Gizmodo: Clips

Will.I.Am's New Video/BlackBerry Ad Shows the Price of Stealing Music

Benny Goldman — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:40:00 EDT

Sure, Will.I.Am's "One More Chance" video looks like it was directed by RIM, what with it's huge BlackBerry billboard and a prominently featured Curve. But you know what? Everyone's gotta eat, and when we insist on BitTorrenting albums instead of buying them, we should expect this from musicians. Along with Jay-Z shilling beer and Bob Dylan peddling panties, Will found a way to continue making music in a climate of slumping record sales, and it only cost a little piece of his soul. Pirating music is the only choice for many of us today, whether it's out of convenience, cost, DRM or anything else, but we better be prepared to live with the consequence. BlackBerry ad down below. [CrackBerry]

Slow Motion Lightning Video is Mindblowing, Will Sell a Thousand Slo-Mo Cameras

Adam Frucci — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Well, this is just about the most amazing thing I've ever seen. It's a lightning bolt that's shooting down from the sky, shot in slow motion. I'm not sure exactly how fast this camera is, but it's got to be shooting at a speed faster than the Casio EX-F1 can shoot at, at least at a resolution this high. Whatever, who cares? Just watch this and prepare to be blown away.

[Today's Big Thing]

Radiohead's House of Cards Video Rendered in 3D Using Legos

Adam Frucci — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:48:32 EDT

Radiohead's latest music video, as you may have heard, didn't use cameras, instead using lasers to capture data that could be presented visually. They then released all that data, allowing people to fiddle around with it. Ian Mackinnon took that 3D plotting data and created this Lego version of the House of Cards video. It's totally awesome.

[Ian mackinnon via Brothers Brick]

Mythbusters Tests: Will Explosives Properly Tenderize a Steak?

Jason Chen — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:20:00 EDT

Mythbusters returns for a whole new season tomorrow, August 6, and they were nice enough to drop a preview of their first episode off while they were on their way to blowing shit up. One of the experiments they're going to test is whether explosives can tenderize a steak as well as a traditional tenderizers. Can it? We're not sure—you'll have to watch Discovery at 9PM tomorrow to find out. [Mythbusters]

Rogue Escalator Takes Out 20 People At a Tokyo Convention Center

Sean Fallon — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Beware the next time your ride an escalator at the mall folks. It appears that they are beginning to stage an organized revolt against their passengers. First an escalator chewed up this poor bastard, then one dished out some payback after some tool disrespected it with a joyride. But that was just a warm up because the escalators appear to be getting bolder. Most recently, a rogue escalator took out 20 passengers in a Tokyo convention center when it inexplicably started going in reverse.

The most serious of the 20 or so injuries reported seems to be a broken leg, but it is clear to me that this escalator was staging a revolt because it was being overloaded by the crush of people. My advice is...stay alert. It is only a matter of time before they start snagging shoelaces with the intent to kill—and once they have a taste for blood there is no turning back. [USA Today]

Jetpack Inventor Answers the Hard Questions (and One Fun One)

Mark Wilson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:45:00 EDT

There's more than a little skepticism surrounding the new Martin Jetpack. Promising a new era of ultralight flight, many of the claims (altitude capabilities and safety, especially) sound too good to be true. Before we took our test flight, we asked Glenn Martin, inventor, some of the tougher questions that we hadn't seen asked anywhere else. Being a good sport, he actually answered them:

What's with all the videos showing people just a few feet from the ground? Can this thing actually go higher or not?

Have you ever had an accident?

OK, what's it feel like to fly?

Links for the rest of our Martin Jetpack coverage:
Hands-on Impressions
Flight Video

Hands On: Jetpack!

Mark Wilson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:30:00 EDT

“Don’t cover your ears, this is what you paid to see!” Glenn Martin shouts to me over the apocalyptic roar of an F22 fighter jet performing a leisurely flyby. He’d abruptly broken off a conversation with someone else just to make this point—before we’d even been introduced and hours before I flew his pack. “That’s 3.15 billion of your tax dollars at work!”

