top of voice. Also, no in-home activation for iPhone 3G—it does require a two-year contract, and it will have to be activated in store (at AT&T or Apple Store), which takes 10-12 minutes, meaning that first day line is going to SUCK. And you will have to camp out, since there won't be any online ordering at launch—and Glenn was mum on how many phones there'd be to go around. Updates below.
Supposedly the network will be ready, even if the supply won't be. I asked him four different ways if it was ready for the onslaught of millions of 3G data phones and he said "absolutely" each time, and that they've planned for it. What's unclear is how many units they've planned for the first day. He said they expected "high" demand but nobody knows what the "full demand" will be, in response to my question about meeting demand.
For people who care about the business end of things, the other way that the iPhone 3G isn't special in regards to AT&T anymore is that AT&T subsidizing it like any other phone means that the old revenue-sharing program is out. Basically, other than letting Apple sell and activate the iPhone 3G at Apple Stores, the model is the same they have with everyone else, like RIM or Sammy. More details on everything will be coming from AT&T in the next week or so.
Update: Interesting point from Apple Gazette about ending Apple ending revenue-sharing with AT&T—it means we might have to pay for future feature updates to the iPhone 3G since Apple won't be getting those monthly checks, thanks to those "accounting purposes." Obviously we don't know for sure yet. Besides, SDK might make it a moot point.
Update 2: David alerts us to this bit from Dow Jones' report: "AT&T and Apple are working on a form of penalty for users who don't activate their iPhone within 30 days of purchase." Whoa. Guess that'll cut down on unlockers, eh?
Update 3: Looks like AT&T's dropping the GoPhone plan for the iPhone 3G too. Also, it's been pointed out Apple is still counting its revenue for the phone over the course of two years despite dumping revenue-sharing with AT&T, so iPhoners can probably continue to lord free updates over iPod touchers. [AT&T]
Filed under: Cellphones
Filed under: Desktops
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
Filed under: Desktops
Continue reading VIA's PX5000EG Pico-ITX motherboard is no match for a hair dryer
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Do you plan on upgrading your now-obsolete iPhone on July 11th? Great—good for you big spender. Here's the skinny. AT&T informed us that anyone who bought an iPhone after May 27th will be able to swap out their handset with no additional charges for an iPhone 3G. What about everyone else? If you signed a 2-year contract with AT&T when the iPhone came out (which you pretty much had to), you'll have to sign another new 2-year contract to score a new iPhone 3G. The good news is that AT&T will allow you to overwrite your old contract with your new contract. In other words, you're just locked into another 2 years, not 3.
One day in the near future, when humanity has killed off all the fish in the sea, we'll be able to replace every single on of them using the research of University of Washington UW assistant professor Kristi Morgansen. That's because Morgansen, with her 10,000-gallon UW test tank, has almost perfected an autonomous robofish, which needs only other robofish and a basic set of commands to operate wirelessly underwater. They'll be Cylons of the Sea. Like tuna, with nukes.
Morgansen designed the robofish to explore the deepest depths of the ocean, as well as seek out other locations where the environment is deadly to human beings. They'll do this all without any intervention from people, other robots or even satellites. The group would perform just like an organic fish and form a school, with dominant personalities leading the way even if certain robofish received incomplete or garbled instructions.
"In schooling and herding animals, you can get much more efficient maneuvers and smoother behaviors than what we can do in engineering right now," Morgansen said. "The idea of these experiments [with schools of live fish] is to ask, 'How are they doing it?' and see if we can come up with some ideas."
Schooling also helps fight the effects of water on wireless communication. Optimal underwater data transfer rates are approximately 80 bytes, or about 32 numbers, per second, but the robofishes' simple two-command memory structure (swimming in the same direction or swimming in different directions) mean tasks get done anyway. The robots use fins and a tail, instead of a propeller, because they're more maneuverable and create lower drag. [University of Washington]
By way of sister site The Consumerist comes word this afternoon that big box chain Wal-Mart is "very interested" in expanding its services into Best Buy's Geek Squad territory. "We are looking at different options," said Gary Severson, a Wal-Mart senior vice president. Tough luck for Best Buy on that one, should it come to pass. According to MarketWatch, analysts consider Best Buy's Geek Squad operation a key differentiator compared to Wal-Mart. So, the question is, if Geek Squad guys drive those black and white VW Beetles, would Wal-Mart stormtroopers technicians fly Star Destroyers drive SMART cars? [MarketWatch via Consumerist]
Check out this Wii controller prototype from Bauhaus-University design student Martin Lihs. The spray paint can-styled casing contains a hacked up Wii controller that's used to manipulate virtual graffiti on a monitor. And since this is an art project, you can bet there are a wide variety of colors, spray caps, and tagging techniques built into the thing. Eventually, Lihs plans to integrate the device into a communal wall as part of his final thesis. It will be a sort of social media/public tagging spectacle that will enable users from around the globe to work on the same piece of art. Best of all, there are no Friend Codes. [Wii Spray via Core 77]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Gaming
Usually, washing up in the toilet at a sporting event gets you a one-way ticket out of the ballpark, but that could be changing thanks to Lee Isherwood and his ODNA urinal concept. The first—and probably last—of its kind, the ODNA promotes water conservation by combining a hand washing station with a urinal. Instead of simply flushing, you go about your business and then wash your hands in the infrared-activated "sink" above. The cascading water from the sink cleans out the toilet, and serves as the "flush."
