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LG T80 PMP Packs in Touchscreen, DVB for Europeans [PMPs]
2008-04-13 15:00:00
LG has just revealed the T80 PMP, which has the makings of a promising media player, at least for the Europeans . The T80 boasts a 3-inch, 260k color (420 x 240) touchscreen, supports MPEG, MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, ASF, JPEG, TXT files, has an FM tuner, integrated microphone and a DVB-T receiver, which blows for anyone outside of Europe. The T80 will endure 5.5hours of video playback or 3 hours of TV viewing on a single charge, comes with a paltry 4GB disk space and assaults your wallet at ?299 ($473). If you're hot for the player, consider getting your import on. [Generationmp3 via PMP Today]
More About: Touchscreen , Packs

Map Bot - Floor Mapping Robot
2008-04-13 14:01:00
Have a look at Map Bot over at GlacialWanderer, this robot is in the early stages but when it’s done it will be able to map out a floor. The main sensor it uses is an ultrasound sensor, one that most of us have seen many times before. But it also uses an interesting bend ...
More About: Robot , Mapping , Floor

Andre Kutscherauer Robot Art Reminds Us Not to be Cocky [Art]
2008-04-13 04:30:00
Check out these awesome CGI images, all put together by Andre Kutscherauer, a super-talented 3D artist. The works all include some form of evil robot madness, and with titles such as Brute Force, Selfillumination and Dandelion of Screws, how could we be anything but massively impressed? If you think we're talking junk, as usual, dive into the gallery and be amazed by the fantastic art installations. For the record, that little light bulb was just asking for moth based trouble—we'd be surprised if he doesn't have his head shattered in no time. That's the problem with being too clever for your own good; given enough cord, you'll plug yourself in...or something like that. [ak3d via io9] galleryPost('akgi', 3, '');
More About: Robot

Buran Space Shuttle Floats Along the Rhine [Space Fleet]
2008-04-13 03:30:00
The Buran space shuttle was once the apple of the Soviet space fleet's eye. Unfortunately, it has now been reduced to floating peacefully down the river Rhine, where it will eventually come to rest at the Technik Museum Speyer in Mannheim, Germany. The great shuttle took to the skies only once during an unmanned test flight, but two decades later, the modern relic has gone the way of a crushed Buzz Lightyear—it's realized it can't fly, but at least it can put on one hell of an exhibition. Good on you, Buran. The images of the final float look stunning, and the video of the event, which is set against some seriously melancholic music, makes the whole event look like a sad and dignified funeral procession. Check out the pictures in the gallery below, then jump in to see the clip. Warning: have your hankies ready. galleryPost('burgi', 3, ''); [Siberian Light]
More About: Space , Space Shuttle , Shuttle , Fleet

Penguin to Launch Ebooks Alongside Regular Releases [Ebooks]
2008-04-13 02:30:00
The international publisher, Penguin , has decided to hop onto the ebook bandwagon, by promising regular book launches to be held in conjunction with their ebook counterparts. Unfortunately, the prices will not be lowered for the ebook varieties, but Penguin will offer direct downloads from their website.Regardless, simultaneous release dates with new hardbacks, availability (eventually) of the entire Penguin back catalog and the planned September launch date of the initiative are all promising for the snow-balling ebook movement. Now, where's my Apple ebook reader, dammit? [Telegraph]
More About: Ebooks , Launch , Regular

Viatek CFL Makes Your Rooms Brighter, Less Smelly [Light Bulbs]
2008-04-13 01:30:00
If you've ever thought of your light bulb as a serious underachiever without enough features, maybe it's time to spring for Viatek's new Ionic 15 watt compact fluorescent. This bulb pulls double duty, both brightening up your life and cleansing the air, all the while saving you money on your electric bill. The CFL uses 15 watts to produce the same amount of light as a 60 watt incandescent, lasts for 10,000 hours, and cleans a 100 square foot area with its built in ionic purifier. All for just $14.99 on Amazon. Now repeat after me - lazy light bulbs are for losers! [Amazon via Popgadget]
More About: Light , Bulbs

Sony Mylo 2 Software Upgrade Brings WMV Support, Other Stuff [Software]
2008-04-13 00:41:00
A software upgrade to v1.1000 is now available for the Sony Mylo 2. The update brings WMV file support, a games shortcut on the home screen and SHOUTcast widget compatibility. Get your upgrade on by hitting the link, and if you notice any other improvements, drop them in the comments below. [Sony via Pocketables]
More About: Software , Stuff , Support