Well, here's the video of my flight with Glenn Martin's jetpack ($100,000 of someone else's money at work). And for those who may have missed it, I wrote about the experience in explicit detail yesterday. Even though it's pretty comedic to watch me fumbling around a foot off the ground, the ride really is intense from the cockpit. [Video shot by Jon Schwab, Edited by Mark Wilson]

Why Rap Stars Are Hating on the iPhone

Benny Goldman — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT

At the Rock the Bells festival on Sunday I asked some of the most important hip-hop artists in the game—and my heroes since childhood—what they hated most about the iPhone. Whether they owned it or not, most of the stars had a good reason to dis the overhyped phone, and their answers ranged from the mundane (Trugoy from De La Soul says it's "too cute") to the slightly crazy (dead prez's M-1 brought up the Matrix and Big Brother). Only Wu-Tang's Method Man couldn't find a way to bring the pain—we expect a new single, "F-A-N-B-O-Y Man", any day now.

Special thanks to Trugoy, Slim Kid Tre, Bootie Brown, Fat Lip, Imani, DJ Premier, Slick Rick, B-Real, M-1, Method Man, Murs, Keith Murray, Jake Fleischmann, Brendan McSheehy, and SanDisk! [Rock the Bells]

Drum-Playing Robot Doesn't Quite Threaten the Livelihood of Real Drummers

Adam Frucci — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:45:02 EDT

Seeing as drum machines are pretty ubiquitous in music these days, the idea of a machine that plays the drums doesn't sound all that groundbreaking. But what about a robot that plays the drums? Eh? Not impressed? What if I told you it played the most rudimentary beats possible? Now are you impressed? I thought so. [Impress via New Launches]

How to Get Out of a Cell Contract Without Paying an ETF in Many Not-So-Easy Steps

Adam Frucci — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:30:00 EDT

If you try to get out of your cellphone contract without paying one of those blasted (and newly illegal in California) early termination fees, you're going to need a meticulously planned and researched counterargument for everything they throw at you. It's not a small undertaking, and you'll meet hostile resistance every step of the way. But it is possible.

Ely Rosentock made the above video laying out every argument they'll use against you and every counterargument you should use to refute it. It's essentially a guide to refuting their script, and it's awesome. He discusses Verizon specifically, but it should apply to all the carriers. So, contractually-trapped friends, go forth and break free! Let us know how it goes. [Crastinate via Consumerist]

Beautiful Video of a Solar Eclipse Taken From an Airplane

Adam Frucci — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Now this, this is cool. This is a video shot from an airplane of the recent total solar eclipse, showing the moon passing in front of the sun. This video shows the entirety of the eclipse — they're quick — and you can see just how the sky is changed and darkened by the shadow of the moon. Remarkable stuff. [Canards]

Toyota Winglet Sport Feels Like Inline Skates for Klutzs Like Me

Jesus Diaz — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Yesterday we saw in action the Large and Medium models of the Segway-killer Toyota Winglet. Here you have the Type S, which stands for small but, according to Toyota, could also mean Sports. Looking at the video, it makes sense: basically, this thing seems to allow for faster, more agressive driving, achieving a behavior similar to inline skates. Someone should boost their engines speed as soon as they arrive. [Toyota]

Brendan Koerner Teaches Stephen Colbert About CFLs and the Environment

Benny Goldman — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EDT

Friend of Giz and contributing editor Brendan I. Koerner was on the Colbert Report last night to school Stephen on ways to save the environment. Koerner discussed the paper/plastic debate, using air conditioning vs. windows, and whether it's cheaper to buy CFLs or regular bulbs. Colbert let the green-concious Koerner off pretty easy, but he did manage to raise a fascinating point: If CFLs weren't meant to be licked, why do they look so damn delicious? [The Colbert Report, Brendan Koerner]

Lego Robot Sends Pictures from Space, Wishes It Had Lasers to Annihilate Us All

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:59:00 EDT

Last Tuesday, a group of professors, students and robotics hobbyists launched the H.A.L.E. (High Altitude Lego Extravaganza): seven Lego Mindstorms robots attached to a weather balloon, which exploded at 30km over the Earth's surface. Each of the robots parachuted back successfully, but not without taking the obligatory photographs of the ascent and descent:

The seven robots were designed to achieve seven different missions:

Brian Davis, Indiana, USA
Project: Little Joe
This robot will perform an automated free-fall in an attempt to set the record for the longest MINDSTORMS NXT free-fall. The robot will be detached from the main balloon near maximum altitude and will free-fall until the parachute deploys.