The beauty of the ONDA, beyond its Italian-inspired design and conservation chops (uses only half the water—think about it), is that it can be fitted to existing plumbing. It also features an "anti-splashback" design for those with less-than-desirable aim (score!).
Of course, for you non-hand washers out there, this is just another toilet. You know who you are. [Hershwood 3D via The Design Blog]
We know the iPhone is going to be center stage on Monday. But maybe you don't want a new iPhone, you want one more thing. Cult of Mac has convenient interactive timeline of big announcements from every Stevenote (with video!) so you can figure out what's more likely than not, using history as a guide.
Definitely watch the original iPod announcement, which is kind of surreal—no applause or cheering in a crappy beige auditorium, waiting 10 minutes before you see it—and then check out the iPhone one. Gods aren't born overnight, but they can be fashioned over the course of 6 years, apparently. [Cult of Mac]
AT&T chief tech officer John Donovan has indicated that they're going to test bandwidth caps in the fall, making them the third of the four major ISPs to do so. (Verizon stands alone, but for how long?) He lays out the familiar rationale, a small group of users (5 percent) pillage the network (40 percent) and they've got to stop them. But then he slips what's probably the real reason they've moving to caps: "Traffic on our backbone is growing 60 percent per year, but our revenue is not."
It is more or less accepted that a minority of users use disproportionate of bandwidth, but what they're using it for is changing. It's increasingly video, not BitTorrent. The whole pro-BitTorrent thing is a smokescreen, because BitTorrent is less and less of an issue—video, and increasingly, HD video will be the real one. (Along with any number of other increasingly bandwidth-intensive apps.) And it'll be more and more competitive with providers' TV offerings—we've already seen Time Warner cry about it. But there's no legitimate way to block it and protect their content.
They can, however, make it more expensive for you to download with bandwidth caps (which is conveniently net neutral). And that's what I think this is partially about—protecting their TV business, not just curbing voracious bandwidth appetites. Regardless of the motivations, it's definitely coming. Comcast's tests will probably start soon, Time Warner's are already underway and regional ISPs have been doing it for a while. It's looking very much like the future of broadband here.
At least if we're using it less maybe the internet won't explode now. [Wired]
Interesting fact about the laundry list of magical powers bestowed to Japanese cellphones—it makes 'em really hard for mere mortals to use. Nobi Hayashi (who's like Japan's Pogue) estimates people use less than 5 to 10 percent of their handsets' functions—his Panasonic P905i has a 3-inch TV, 3G, GPS and motion-controlled, Wii-style games, which he shows off to amaze Americans, but in truth most of it doesn't work that great (motion controls are slow, TV cuts out). Complicated menus bury cool functions that you have to dig for like an archaeologist. So the easy-to-use but fairly feature-full iPhone seems like it'd go over well right? Eh, maybe.
Hayashi says that, lacking a more serious camera and stuff like a mobile wallet (actually useful) and LED flashlight, "It may sell modestly as a smart phone or as an upgraded iPod, but it's not quite cutting it as a competitor in our mobile-based culture."
In other words, it needs more features, even though that would result in the kind of feature overload Jobs loathes. And a survey by Japan Railways says that while half of those polled were interested in buying an iPhone, less than a fifth really knew what it is. The Apple brand at work—which might the best thing going for it over there. [Wired]
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Addy fiddled with the HTC Touch at the official unveiling about a month ago, but we've just got our own units delivered to us for extensive in-home testing. The exterior looks as nice as we've already seen in unboxing shots, and the TouchFlo is much more refined than the previous incarnations in HTC's ever-expanding Touch line. The problem? TouchFlo is slow as balls. And that's kind of an insult to balls, which are actually pretty fast from our past experience.