Ivyskin Xylo T2 Reflect Chrome iPhone Case == Touchscreen Your iPhone Throu
2008-04-12 23:41:00
Putting an iPhone in a case is still not something I'd do or recommend as necessary, but if you must protect your precious, here's a case that claims to protect your touchscreen with a layer of plastic, but also allow you to finger the lcd just the same. It, of course, involves some patent-pending tech which sounds like hocus pocus to me. Here's what Mike Wissman, VP of Ops for Ivyskin, gave me as an explanation. The case uses a patent pending design called Surface Xylo Wave (SXW)© technology passes ultrasonic waves that pass over the touch screen panel and transfer them to the iPhone's screen without any interferences. When the panel is touched, a portion of the wave is absorbed. This change in the ultrasonic waves registers the position of the touch event and sends this information to the iPhone's screen for processing. Anyone care to explain that explanation to me? [Ivyskin]
More About: Iphone , Case , Touchscreen , Chrome

WWII Star Wars Action Figures [Action Figures]
2008-04-12 23:41:00
Action figure customizer extraordinaire Sillof is at it again, following up his Steampunk Star Wars collection with a World War II themed line of figurines. Choice pieces include Han Solo in a bomber jacket, holding a German Mauser (which incidentally was the base for the prop used in the Star Wars movies) and a gorgeous rendition of a Stormtrooper, outfitted in armor and burlap. The gallery is below. [Raving Toy Mania] galleryPost('starwarsfiguresww2', 8, '');
More About: Action , Action Figures

Why: Heathrow Airport Terminal 5?s High Tech Failings [Airport]
2008-04-12 23:00:00
London Heathrow airport's latest building, Terminal 5, launched last month after almost two decades of planning, $8.5 billion dollars in cost, and 100 million hours in manpower. It is a glass and concrete and steel marvel, the largest free standing building in the UK, with over 10 miles in suitcase moving belts, and was supposed to be a cure for the Airport 's famous congestion by way of massive automation. But on its opening day it just did not work right. This week, British Airways' plans to move its long haul operations from the crowded main terminal to the new terminal were pushed back til June. Much of the press was quick to say that tech was the source of the failings in parking, luggage handling and check in, but here are the details I can find on what exactly caused endless lines and delay for so many passengers of Terminal 5. galleryPost('heathrowterminal5', 6, ''); Parking Road signs pointing to garages were said to be misleading, and some signs inside the garage...
More About: High Tech , Tech , High

Talking Tissue Box Doubles Your Pain [Novelty]
2008-04-06 18:30:00
When you're ill, sneezing all about the place and with enough mucus in your esophagus to grow a bacterial colony big enough to take over the world, the last thing you need is the Talking Tissue Box. Why? Well, all it does is either cough or sneeze each time you reach out for a tissue. Having a cold, you're probably in the best position to know what coughing and sneezing sound like, so your not going to want this tissue box bastard seemingly mocking you. If you ask our opinion, keep the two AA batteries for your Wiimote and stash the $19.99 asking price for your yearly stock of Robitussin. [Product Page via Nerd Approved]
More About: Pain , Novelty

Researchers turn brushing your teeth into child?s play
2008-04-06 17:45:00
Filed under: Gaming, Household Kids -- they hate brushing their teeth. Sure, we try and show them pictures of zombie faces and toothless seniors, but it just doesn't work. Finally, someone has come up with a solution to the problem: make it fun. Researchers at the National Taiwan University have devised a scheme which turns brushing your teeth into a webcam-tracked video game. Using an LED-studded toothbrush, a camera mounted above a mirror, and an LCD display, kids can watch plaque and debris get annihilated from a cartoon mouth while they scrub their choppers. The system is able to track detailed, three-demensional movement of the child's hand, covering 24 separate areas of the mouth. Kids who tested the system were found to brush twice as well as those who hadn't used it, but were also extremely cocky about their perfect teeth. Check the video after the break to see the magic happen.[Via Gizmo Watch]Continue reading Researchers turn brushing your teeth into child's play ...
More About: Play , Gizmos , Teeth , Child , Turn