Project: Gypsy
The robot will be an automated camera platform that will take both video and still images. The MINDSTORMS NXT will control all image timing as well as pitch angle

FLL Team 90/David Levy (Coach), Virginia USA
Project: FLL Team Challenge: Climate Connections
A FIRST LEGO League Climate Connections team will build a robot to measure UV radiation as a function of altitude. The MINDSTORMS NXT will not only data log the UV sensor readings, but will also be used to rotate the UV filters in position as well as control the robot heater with a temperature sensor.

Barbara Bratzel & Chris Rogers, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA
Project: Fourth Graders
A group of 4th grade students will investigate the impact of flight conditions on yellow marshmallows (a.k.a peeps). The MINDSTORMS NXT will be recording temperature and pressure during the mission.

David Martinez, Jurgen Leitner, Sweden
Project: SpaceMasters
The robot will be measuring the change in G-forces as a function of altitude. The robot will repeatedly drop a tethered Wiimote at different altitudes to measure the acceleration experience.

Claude Baumann, Francis Massen, Jean Mootz, Luxembourg
Project : LUXPAK
The robot will be using an RCX to measure ozone concentration, air pressure, temperature (inside and outside) and reflected light from Earth during the descent.

Eugene Tsai, Taiwan
The robot will be using filtering papers to capture particles and/or chemicals in the air during the balloon ascent and descent periods. The LEGO Mindstorms NXT will be used to provide a mechanism to switch filtering papers to capture the materials in the air and then keep the papers in a secured compartment. The filtering papers will be retrieved and analyzed to see what chemicals and particles exist in different altitudes.

[More info will be posted soon at the Lego Mindstorms site]

Jet Explodes in Midair, Leaves Us Scratching Our Heads

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Even while I knew what was going to happen when I saw this video, it shocked me when I saw it exploding the way it did, with no warning whatsoever. To be honest, I don't know if this Saudi fighter jet is a real fighter jet or not. It sounds like one, it looks like one, and it explodes like one, so it must be an airplane or a duck. But somehow, some people think it may be an RC model. Still, the idea of the plane just exploding like that reminds you how fragile our technological world is—says the guy taking a plane on Monday. What do you people think? Real or model?

[Editor's Note: Definitely a jet RC model!]

Video: Toyota's Winglet Advanced Scooter In Action

Jason Chen — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:59:00 EDT

Toyota's Segway-competing Winglet may look agile and nimble in photos, but how does it perform in motion? Quite well, actually. A lady with capri pants can ride the M version around with relative ease, using her weight to direct the Winglet around in a figure 8 so other Japanese men can take photos of her from every angle. The only thing left to see is the price. Will this be affordable enough so we can all don our short pants and ride outside in style? [Japan Times]

Timelapse Video: Building the Lego Death Star Diorama

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:39:00 EDT

Here's a bunch of crazy Lego heads building the Lego Death Star diorama, probably the best Lego set available this side of the Millennium Falcon with 3,803 pieces, and 21 mini-figs—a stunning number for any Lego set—but definitely the most fun to play with, with 14 scenarios from the original movie.

Looking at the time it's taking me to finish the Falcon, I'm not going to try this unless I can get ~~Lindsay Joy~~ someone to help me. [Lego in Gizmodo]

Real Liquid Display Makes Mac OS X Aqua Look Like Crayolas

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:45:00 EDT

Giz reader Nicholas Buechi created this real liquid display that really doesn't display anything but bubbles. And that's enough, because it is mesmerizing enough as it is. The liquid display is driven by an Arduino processor, and the events are triggered by a water keyboard. Sounds crazy, but in action it looks very pretty and soothing:

Nicholas explains how it works:

It's based on an Arduino processor and a board I did myself. There are 16 valves controlled by transistors. The interface [where you put your fingers to trigger events] uses 3 Q-Prox QT110E chips. With them I measure the voltage in the water. If anyone touches the water, electrons flow to the person, which gives the system feedback.

