Inflatable Pub Is No Place For Kids, Fools

This is Mr T, on the case More »

SIM2, Dolby's High Dynamic Range TV: For Quality A-Team Viewing

Hey kids! Mr. T here, tellin' you that watching too much TV is bad for you. But if you're stuck inside, maybe you're sick with a cold or something, then this new TV by Dolby and SIM2 Multimedia might be good. It's got some cool local-dimming LED technology —1,838 of the suckas— that dynamically adjust backlighting for the best picture. They say it's got infinite contrast ratio: no shit! Guess that's the High Dynamic Range part. Has 1920 x 1080 pixels, 46-inch screen and is designed by an Italian-sounding guy. Giorgio Revoldini. Say What? You want to buy it? It's a protoype, sucka. [7 Gadgets]

Google Docs Get Offline Support, T Not Happy

Google is furthering the migration of pretty much everything to the cloud by offering offline Google Docs support, which will be powered by Google Gears. Effectively, the applications you use will have data stored locally until you get back in range of your Wi-Fi hotspot, where updating will then occur seamlessly. The functionality will start to roll out in the coming week, with some users being granted immediate access. More »

HPI's G-Dog Robot Kit Ain't No Aibo, Big Dog

Yo, suckers! You want this robot dog to guard your home? You're a nut! Mr. T only likes Big Dogs or hot dogs! HPI's little G-Dog thing is way too small, like Murdoch's stupid dog Billy. And it's some kind of kit, so you got to be putting all those fiddly parts like plastic pieces, three-axis acceleration sensor, servos and 7.2V nickel hydrogen batterys together. With no spark-welding, man! But if you're into this crazy robot stuff: I ain't gonna stop you. You're gonna have 15 x 5.3 x 7.5 inches of robot with some crazy motion processing software stuff, and it's gonna be doing robo-doggy do on your desk. What's it gonna cost? Cool it: we don't know the price. But you can get it from July, in Japan. [Robot Watch]

Green House Telephoto Kit Gives 8x Zoom to Cellphones, Superman, Fools

Hey, fool! Why would I need a 8x cellphone zoom lens, complete with additional universal handset tripod and holder? That's right, I wouldn't, because B.A's eyesight is better than Superman's. Still, for those without Mr. T's 40:40 vision, Green House is doing a good thing releasing their Telephoto Kit. B.A. don't know nothing about pricing or shipping dates, but he does know that if Superman were ever to come up against him, he'd pity that fool. And if you need the Green House Telephoto Kit, I pity you, fool! Now, I'm gonna go crush Balboa's head in. Balboa, you ain't Rocky, you just cocky and I'm gonna snap you like a Pocky! Arghh! [Akihabara News]

Lightning Review: VholdR Wearable Sport Camcorder

In honor of the upcoming Tahoe reader meetup on April 5th at Alpine Meadows, I'm going to be doing end of season reviews of some outdoor gadgetry that's been floating around the cabin. More »

Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth Earpiece Blends Stylish Design with Powerful Features

Plantronics just announced their new Discovery 925 earpiece which breaks away from the utilitarian design of most Bluetooth ear pieces and injects some style into the hardware — similar to the MotoPure H12 headset. The Discovery 925 sits in the ear without a loop that wraps around the back and comes with a matching carrying case that doubles as a DC charging dock for juice on the go. More »

Question of the Day: Do You Use a Bluetooth Headset?

With numerous states looking to regulate talking on your cellphone while driving, using a Bluetooth headset is one of your best alternatives. However, there are still plenty of tools out there who wander around with two free hands talking on these things at the top of their lungs (here is a tip for that by the way), as well as corded headset users and people who never use a headset of any kind. So, the question is: do you use a Bluetooth headset? More »

Radioactive Tritium Makes Keychain Light Glow For 10 Years

Besides being somewhat dim, most keychain lights have batteries that only last a couple months before needing to be replaced—which often never happens since nobody has watch batteries lying around. But what if you could have this Mini Tritium Keychain, which lasts about 10 years without needing to be replaced? If you're worried that keeping something radioactive in your pocket next to your gonads is a bad idea, keep in mind that the particles emitted are supposedly so weak they don't even penetrate your skin. Also keep in mind that science has been wrong about stuff before. [DealExtreme via Gear Diary via Oh Gizmo]

Apple Sued for iMac Display Deception, Steve Jobs Suspected Closet Megatron

The hyenas are grouping again to grab some chops off Apple with yet-another-class-action suit. This one claims that the iMac's 20-inch display has been marketed as having the same features as the iMac 24-inch. Looking at Apple's site, their case seems without much merit (the technical term, I believe, is "bloodyfrikkinstupidtastic"). Here's Apple description and the lawyers' press release: More »

HP's 3-Megapixel Elite Auto Focus Webcam Looks Like a Fancy Stapler

HP's Elite Auto Focus Webcam not only boasts one of the highest megapixel video counts we've seen (3-megapixels), but it's also got a 12-megapixel still image sensor for regular pics. It comes with the stapler-like stand, but you can also clip it onto a monitor for more of an eye-level view. There's AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Skype and Yahoo Messenger compatibility, stereo microphone, USB 2.0, and privacy cover for your alone times. Although you might be buying this for the 3-megapixel video, be aware that you only get about 5-6 FPS in that mode—you'll have to pump it down to VGA resolution for a fluid 30 FPS. [Digital Home Thoughts]

Jean Nouvel's Faucets Have Touchsensing PlayStationish Buttons

Like many other architects, 2008 Pritzker winner Jean Nouvel also designs home objects, like these bathroom faucets and shower with touch sensor technology on four buttons which look taken from a PlayStation gamepad. Pressing the triangles will increase or decrease the temperature, while the circle will open the water flow, and the X will close it. Triangle, triangle, square, circle + square, circle, jump will make Sofia take on Uranus with a special whip move.* [Jado via WowBathrooms] More »

PSP Slim's Dual Analog Mod Allows Katamari Ecstasy

Sony's decision to only place one analog stick on the PSP as opposed to the two on just about all their other PlayStation controllers has led to some control scheme oddities. For one, FPS shooters are all but impossible because you can't use the D-Pad to aim, and two, Katamari Damacy was a bitch to play with the buttons. Modder L0rdNic0 had enough and decided to shove his own analog stick on the right-hand side. The result is a supposedly 100% "fully functioning" mod without any issues, which means snack cakes and sumo wrestlers alike need to watch out once more. [Acid Mods]

Comcast Compressing HDTV Signals to Fit Three Shows into Two Shows' Bandwidth

Comcast has begun compressing HDTV shows in order to deliver more HD channels to you while using the same amount of bandwidth. They didn't use to do this before, but now, when compared to Verizon FiOS, the channels are grainy and blocky and full of artifacts—a result of shoving three channels into a space where only two previously occupied. A guy at AVSForum measured how the new bitrate stacks up against Verizon. More »

Sending Too Many SMS Messages Means You Have a Mental Disorder

The same doctor that was pushing for internet addiction to be classified as an official mental disorder has now published an article in the latest American Journal of Psychiatry stating that sending a large amount of SMS messages will qualify as well. Not only that, it seems that Jerald Block is throwing in too much computer gaming in the mental disorder pile too. What do you and your BFF Jill think? Is too much SMSing something you need to get professional help to quit, as evidenced by the findings that "people who are denied access to the internet or mobile phones displayed feelings of anger, tension, and/or depression?" [Cellular News via Tech Dirt]