Pencil-Pushing Census Bureau Dumps Portable Tech for Pencils [Paper Trail]
2008-04-06 17:30:00
To our friends at Treehugger, please look away as we report that the Census Bureau is ditching plans to go digital and will return to its sinful pencil-pushing, paper-crazy roots. Originally, the Bureau planned for workers to use 500,000 wireless handheld devices from Harris Corp. as a replacement for the paperwork used to collect information from Americans who do not respond to the census. The $1.3 billion program looked great on, well, paper, but was ultimately derailed by hardware issues and incompetence.The biggest issue with the Harris handhelds was that they were more paperweight than PDA. They were too big (slightly larger than a cell phone), didn't transmit data very well, and at one point during testing there were 417 outstanding technical requirements not being met. "Reverting back to paper, which we've done in the past and know we can do, lessens the risk," says Stephen Buckner, a Census Bureau spokesman. The silver lining to this story? The Bureau will still take del...
More About: Portable , Tech , Paper , Pencil , Dumps

Purdue?s 156-Step Burger Maker Wins Rube Goldberg Contest [Rube Goldberg]
2008-04-06 16:45:00
We've brought you Rube Goldberg -style clocks and toys, but none of them are a match for the 156-step device that's just won the annual Rube Goldberg Machine Contest . This year's challenge was to assemble a burger with vegetables, condiments and two bun halves. The meat was pre-cooked... a sensible idea to avoid fires and explosions: you'll understand when you look at the great pics of the machines that MAKE took. Beneath the gallery you'll find a demo video of some of them in action. Sadly we don't have one of the complete 156-step run yet, so you'll just have to imagine its fantasticness. galleryPost('rubemachine1', 3, ''); The whole idea is to create a machine that combines creative thinking with complexity in design, and, most importantly, inefficiency— much in the vein of Goldberg's cartoons. The winning team, the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers, have had plenty of practice at this— they've won two of the previous three contests. Their mach...
More About: Maker , Burger

Screw Computer Graphics: Watchmen World Gets Built for Real [Watchmen]
2008-04-06 16:00:00
newVideoPlayer("watchmen_gizmodo.flv", 494, 297,""); Just when we thought we were going to get a sensory overload thanks to Tony, Bruce, Hulk, and Indy, here comes Watchmen to kick our eyeballs again. Like JJ Abrams' Star Trek, director Zack Snyder is actually building massive sets instead of depending entirely on 3D graphics and green screens. And I can't be more grateful for that decision. I don't know about you, but the idea of having these strange (anti)heroes walking around a "real" 1985's New York, Ozymandias's massive Karnak, Mason's garage, Dr. Manhattan's nuclear lab, the Comedian's tacky bachelor's pad, and the Rorschach jail—all full of the retro gadgets, technology and the dirt of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' comicbook masterpiece— has me excited. If the movie is as good as his take on Frank Miller's 300, Snyder's Watchmen is going to be one for the books. [Watchmen via Superherohype]
More About: Graphics , World , Computer , Computer Graphics , Real

Does Apple Have the Balls to Sue Its Korean Namesake? [IPoop]
2008-04-06 15:45:00
Poor the Apple . No sooner has the Cupertino conquistador de computadoras taken steps to protect its trademark against GreeNYC than another eponymous company pops up. This one's in Korea and it sells toilets and bidets which do all those flash things so beloved of Asian poopers. Did I really just write that? Oh dear, yes I did. Anyway, I'm looking forward to Jobs' riposte. Will he bring out something for the bathroom that includes shower function, heat seat, self cleaning and user memory? If I were him, I'd just send in the lawyers. [AppleZen via i4u]
More About: Korean , Balls , Namesake

2Juicy Orange Squeezer Too Rockin? For One Hand [Juicer]
2008-04-06 15:00:00
Anyone who likes their, um, oranges, um, freshly-squeezed by hand in the morning should, perhaps, think about buying 2Juicy, a manual juicer from SuckUK. Anyone who doesn't should stick with their Braun automatic one—then at least you'll have one hand free for whatever else you like to do when you're squeezing oranges. [SuckUK]
More About: Orange , Hand , Juicer