The whole effect is quite relaxing and cool. I need this as a Mac OS X screensaver. Pronto. [The Liquid Display]

How the Cormorant Submarine-to-Air Plane Works

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:30:00 EDT

After the START II—the second strategic weapons reduction treaty with the former URSS—was signed, the US Navy had to reconvert many of their Ohio-class nuclear submarines, giving new uses to their missile bays. They talked with Lockheed Martin about it, who came up with the idea of the Cormorant: a Halo-looking plane that launches from a submerged submarine, does its mission stealthily and then returns to the water, where it's retrieved by a robot. As the video shows, the idea looks out of a sci-fi movie:

The Cormorant is an unmanned aircraft to be used on different types of missions, mainly as a reconnaissance and troop support. It uses a turbo-fan engine for flying, which of course can't be put underwater. The trip from the submarine to the surface works using physics: when the missile bay opens, the Cormorant starts ascending like a cork, thanks to the pressure difference.

During this time, the engine inlet is sealed. When the plane reaches the surface, it jumps out of it because of the acceleration and, precisely when it is in midair, two rockets fire up to get it off the surface. When the necessary speed is achieved, the turbo-fan fires up and the rockets are ejected. From that point, the UAV follows its trajectory and executes its mission, returning to sea after it's done.

When it reaches the programmed rendezvous point, the engine stops, a parachute deploys, and it falls into the water to wait for the submarine to retrieve it. The submarine, however, doesn't have to come to the surface at any time. Instead, it would launch another robot, which will hook the Cormorant to the sub using a cable. The submarine will then tow the plane down and put it back in its bay.

Too bad all this genius is dedicated to war. But hey, better Cormorants than Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles. [Cormorant]

Epic Blob Jump Proves That Fun and Adventure Aren't Without Consequences

Adam Frucci — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EDT

This video shows a girl getting absolutely launched into the air from an inflatable "blob" on a lake. She lies on one end, while what has got to be a much larger man jumps down onto the other. It looks like both the most fun thing ever as well as one of the most painful when she lands. Where can I get me one of these? Seriously, holy crap.

[CollegeHumor]

Sony Ad's HDTV Hungers for the Sweet Flesh of a Blu-ray Player

Adam Frucci — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT

This new Sony Vaio ad, created by 180 in Los Angeles, features an HDTV that swallows up a Blu-ray player like a Venus Fly Trap. It's pretty awesome. I think I'd enjoy any ad that has large gadgets devouring smaller ones in an animalistic fashion. [Space Invaders via NotCot]

Humanity Will Record Apocalypse with Cellphones

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EDT

After yesterday's California earthquake everyone and their dogs* is posting videos online. Cellphones, camcorders, digital cameras, or CCTV, it doesn't matter: like the following clips show, it looks like this era of democratized gadgetry has made humans eager to record their own destruction, perhaps as a last chance to leave a notch in History. I can see it already, when the fourth angel sounds the trumpet, people will take out their cellphones and start recording a video of the Apocalypse. Except iPhone users, who would only be able to take photos. That and change their Facebook status to "is watching the asteroid falling."

* See? The dogs too.

In fact, I can already imagine Facebook's status worldwide:

"Jason is taking off his pants as he watches the city turn into flames"
"Jesus is trying to repent quickly of all his sins and having his last Margarita"
"Brian is liveblogging the incoming tsunami. It's cool"
"Mark is trying to finish Mario Galaxy II before the asteroid hits"
"Adam is looking for his bong"
"Matt is reading the NYT. Wha'?"
"Benny is looking for Tracie for a last snog"
"Strider is commenting in Brian's liveblog"
"Lindsay Joy is watching her Lego minifigs melt"
"Curves is keeping it cool, like always"
"OMG Ponies is OMG"

Have your own favorite California earthquake video or your future Apocalypse Facebook status? Post it in the comments.

Rocket Racers: Like Crazier NASCAR In the Sky

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:40:00 EDT

If you thought Red Bull Racing was crazy, you won't believe the Rocket Racing League. Think NASCAR, but in the air, using planes powered by solid-state rockets flying simultaneously. The racers take off in pairs, separated by minutes, competing against the clock at the same time. That means that they will have to maneuver around the competition, following a 3D track projected in their head-up displays. You know it would be spectacular just with the description, and watching this video of one of the $1 million racers in action at the 2008 Air Venture in Oshkosh.

The Rocket Racing League® is an aerospace sports and entertainment organization that combines the competition of racing with the excitement of rocketry. The RRL was established by X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis and two-time Indianapolis 500 champion team partner Granger Whitelaw to advance the technology and increase public awareness of space travel. The NASCAR-style racing league features rocket-powered aircraft that will be flown by top pilots through a 'three-dimensional track way' at venues throughout the world. With millions of fans who enjoy racing and air shows, and an even wider audience enthralled with humanity's next step into space, rocket racing is destined to become the future of racing!