GALLERY
The box looks like a pyramid.
The screen is pretty bright and crisp.
Charger has a built-in tip for various countries.
Vs. the iPhone
Vs. the iPhone 2
Too bad the hands don't continue ad infinitum.
END
Even the "Tap here to launch TouchFLO 3D" intro screen that launches the TouchFLO interface is not very responsive. Here are the two biggest problems here with the interface that we can see. (Spoiler: it's pretty much the same problems as the original HTC Touch.)
One, the screen is the same hard screen that was introduced back when the first HTC Touch a year ago. It's harder than normal HTC screens like the AT&T Tilt (HTC TyTN II) because there's no raised ridge around it to protect the screen, and is a compromise made between using the stylus to touch the screen and using your finger. This makes it feel not ideal for your fingerpad (the way the iPhone works) and better for your fingernail (like the crazy Singaporean gal likes). Don't even try it with sweaty hands.
The other problem is that the processing power is not fast enough to keep up with natural gestures. Sweeping through the list of available applications on the bottom of the screen in the app strip often gets locked up halfway through, when some app decides it wants to slow everyone down and load up its icons. It's unclear whether it's because the Touch Diamond doesn't have the graphical capacity and processing power to keep up with the fancy 3D TouchFLO they rigged up, or if it's a problem with the touch sensor not registering inputs well enough when you use your finger. We think it's the latter, since it works fine with a stylus or a fingernail. Cycling through the same apps one by one using the hardware D-Pad is also excruciatingly slow as well, taking two seconds each to bring up the next menu item.
The good news is that the virtual BlackBerry-esque SureType split-key keyboard is much better than the built-in one Windows Mobile sticks you with, and can actually be used with your finger tip. The bad news is that it takes up 60% of the screen, so when you're sending an SMS, you've got only one line of text visible at a time. Ouch.
Other things we like are the improved dialer screen and call screen (it's very, very iPhone-like), the fancy weather app, the very bright screen, the size, the glowing circle inside the D-Pad, the magnet on the right side that grips the stylus, and the general prettiness of the UI. Look for a full review in the near future.
You may have heard about a monkey controlling a robot arm that was in the news a week or two ago. It's a pretty incredible story (albeit one that we reported on in 2003, 2005 and 2007). In the above video, Paul Scheer from Human Giant and Best Week Ever demonstrates the down sides to giving a monkey control over a robot. Because really, at the end of the day, a robot controlled by a monkey is really just going to act like a monkey. (Video after the jump) [Funny or Die]
Wireless monitors are in their infancy now, but ASUS and Realtek are teaming up to make a new product series based on Wireless USB. The monitor has an integrated Wireless USB module from Realtek—a technology that's also just barely making it mainstream—and will be able to pair with a Wireless USB Host Wire Adapter or Wireless Host Controller Interface that's plugged into your PC. Unless you really, really need a wireless monitor, hold out until reviews come in to see if it's worth your money. [Yahoo]
Filed under: Transportation
Anything can happen at this year's WWDC, but chances are most of the Apple faithful out there are interested in either a new Macbook, OS X 10.6 or the 3G iPhone. Again, we don't know for sure what will be unveiled, but given a choice, which one of these products do you want the most?