KNC M-700 PMP swipes some Nokia 5310 looks
2008-04-06 14:50:00
Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video It's a little sad when a "unique" entry in the PMP market means knocking off Nokia design (here we have a sterling example of the 5130) instead of Apple. That said, the M-700 from KNC seems to be a decent unit, with a 2.6-inch widescreen display, 400MHz processor and codecs galore -- including DivX and XviD. There's 4GB of storage built in, but no word on price or expandability. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
More About: Gizmos

Craigslist Auction for Nintendo & Apple Merger Documents Has Us Reaching fo
2008-04-06 07:59:00
We know you can find an occasional bargain on Craigslist , but this takes the biscuit: documents actually detailing a merger between Apple and Nintendo . We knew Nintendo and Apple were up to something—has no one else noticed all the plastic white styled similarities? C'mon you guys, it's just makes sense! Now, we're off to put in our bid. Expect some seriously breaking news soon. [Kotaku]
More About: Auction , Merger

Toshiba IK-HD1 is World?s Smallest HDTV Camera [Camcorders]
2008-04-06 06:59:00
With vital measurements of 1-6-inches cubed and 2.3-ounces in weight, Toshiba 's IK-HD1 waltzes in to easily steal the "Smallest HDTV Camera , Ever" title. Packed to the miniature eyeballs with three CCD chips, the 1K-HD1 can capture video at broadcast-quality at 1080i, but it won't be making its way to your camcorder anytime soon. The tiny marvel is actually intended for professional broadcasting, and needs to be hooked up to a rather sizable control unit, which can be placed up to 90-feet away. It appears Mr Professional Broadcasting wins again. Dammit. [DVice]
More About: World , Camcorders , Hdtv

National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest of ?08 makes us feel lazy
2008-04-06 06:57:00
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets The last time we got to feeling this crafty was in middle school and involved large quantities of cardboard. The folks at the National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest 2008 have clearly taken things to another level, and while the ingenuity is evident, the commitment to aesthetic excellence is what really makes this event a winner. Also the fake beards. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
More About: Gizmos

Mac With 150 Apps Running Shows Teeny-Weeny Dock, Exposé Windows [Pic]
2008-04-06 05:59:00
Ever wondered what Mac Dock and Exposé look like with 150 apps running? Well, wonder no more, friend. Wonder no more. Rest assured, however, everything gets ludicrously tiny. Now, we're not too sure who'd be using 150 apps simultaneously, except for maybe that dude at the end of The Matrix who manages to confuse the crap out of everyone. Damn, he sure was crazy. Anyway, the sight is quite impressive nonetheless, so jump in for a screen shot. The Mac in question is a 2.2GHz MBP with an undisclosed amount of RAM installed. The user, Flickr member burnflare92, stated no slowdown was detected at all. I find that a little hard to believe, as mine lags a bit with a mere 20-plus apps running, even if it is a 2.16Ghz, 2GB RAM MBP. What do you guys reckon: is zero lag with 150 apps running total BS? [Flickr]
More About: Windows , Running

Sony Ericsson Paris Image Leaked; Face Job Works Wonders [Cellphones]
2008-04-06 05:00:00
The last time we caught Sony Ericsson 's Paris on the tubes it looked a little chunkier, but now the aesthetics have been immensley improved. For the proof check out the image above. USEB has run a complete run down of the expected specifications, so jump in for the best of what they found. Along with what we have already heard, the cellphone will now carry an alleged QWERTY keypad with multifunction keys, a metal construction, sliding lens cover for the 5MP camera, Bluetooth 2.0, 3G capability, UIQ 3.3 touchscreen WQVGA display, Google Maps and Wayfinder 7.0 support, as well as the excellent Mobile Opera 9.5 web browser. If all that holds to be true, this looks to be shping up very nicely indeed. On a side note, the source, USEB, tends to be so accurate with their Sony Ericcson related information / leaks, word has it they know about SE products before the R&D department do. Weird. [USEB]
More About: Cellphones

Glow In The Dark Graffiti Makes Street Art Rave-tastic [Graffiti]
2008-04-06 04:00:00
Every aspiring Banksy has run into the same problem at some point in time—he or she has defaced public property beautifully, but no one wandering the area at night can see it. With the power of design brand Suck UK's glow in the dark Graffiti , however, this quandary will affect the noble street artist no more. Now every miscreant's scribbles will be admired by the general public, no matter what time it is. No word on pricing, but the product should be available soon. [Suck UK]
More About: Rave , Street , Dark , The Dark