There are six teams already. If I were a test pilot, I would apply today. Head to Flight Global for an exclusive interview with Granger Whitelaw, CEO of Rocket Racing, explaining what the whole thing is about. If you are going to be at the show, go on Friday or Saturday, when they will fly it again. [Rocket Racing League and Flight Global]

Megatorpedo Sinks Destroyer in One Hit

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT

This is a US Navy Spruance-class destroyer sinking in mere minutes after being hit by the latest version of a Mk 48: a heavyweight torpedo which, as you can see in this video, can wipe a whole ship out of the water in a single strike. This version, developed by the US and Australia, has new sonar enhancements that make it an "effective weapon in shallow water and in a countermeasure environment." The footage was taken to demonstrate its capabilities during the Rim of the Pacific 2008 naval exercise. Obviously, with frightening success (at least for someone who is looking to go to NYC in a freighter ship soon.) [Ares and BBC]

Microsoft's 'Mojave' Bait-And-Switch Vista Experiment Video

Jason Chen — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:40:00 EDT

Remember Microsoft's Mojave experiment? Where they took XP users who didn't know a lot about Vista, stuck them in a room, showed them a mysterious OS that they loved, then revealed that it was Vista. Here's the video they took of the experiment.

What's interesting about this experiment is that sure, people who don't know anything/enough about Vista are kneejerking their way into hating it. These people are the ones that are easily convinced with a slight-of-hand that Vista is good. But what they didn't show was the day-to-day usage of Vista, like accidentally installing an XP printer driver and not being able to print. Sure, we like Vista just fine, but this demographic that Microsoft has in its video would be just the kind to not really be tech savvy enough to fix the aforementioned printer problem.

What can we conclude from the Mojave experiment? Pretty much exactly what we thought of Vista: that it's not that bad. Definitely not as bad as these people previously thought.

However, this is a video of people clueless about what Vista looks like in the first place. No Gizmodo readers would fall for such a ruse. Here's a video there of a guy recognizing Mojave as Vista:

Kudos to Windows Marketing for including cases like this, because there's no way that the public perceptions of Vista being not all that great/bad are solely based on prejudice. But maybe, just maybe, a lot of it is. [Mojave Experiment]

Exclusive Lego Universe Video Offers Game's First Glimpse

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:20:00 EDT

Lego Universe developer NetDevil has given us an exclusive peek into Lego Universe, the massive multiplayer online game where you can use bricks to collaboratively "build in real time", having adventures through maps that span across all Lego themes: from Space to City to Pirates to Ninjas to Underwater, everything will be in there. After creating the game tools, the game is now in the world design stage, where advanced Lego users are helping NetDevil to create the actual worlds.

This video was recorded in NetDevil's second Lego Universe Project event. According to Scott Brown, NetDevil's president, in the first LUP event they asked these Lego users to give them an idea of what the game should be like, which of course resulted in them building hundreds of actual Lego models of monsters, places, and all kinds of devices, machinery, and vehicles.

After that session, NetDevil started to program the software tools and the models needed to design Lego Universe terrains and structures. Now, in the second LUP event, they have trained those Lego people on the tools themselves, which they are using to create the virtual worlds. Apparently, NetDevil is very impressed by how fast these people—who in their day jobs are mostly engineers—got into the tools after just a three-hour class. Hopefuly that means things are progressing fast and we will see this game—which seems to have great potential—sooner than later.

Vortex Fountain Scares the Piss Out of Traditional Fountains

Mark Wilson — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT

The Vortex Fountain eschews gentle, soothing streams for a powerful water funnel. The illusion of a standing block of water is created by an acrylic case hidden by transparency and water cascading down the sides, and the vortex itself is formed through the combination of strong, alternate currents of water that collide in the tank. Depending on the angle from which you view the fountain, it alternates between a majestic restraint of nature and an oversized science experiment involving expensive two-liters. Here's a clip of the Vortex Fountain in full vortexness:

[WilliamPye via OhGizmo]

Skinned Robo Teddy will Instill a Healthy Fear of Robots in Your Kid

Adam Frucci — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EDT

One of the great joys of parenting, as I understand it, is being handed a malleable lump of proto-humanity that sees you as some kind of god, absorbing everything you do and say as a lifelong lesson. It's a big responsibility, sure, but also an opportunity to create a really… unique individual. Which is why I just have to recommend getting one of these absolutely terrifying robo teddy bears for your toddler.