This "Mask of Emotion" was made at the Hongik University in Korea, which explains why their emoticons are very Asian, as opposed to the more :'( style us westerners use. It's supposed to be hide your personal emotion while displaying whatever one you choose, which is limited to happy, kinda happy, very happy, sad, another kind of sad, and angry. Don't expect to see anyone wearing this on the street unless you're roaming the streets of Hongik University. [Mask of Emotion via Make]
Filed under: Cellphones
It looks like Hop-On isn't resting on its laurels after letting is $10 "anti-iPhone" loose last month, with the budget-minded company now also set to release no less than six new handsets in its 1800 series, all of which will come in under $125. At the top end of that lot is the HOP1801 smartphone, which the company says will be the lowest cost smartphone on the market, although it unfortunately doesn't seem to be ready to provide any more details than that just yet. That'll be joined by the HOP1803 "Ultra Low Price" GSM tri-band phone, the HOP1805 model for emerging markets, and the HOP1810 GSM dual-band cameraphone, all of which are equally light on specifics at the moment. Boasting a few more details are the HOP1808 cameraphone, which will boast support for dual SIM cards and optional Bluetooth, and the HOP1809 3G cameraphone, which will apparently come with Bluetooth as standard and boast Java support. No indication of a release date for any of 'em just yet though, nor is there any word as to exactly how each will fall in that $10 to $125 bracket.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Transportation
We couldn't find any clue what the hell this kid is doing, so come up with your own conclusions (and caption). Looks like his dad rigged up a weed whacker to some sort of...something, and he's going tearing down the streets of London living out his wildest Harry Potter adventures. The one without Hermione, that is. [One Man's Blog - Thanks Roger!]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
There's no doubt, Asus really shook up the technology market with their Eee PC mini-laptop. And to parlay the Eee's success into a success for all of their electronics, Asus came up with a plan. Just call everything the Eee! Here's Asus' new Eee TV that was spotted at Computex, described only as a "rather plain looking LCD TV playing the Blu-ray version of Pixar's Cars." If it runs $299, sign us up. Otherwise, we're getting a bit confused as to the eeexact definition of the word... [engadget China]
I am all about taking naps whenever the opportunity presents itself. The problem is that getting comfortable is often a major obstacle when there is no bed in sight. The Pilo Pilo ring from the Downstairs Studio offers a solution by attaching a tiny cushion to the end of a ring so that you can prop your head up on a soft surface. Unfortunately, those of us with freakish cartoon heads would probably find this method to be ineffective. What we need is something with more surface area—like a pillow book or pillow glove. [Downstairs Studio via Design Sponge via Neatorama]
Filed under: Transportation
Reader Julian found these iPhone and iPod touch icons inside Lepard's CoreBundle.Type package after the 10.5.3 update. Why's this interesting at all to you? Because the only other devices that appear here are laptops and computer that connect via Bonjour, Apple's local automatic networking protocol. This leads us to conclude that the iPhone and iPod touch are getting Bonjour support officially (people have shoved Bonjour on there unofficially by way of jailbreak), which could lead to wireless syncing. QED? [Thanks Julian!]
Filed under: Cellphones
These Klipsch Image X5 are the follow-up to the original Klipsch Image headphones, which were the smallest in-canal earbuds ever. The originals are now X10s (top), which are 2mm smaller than the slightly beefier X5s (bottom). The buds still have Contour Ear Gels and noise isolation, but cost $250 as opposed to the $350 of the X10. Depending on how these sound in comparison to the flagship X10, they might be a pretty good trade-off of 2mm for $100. Make sure to try shoving something really deep inside your ear to simulate how it feels before you buy a pair. It's not for everyone. [Klipsch]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Those of us that have worked from home when sick in bed know that balancing a laptop on our knees while trying to watch TV and eat cereal at the same time is quite difficult. If we only had this notebook desk, we could easily store our stuff there while at the same time enjoying its built-in 2.1 speaker system and cooling fans. That photo above is pretty much exactly what we look like in bed—handling our laptop with one hand with a magazine spread out beside us, face alight with joy. [Fedom via Gearlog]
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Wow, did this guy really go all out for this new Asus Eee ad and get inked? Because that would be amazing!
Nah, nothing more than a cheap sticker. But apparently, certain circumstances dictate a more hands-on approach.
Automatic TV mounts are nothing new, but this new design by Inca is intriguing with its remote controlled pull-out and swivel features. Instead of simply tilting from side to side, Inca's version can also be moved nearly flush with the wall, or out for clear views from extreme angles. According to Inca, the P/N 900810-5A-WPS "Off the Wall" system should accommodate most TV sizes. Unfortunately, pricing and availability information has yet to be released. [Inca via Electronic House via Gearlive via Freshome]
Filed under: Displays
Comcast is finally rolling out its "net neutral" network management scheme, starting with customers in Chambersburg, PA and Warrenton, VA. As we've explained before, Comcast says of the new plan that "heavy users, who are doing things like conducting numerous or continuous large file transfers, may experience slightly longer response times for some online activities, until the period of network congestion ends." And it doesn't matter whether it's BitTorrent or gobs of GooTube.