Negroponte says role at OLPC not changing, Windows coming soon
2008-03-10 21:51:00
Filed under: LaptopsIt's just been a few short days since Nicholas Negroponte seemed to make it clear that his role at OLPC would soon be changing, but it now seems like that may not be the case, with Nick Neg telling Laptop Magazine that his role will "not be changing drastically" once a new CEO is put in place. He also went on to say that "replacement" is not the right word, and that he had never held the CEO title nor used it, adding that he'll now go under the title of "Chairman and Foreign Minister." With that out of the way, Negroponte also dropped word that "a Windows operating system is in the process of being fine-tuned on the XO as we speak," and that it "should be available on the XO in less than 60 days," which is about the firmest word of a release date we've heard so far. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
More About: Changing , Role

ASUS gets bamboo happy at CeBIT 2008
2008-03-10 21:19:00
Filed under: Laptops In case you weren't aware, ASUS has a little bit of thing for bamboo, and its passionate displays of affection were unapologetic at CeBIT this year in Germany. The company was showing off a number product concepts on the show, as seen above, and while little info was given on specs or releases, they certainly seem to be a sign of things to come. We're actually a bit more excited about that Essentio 5110 bamboo desktop than the various laptops, but, as demonstrated by the EcoBook, ASUS is probably going to be pushing this mostly in a laptop direction.[Via Crave] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
More About: Asus , Happy , Bamboo , 2008

The iPhone Virtual Reality Goggles, They Do Nothing [Bad Ideas]
2008-03-10 21:00:00
Oh man. Apparently somebody just saw The Lawnmower Man and got inspired. This virtual reality head mount for the iPhone is designed to let you strap your favorite expensive phone to your face, blocking out everything else so there's nothing to distract you from the glow of your precious. This entirely garbage idea was created by a company called Box Fab who presumably just got a copy of Maya and decided to try to trick investors into giving them money. They're a "pre-revenue start-up" looking for people to place bulk orders and pay in advance so they can start manufacturing their ill-advised product ideas. I would really love to see this get made with software that would turn the accelerometer into a VR machine, actually. Seeing people on the train with their iPhones strapped to their faces, slowly going blind and experiencing the future as described in the late 80s, it's almost too awesome for me to imagine. The best part? Box Fab thinks they can make it for under $200. For gogg...
More About: Ideas , Reality , Virtual Reality , Iphone , Virtual

Microsoft’s Ray Ozzie talks about relevance of desktop and more
2008-03-10 20:45:00
Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie isn't normally one to give interviews, but the man himself did find a bit of time recently to chat with Om Malick of GigaOM, where he talked about the economics of cloud computing and the relevance of the desktop, among a myriad of other topics. On that latter point, Ozzie says up front that a student today or a web startup "don't actually start at the desktop. They start at the web," but he goes on to say that while there are things that the web is good for "that doesn't necessarily mean that for all those things that the desktop is not good anymore. What I think is important is to re-pivot the center of what we are trying to accomplish." On the topic of cloud computing, Ozzie goes so far as to say that he thinks "all of these utility-computing services, as they're born will either be breaking even or profitable," adding that "at the scale that we're talking about, nobody can afford, (even Microsoft) can't afford to do it at a loss...
More About: Microsoft , Desktop

Razorba War Hammer Improves Back Hair Shaving, Is Called the War Hammer [Ba
2008-03-10 20:30:00
How thick of a hair sweater do you need to have to need something called a War Hammer to shave off your back hair? Pretty thick, which is why Razorba improved their previous release with this War Hammer version, which holds more types of razors (Gillette Fusions are the most notable) than the predecessor. It's also twice the weight of the original, has a "Super Shock Solid Core" design, and a new "Hamr Grip II". In the end though, it's still a long piece of plastic designed to hold a bladed safety razor so you can shave your own back. If that's too dangerous for you (as it might be for us, since we're fairly uncoordinated) you can always try the electric-powered Mangroomer. [Razorba]
More About: Hair , Back , Shaving

Video Games Live to Perform First Video Game Concert in Mexico This Weekend
2008-03-10 20:18:00
A 7,000+ seat bullring is set as the location of the historic event.
More About: Video , Video Games , Games , Mexico , Concert