Controlled via a Wii Nunchuk, the evil teddy is a modified BJ Bearytales that can move its mouth, blink, move its arms and instill a lifelong fear of both bears and robots in any impressionable child. You simply tilt the Nunchuk or use the joystick to control it, preferably while hiding in your kid's closet in the middle of the night, waking them up to this skinned, robotic teddy bear waving its arms all by itself.

Parenting! [Bendering Time via Make]

Dr. Ashen Reviews The Flip Ultra and Creative Vado

Jason Chen — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Benny may have reviewed a bunch of cheap camcorders for our cheap camcorder Battlemodo, but he's much less British than we'd like. Good thing for us Dr. Ashen of Vii, PolyStation 3 and various other shitty gadget fame has decided to put two of them head-to-head. Spoiler alert: The Creative Vado sucks, even in the UK. Oh, and Ashen's couch is slightly dirtier than last time. [Dancing Yak - Thanks Sean!]

Wiimote-Controlled Canoe Adds Nerdiness, Removes Physical Effort

Adam Frucci — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Ah, the great outdoors. Nothing says summer like heading out in your canoe. Especially if said canoe has been modified with a small electric motor that's controllable via a Wiimote. That's right, nerds: now you can use your mad Wii skills to help you avoid the horrible exertion that comes from paddling. Unfortunately, it's just a steering mechanism. What would really be something would be if you had to "paddle" with the Wiimote while steering with the Nunchuk. If you're going to do something this ridiculous, you might as well go all out. [Wiimote Controlled Canoe via Make]

Up: New Pixar Movie Has Us Completely Puzzled

Jesus Diaz — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT

With Wall-e still hot in our minds, Pixar has shown their new movie teaser at Comic-Con 08. It's called Up and the movie plot has us completely puzzled:

The hero of the film is a 78-year-old man named Carl Fredricksen, who walks around hunched over with a tripod cane. When he was a kid he met a girl named Ellie, who grew up in small midwestern town. The two fell in love and eventually got married. Her dream was always to explore the world and visit paradise falls, but as usually happens, life got in the way. They were never able to make good on their promise, and Ellie eventually passed away. Now Carl is a widower living alone in his small home. Developers are threatening to move him into an old folks home.

Seems risky for an animated movie, but also has the potential to become one incredible story. We can only hope that Carl learns how to use his GPS before taking off. [The HDR Room]

Tron 2 Trailer Video Makes Pants Wet Worldwide

Jesus Diaz — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:24:00 EDT

It's a tiny bootleg video, but I don't care. You can see that the 3D looks amazing, the new lightcycles are stunning (and move like real bikes), the world and the whole mood is Batman-like dark. And Jeff Bridges... well, he is Jeff Bridges. What can I say, he looks like a badass version of the Dude. "It's just a game!" he shouts. No, it's not. It's Tr2n. At last. Note: excuse the excitement, but I saw the original in the movie theater, and 200 times after that. With War Games, it's what got me into technology when I was a kid, and ultimately here at Giz. The only thing that has me worried is that the characters are in the computer world are fully 3D. The good news: George Lucas is not involved in this one, but rumor is that Pixar may be. [Filmstalker]

Mr. Show Alum Pitches Q1 Ultra for Samsung in Ridiculous Video

Adam Frucci — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:20:21 EDT

This video is some sort of really strange new attempt at going viral sponsored by Samsung, pitching the Q1 Ultra using comedy. Normally, not something we'd be all that interested in. This, however, stars Bob Odenkirk and Mike Naughton. Yes, the same Bob Odenkirk from best-show-of-all-time Mr. Show. So we'll give it the benefit of the doubt. It's about these two guys who are brothers-for-hire, allowing you to pay them to pretend to be your brothers. They use the Q1 Ultra a bit, but you can tell they just crammed in references to it after they had written the main sketch. Why Samsung had decided to do this now, over a year after the Q1 Ultra came out, is anyone's guess. After the jump, Rap the Musical from Mr. Show, just because.