The reasons behind the rush to curb heavy data users, whether or not they're asshole pirates, are simultaneously simple and complex, but one of the major reasons is that content flowing over the pipes increasingly competes with cable's TV offerings. Literally in Comcast's case, since it needs as much bandwidth as it can get to deliver HD content. We're keeping our eyes peeled for more about its rumored plan to test data caps, much like Time Warner is doing—it's increasingly looking like the future of broadband in the US. [Threat Level]
Long before the XO Laptop climbed over $100 and OLPC's name was sullied by infighting (and then redeemed by its dual multi-touchscreen XO2 concept) OLPC founder Nick Negroponte was preaching the gospel of ten-finger multi-touch over the "mouse on Macintosh," which sounds profoundly clunky compared to his vision of interfacing with computers. In this 1984 TED talk, the experience he describes sounds remarkably like the XO-2—over 25 years later, he'll finally build the computer he's always wanted. (And I want too.) The clip is long, but prescient and brilliant—you'll feel smarter afterward. [TED via Mental Floss]
We have heard rumors that the upcoming 3G iPhone will be thicker because of possible additions like GPS and a larger battery, and we have heard rumors on the other end of the spectrum that say it will be up to 22 percent thinner than the current version. So the question here is: What do you believe? Will the 3G iPhone be thinner or thicker than the current model (and why)?
Filed under: Cellphones
Advanced video surveillance cameras that discreetly examine each face or vehicle that comes into frame are becoming more commonplace in big cities and large corporations. These cameras are equipped with intelligence algorithms that can distinguish the face, vehicle or license plate of a wanted criminal and alert the proper authorities when necessary. However, innocent people often get involved in these recordings simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. A video analysis company named 3VR is now attempting to change all that.
3VR is tweaking their software to automatically blur the faces of individuals that do not pique the cameras' interest, thereby protecting the privacy of innocent individuals. The footage could still be unencrypted by authorized parties, but any changes would be trackable, so there would be a record to follow in the event that that the footage is misused. So, in effect, the software watches the people watching you. [Danger Room]
"It's been another great year for us, and we want to celebrate our 11th anniversary with you! One day just isn't enough, so we'll be stretching this party out all week. From June 2 - June 6, we're offering BIG savings on our software. Scroll down to find the programs you want, add them to your cart, and get 55% off your entire order! That's right - all week long, you can buy a little or you can buy a lot, and it's all 55% off! We told you the savings were big"
As if the contests on their blog weren't big enough, Ilium is offering 55% off their software this week to celebrate their 11th birthday! I know I use eWallet daily and have been quite pleased with it, so if you've been debating purchasing some of their software, now might be a good time to take the jump!
Do you feel lucky, punk? Do ya? Does Blu-Ray have five years left before digital distribution knocks it out of commission, or just four? So I ask again: Do you feel lucky? Annnnd, scene. Anyway, all kidding aside, this immense collection of all things Dirty Harry arrives on store shelves (brick and mortar, digital or otherwise) in a mere two days. It includes a bunch of released, updated and never before released stuff, including—wait, what's that there? A badge?!
Product DescriptionIncludes all five Dirty Harry films: all special features on the Dirty Harry Special Edition and Deluxe Editions plus additional special features and contents specific to the Ultimate Collector's Edition. Bonus Feature-Length documentary Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows; a 40+ page hardcover book; Wallet w/metal badge and removable laminated I.D. card; Five 5x 7 Reproduction Lobby Poster Cards plus an exclusive UCE card; Scorpio Portrait of a Killer Poster-Sized (19 x 27) map of San Francisco detailing Harry's hunt for the killer; Never-Before-Seen Production Correspondence
The townsfolk of North Oaks, Minnesota want to be able to pick their nose, flash cars, conduct drug deals and fall down on the sidewalk without the whole world knowing about it, so they've forbidden Google Maps Streetview cars from crossing city limits. At least those are the only reasons I can think of as to why this quiet community of 4,500 would want to go all Wuher at Chulum's Cantina and ban Google's voyeuristic fleet of droid-like camera cars.
North Oaks can get away with this because all the roads in town are privately owned, with "No Trespassing" signs greeting visitors when they enter (apparently no packages are ever delivered to North Oaks — J.L.). When city officials noticed their streets on Google Maps Streetview in January, they filed a complaint with Google, which immediately took the offending images offline. The image above is as close as you can get to town when using Google to navigate the North Oaks area.
This isn't the first time Google's street level map service as encountered blowback from miffed privacy advocates. When it launched in 2007, complaints were filed regarding people's faces and license plates. Just recently Google began blurring the faces of pedestrians who were caught in the Web 2.0 crossfire.
And last month, a Pittsburgh family sued Google when one of its cars drove up the length of their private driveway and took pictures of their house. Who wouldn't want that in their community? [CNET News]
Filed under: GPS
If you were looking to snag a Dash Express, perhaps saving a Benjamin could be the excuse you're looking for. We don't know if it's because these things aren't selling well or if there was just some kind of pricing error, but the Dash Express -- was originally set to debut at $600, but then dropped to $400 at release -- is now on Amazon for $300. (And yes, it's still going for $400 on Dash's own site.)Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs
How's this for an Apple coup? On Friday Mark reported that Apple could be positioning .Mac for a serious overhaul, which was known in rumor mill circles at the time as Mobile Me. Today we received another update as MacRumors discovered that the Netcraft page for Me.com lists Kenneth Eddings, the official technical contact for many Apple domain names, as the DNS admin for the site.
Eddings' email address was also listed in the SOA Record of the DNS record. The site was probably purchased by Apple in December 2007. For those keeping score at home, that's a new 3G iPhone and Me.com at this month's WWDC. [MacRumors]
After viewing this pic of Rahul Sood, the CTO of HP's gaming division this afternoon, we're left to wonder here at the Weekend Gizmodo news desk whether the MacBook Air was misnamed. Perhaps MacBook Shank is more apt; or the MacBook Shiv; or even something cross-promotional, like the Ginsu Mac. Regardless, we've seen this thing cut bread, and we know its cousin the MacBook can cut skin. No optical drive? Who needs it! This thing can help you lay down a podcast and win a bar fight at the same time. Bonus points to anyone who can name that cake. [Rahul Sood via TechCrunch]
Filed under: Wearables
Dallas' Southern Methodist University is now recycling energy with one of the first commercial electricity generators that use thermoelectricity—the act of drawing power from waste heat. The machine operates by using heat given off by other processes (such as manufacturing) to boil liquids, which then turn into steam, which then turns an electricity-generating turbine.
ElectraTherm's Waste Heat Generators recover heat from various sources without any specialized electronics or hard-to-maintain components. By boiling water up to 200°F, the generator can produce from 25kW to 1MW of fuel-free, emission-free electricity.
About 50% of all fuel burned by industrial sources becomes "waste heat." Though businesses can try to use fuel as efficiently as possible, nearly seven quadrillion Btu of waste heat still escapes to do nothing but warm the atmosphere. But ElectraTherm says that its products, if used widely, could recover the equivalent electric output of 92 500MW gas-fired power plants.
The company says that the university will recoup its purchase cost in three to four years, with electricity costing about three to four cents per kwH during that time. After the payback period, the cost per kWH will drop to less than a penny. If only ElectraTherm's machines could be hooked up to the hot air our politicians will spew come election day, then all our nation's energy problems would be solved. [Electratherm via Cnet]
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Apologies to reader Miguel for taking his fantastic creations and shoving a lousy pun on it, but it was either that or "sTEAmpunk". These Steampunk Tea Pots are really, really amazing, and they're all hand-made and unglazed colored clay pots perfect for putting your morning tea into. Mr. T would approve.
GALLERY
Boiler
Encounter
PlanetX
Radial
END
Filed under: GPS
Lockergnome has somewhat convoluted way to game the Amazon system to get an extra 5% off of anything in the store, as long as it's actually sold by Amazon.com and not a third-party retailer. It's too long to list here, but the gist of it is that you tell Amazon you already own something, wait a day, and they'll recommend that item back to you at a 5% discount. Not sure how this makes sense, but Lockergnome says it works. Go check it out, cheapos. [Lockergnome]
Another long workweek draws to a close, and that means its time for the Thank Giz It's Friday roundup of gadgets to help you get the most out of your weekend—or, in this case, the least. In fact, the focus this week is to supply you with 10 good gadgety excuses to stay in bed. Naturally, you probably have a few questions about how this can be done, so let's get started.
Q: What about entertainment? I can't just sleep all day (or can I?).
If it is entertainment you seek, look no further than the Hi-Can high fidelity canopy. It will enable you to surf the web, watch movies, play games and listen to music—all from the comfort of your bed. You can even control other gadgets in the room via a control panel located on the headboard. At this point the bed is only a concept, but the words "coming soon" at the end of the video on the website offer some hope that it will become a commercial product. [Hi-Can via Link]
Chances are the Hi-Can is going to be a little rich for your blood, but you still have plenty of inexpensive choices when it comes to MP3 pillows. This particular iPod-shaped version is soft enough to sleep on, but you can also hook it to your iPod (or any other MP3 player) to listen to your favorite tunes through its speakers. You can even scan through FM radio. Available for $19.99. [Kleargear]
If you want a comfortable way to use your laptop in bed, LapDawg has the answer with a wooden stand that will allow you to use your computer in a variety of positions—even lying down. Available for $130. [LapDawg via Link]
Q: What about sex? I like sex.