Letterman Mows Down a Pleo with a $1,000 R/C Monster Truck

Adam Frucci — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:40:00 EDT

Last night, David Letterman had some expensive toys at his disposal. He checked out the Pleo, then he got to test drive a crazy, $1,000 remote control monster truck. Naturally, the docile, innocent Pleo wasn't going to fare well in such an environment. Oh, Letterman, you cruel bastard!

The Shining Recreated with WowWee Robots

Adam Frucci — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT

In the above video, the famous tricycle scene from The Shining is reenacted with a WowWee Tribot and a couple of Femisapiens who meet some gruesome demises. It's pretty awesome. After the jump, check the original scene for comparison's sake.

Yep, still creepy after all these years. [Boing Boing Gadgets]

First Fembot Commercial Ever Heralds Imminent Robot Porn Market

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:20:00 EDT

Those crazy Japan-addicts from the Pink Tentacle have grabbed the first commercial ever made by a fembot. Actroid DER-2 stars in a 15-second TV ad titled "The Woman Who Doesn't Rust", promoting an insect repellent and sunscreen spray. From afar, she looks hey-babe-how-you-doin' kind of good, but then they have to cut to a close-up and almost gave me a heart attack. Why a fembot needs sunscreen is beyond me. Lube after a few Old Fortrans, on the other side, it's a completely different story. [Pink Tentacle]

Drunk British Woman Wonders When the Internet Started, Calls 911 to Ask

Adam Frucci — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:20:00 EDT

The Avon and Somerset Police department have published some awesome YouTube videos featuring audio from drunk and stupid people calling 999 (911 in the US) with inquiries that don't quite qualify as emergencies. In the above clip, a completely shitfaced woman really, really wants to know just when the internet started. What's amazing is how polite the 999 operator was. Awesome stuff. After the jump, a bonus video from The IT Crowd on Britain's awesome emergency response number.

[YouTube via Boing Boing]

Weird FanWing Airplane Looks Like Flying Harvester

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:40:00 EDT

The FanWing has to be weirdest aircraft ever devised: it doesn't use rotors or jets for propulsion, but a patented "distributed-propulsion vortex-lift" technology which is similar to the blade cylinders used in harvesting machines. In fact, that's exactly what it looks like, a flying harvester. This prototype was presented at the recent Farnborough International Air Show, and seeing it flying in the video is weird, to say the least.

Despite the weirdness, it works. Not only that: this design allows for very steady flights and attack angles which are not possible in other aircraft without losing stability. The fan lets the aircraft to almost float in the air, with the capability of moving very slowly, resisting turbulence and winds with ease. The company claims that it also has a very low carbon footprint for "projected manned applications." As the gallery shows, they are not stopping in UAVs: they want to do ultralight aircraft, planes for short-range delivery, fire fighters, crop dusting, short-haul passenger service and even a Vertical-Take-Off version.

[Flight Global]

Lego Blade Runner Spinner Video Makes Us Drool to Dehydration

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:43:35 EDT

The always fascinating and outworldly Xeni Jardin points us to this video of the Lego Blade Runner Spinner. She wrote: "Guys, you posted a while back about the badass one of a kind LEGO spinner car from Blade Runner that Joel Johnson spotted during the BBtv shoot at Syd Mead's studio. We cut an episode about it, check it out!" Actually, what Xeni meant to write was: "Witness Joel Johnson getting a stiffy touching Syd's Lego Spinner." I can't blame him. In his own words:

A one-of-a-kind official LEGO version of Mead's "Spinner" flying car from Blade Runner, presented to Syd by LEGO when he attended a design summit in Billund. Syd let me pick it up and swoop it around my head like a child.

You should have ran away with it, Joel. Crime pays. They are still looking for their Galaxy Explorer at the Lego Secret Vaultin Denmark. [Boing Boing TV]

Kid Takes Down Cable Repair Man with Well-Placed Punch to the Crotch

Adam Frucci — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:30:00 EDT

It's very well possible that this video is fake or staged. Then again, it's also possible that it's real, and this annoying little brat of a kid just delivered the gleeful revenge of ten thousand pissed-off cable customers to one unsuspecting cable guy's beanbag. The world may never know.

[TastyBooze; Thanks, Blakeley!]