Don't worry—we have you covered. First up we have this Private Cloud bed by designer Manuel Kloker. As you can see from the image above, it can rock. It is also available for sale, although the price is unknown. If you can't put 2 and 2 together with how that could prove useful in a sexual situation, chances are you are not so popular with the ladies. Let me re-direct you to another product more suited to your needs:
Strip Tease Pillow Cases: While this pillowcase is fairly tame, I can assure you that things get interesting as the stripping continues on pillow 2. Available for $19.95. [Private Cloud Bed via Link and Strip Tease Pillow Cases—NSFW Link!]
Getting back on track, we have the aptly titled "Love Mattress." It offers couples "a simple yet effective position for embracing" using polyurethane-injected foam strips that allow arms and feet to fit between the gaps. In other words, you can hold your partner without having your arms fall asleep. And, by the looks of things, it can offer quite a bit of traction. Unfortunately, the Love Mattress is only a concept at this point. [Gooya Design via Link]
If you are looking for something a little classier and more elaborate, we have the Sphere Bed with its 32-inch LCD TV, surround sound speakers, champagne chiller and massage unit under the mattress. Plus, it has that plush red frame that just screams sex. [Product Page via Link]
Q: As you can probably tell, my priorities are messed up—which is why I put sex and entertainment over hygiene. But I do shower every once in awhile—can I do that in bed?
Yes...yes you can. The Shower Bath in Bed is normally reserved for those with severe physical limitations, but I don't see why it can't be utilized by the lazy as well. Basically, the Shower Bath in Bed is a collapsible tub that stays on the bed at all times. When it is time for a bath or shower, the tub basin is formed and a shower head with hot and cold faucets is fed water from a supply system that can be connected to a sink or bathroom faucet spout. When the shower is complete, the water can be funneled to a floor drain or pumped into a commode, sink or bathtub with the optional Automatic Drain AUDR-1 accessory. Not surprisingly, this kind of convenience doesn't come cheap. Expect to pay well over $5000 for the complete package. [Shower Bath in Bed]
Q: What about dropping a deuce? Can I do that in bed?
Sure—if you have one of these Quantum Sleepers. One of the main perks is a complete toiletry system, but the fun does not stop there. The unit also functions as a panic room that can protect you from break-ins, chemical warfare and natural disasters. The unit is completely air-tight so filtered O2 is pumped in. It also features 1.25" polycarbonate bulletproof plating, a heating and air conditioning system, cover and door actuators with emergency release, a proximity sensor, O2 sensor, smoke detector, motion detector, an emergency communication system and backup battery power.
According to the product page, the rebreather system will work for three days before the unit starts to tap outside air—which is more than enough for a weekend of serious R&R. Curiously enough, it is also enough time to die of dehydration. There does not seem to be any mention of how rations and water would be stored. [Quantum Sleeper]
Q: I like the idea behind that Quantum Sleeper. If Armageddon should come while I lie in bed this weekend, how will I kill the zombies that are sure to roam the Earth?
With a "Back-Up" bed rifle rack, of course! When it is inserted under the mattresses, your shotgun is always within arms' reach. [Back-Up]
Q: What about the kids? How can I keep them out of my hair this weekend?
As a bonus, I offer you these space shuttle and pirate ship themed beds. If you are willing to drop around $2600 and $8000 (respectively) on beds this awesome, chances are your kids won't want to leave bed either. [Space Shuttle Bed via Link and Pirate Ship Bed]
Filed under: Laptops
Filed under: Gaming
It's not confirmed by Sony just yet, but Videogaming247 says it has it on "good authority" that the upcoming version 2.40 firmware update for the PS3 will at long last bring with it in-game XMB, as well as the slightly less-anticipated trophy support. If those sources are to be believed, the update will be dropping sometime in June, with some speculation further pointing to a release in advance of Metal Gear Solid 4's June 12th launch. There's apparently still some testing to be done to ensure that the in-game XMB will work with all titles, however, and it seems like features like trophies and user-music via XMB will only be supported in games created with the new developers tools that have apparently already been released in advance of the firmware update.
Think you have what it takes to become a masturbating champion? Can you endure longer than 8 hours and 40 minutes? Because that is what it will take to beat the new record set by both Norihiro Taneichi and Masanobu Sato of Tokyo at this year's Masturbate-a-Thon in San Francisco. The two finalists went "head-to-head" in a competition that finally ended when an exhausted Taneichi gave up, allowing Sato to claim the prestigious title. What was their secret? They were both using the Tenga New Adult Concept line of onanism cups. WARNING!: NSFW gallery after the break.
Tenga Demo Video (Safe):
In fact, the two men were representatives from Tenga who spent the $20 entrance fee in order to conduct a "little research" into their new product. So, if you want to go pro with your masturbating hobby, you are going to need to get yourself a Tenga cup and practice, practice, practice. But that is what it takes to be a true champion—blood, sweat, and semen. So get cracking guys! We need to bring this title home to the USA next year! [SF Weekly via 3yen and Fleshbot]
Filed under: Displays, Peripherals
When Blam broke the news on Dell's mini Inspiron, there was one he was stuck on: How to categorize it. Is it a subnotebook? A UMPC? A netbook? (Knowing the specs might have helped, but probably not much.) Part of the problem is that the category names themselves are very new and pretty vague. Here's a mini-compendium of the most popular terms for dwarfish laptops being tossed around, where they come from and what they're trying to say. Help us decide which ones to keep, and which to ditch.
Subnotebook: Judging by Google results (1,660,000) and the presence of a Wikipedia entry, "subnotebook" appears to be one of the most popular and closest-to-legit terms, with a history going back to at least Toshiba's Libretto, according to our friend Mark Spoonauer, editor-in-chief at Laptop. The real sticky point appears to be on the edges—when does a UMPC become a subnotebook, and when does a subnotebook become a real notebook? At 11 inches, Lenovo's IdeaPad U110 is probably the breaking point for subnotebook. In fact, that's our new rule: to classify as a subnotebook or ultraportable (see below), you've gotta be 11 inches or under, and less than 3 pounds. (Sorry Walt, the MacBook Air might be light, but its ginormous, full-notebook footprint means it ain't really a subnotebook in most people's eyes.) Judgment: Like a pair of loafers, "subnotebook" is unsexy, but it gets the job done.
Ultraportable: That's a really tricky term, probably the most amorphous. Spoonauer classifies small notebooks with fuller keyboards and displays like the IdeaPad U110 or HP's Mini-note 2133 as "ultraportables," leaving the "subnotebook" moniker to devices in the UMPC class, like the HTC Shift. However, added confusion comes from the fact that ultraportable sounds like ultramobile, as in UMPC (see below). Still, it's the most compelling alternative to subnotebook, because it sounds sexier, and has over 3 million Google hits alone and 1.27 million tagged to notebook or laptop. The big knock against "ultraportable" is that it redirects to "subnotebook" on Wikipedia. Judgment: I don't mind it, but without a firm identity it'll never be useful. Plus I feel like it's trying too hard.
Mini-Notebook: While "mini notebook" seems like a less popular and unwieldy derivative of "subnotebook," with fewer Google results (1,110,000) and no Wikipedia page (it doesn't even direct back to subnotebook), Spoonauer says that it's distinguished from subnotebook as being the class of small form-factor notebooks that are under $600, like the Eee PC. Judgment: I think this one should be junked, though determining a class on price is probably a good idea.
ULPC: This most generally stands for ultra low-cost PC, though I've seen ultra-light PC, too. (How about that for a red flag?) It isn't overly popular, but it obviously refers to small, cheap notebooks like the Eee or XO OLPC Laptop. While it might be useful in distinguishing the Eee from, say, the pricier U110, overall the term seems pointless, especially when there's already a better alternative. Judgment: Garbage heap.
Netbook: This is actually the brainchild of Intel's marketing department to describe sub-$500 notebooks centered around internet-connectivity, such as its Classmate PC. The original Eee PC, XO OLPC Laptop and Cloudbook would fall into this category. While it is technically flackspeak, I actually like it because it's short and fairly specific. Besides being endorsed by Intel (obvs), Ubuntu has officially picked up the term. Judgment: A keeper, even if it was coined by the Man.
UMPC: The term stands for ultra-mobile PC, and actually has fairly concrete origins in the Project Origami catastrophe headed up by Microsoft. Under Intel and Microsoft's guidelines, technically the form factor is defined as touchscreen mini-tablet smaller than eight inches with a resolution of at least 800 pixels wide. However, we (and most others) include the OQO in this category. Even though it doesn't have a touchscreen, it otherwise fits the slabby form factor to a T. Update: To be clear, the OQO has an active digitizer, not a touchscreen. It won't recognize your finger, you need a special stylus. Judgment: Works, we just have to disabuse people of using it in reference to stuff like the Eee.
Conclusion
Motion Pro II Racing Simulator: If your father likes fast cars, chances are he would love a top of the line racing simulator that can run you in excess of $45,000 when you throw in extras like a panoramic screen, a six-speed gated shifter and custom bodywork. [_thumbnail.jpg)
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