Gizmodo: clone wars

Lego Star Wars Spaceship Bigger Than My Sofa Can Probably Invade Earth

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:50:00 EST

A guy by the nickname of roholbro has spent a kajillion hours and bricks completing this huge reproduction of an Star Wars' Separatist Landing Craft, which can hold a whooping one hundred minifigs. One. Hundred.

Not only that, but it also holds a full Lego Star Wars Federation MTT (Multi Troop Transport) along with other three vehicles. Absolutely nuts. [Photobucket via Brothers Brick]

Clone Wars Merch Floodgates Open With Clone Trooper Kiddie Laptop

John Mahoney — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:17:16 EDT

Being a Star Wars die-hard from back in the day, everything I've seen or heard about the new Clone Wars series and film has made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. I guess this Clone Trooper "laptop" is no exception—sweet case, QWERTY keyboard, but all junior will be doing is playing educational games on its monochrome calculator-LCD screen, which looks like it could have been around for the release of A New Hope. Decent framework for an Eee PC casemod, though. [Product Page via Shiny Shiny]

Psystar Selling New Xserve Wannabe (Still Not a Mac Clone)

Benny Goldman — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Psystar, the controversial company with the cojones to take on Apple (bravo), has two new fugly server computers aimed at the Xserve market, the OpenServ 1100 and 2400. They start at $2125, which buys you a 2.5GHz Xeon QuadCore processor, 4GB RAM, 750GB HDD, 4 HDD bays and a worthless 10-client copy of OS X 10.5 Server. Both are cheaper than the authentic $3000 Xserve, which only includes 2GB RAM and 80GB HDD. Still, these are not the Mac clones you were looking for. (Boo!)

In the past, PC and Mac clones had duplicated parts. In the case of the PC, the XT clones contained a copy of the IBM BIOS (not licensed by IBM.) In the case of the real Mac clones like Daystar and Motorola's, they contained a licensed Macintosh ROM inside.

So technically these are not Mac clones at all, just normal PC hardware that don't have any of the special components in current Macs, which is why they require a special hacked version of the Mac OS X operating system. As we've seen, that hacked version has automatic update issues and they don't even want you reinstalling it yourself (in fact, they don't have permission to distribute the patch that makes this possible.)

So what is Apple waiting for? They've been known to be swift and merciless in the past when it comes to axing companies trying to make a living off the Apple brand. These "clones" are anything but, and if people start to believe that Apple hardware is of the same quality as these guys, they could be in serious trouble.

Go get 'em Steve! [Product page via Gadget Lab]

Psystar Sells Mac Clone, Becomes Son of Daystar

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:50:00 EDT

Once upon a time, back when most Apple fanboys were still playing with Mr. Potato, a guy called Gil Amelio had the idea of licensing the Mac to clone manufacturers like Motorola and DayStar—a great move that further kicked the company into the ground, making it bleed like a God of War monster and sending its sorry market share into the pits of Hell. And then, the Second Coming happened: Amelio brought Steve Jobs—perhaps his only good move at Cupertino—and after kicking Gil out, His Steveness axed the clones, for it was a really silly idea. Today, the zombies are back: a company called Psystar has announced the $399.99 OpenMac, a Mac clone that allegedly runs Leopard without modification:

The highly extensible OpenMac is a configuration of PC hardware capable of running unmodified OS X Leopard kernels. If you purchase Leopard with your OpenMac we will not only include the actual Leopard retail package with genuine installation disc, but we also include a Psystar restore disc for your OpenMac and we will preinstall Leopard for free so you can begin to use your computer right out of the box.

Apple's EULA prohibits the use of Mac OS X in any hardware not made by Apple, so Psystar's legal position is unclear. The only thing we know for now is that a) their site is down and b) you can spend $400 and get all this:

• 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor
• 2GB of DDR2 667 memory
• Integrated Intel GMA 950 Graphics
• 20x DVD+/-R SATA drive that is Lightscribe-capable
• 4 rear USB Ports

in a fully-expandable, butt-ugly generic PC box. Not too shabby. [Psystar —Thanks Sean Crowell]

Leaked Clone Wars Trailer is the New Force Hotness

Jack Loftus — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:40:39 EDT

Feast your eyes—squinting a bit—on the leaked two-minute trailer that was briefly seen in YouTube and then pulled off just to be rescued at the last minute by a Polish Corvette, saved into an astromech droid, launched onto a desert planet, and found by us in a garage sale somewhere in Kraków. Or something like that. The trailer further shows the work of the three hundred 3D animators who have been working on this project at Lucasfilm Animation for the past three years. And except for its lousy quality it, it seems that we are in for a ride (here's hoping Mr. Lucas didn't write the dialog.)

C3PO, Indiana Jones, Clone Wars Trooper Life-Size Lego Models Are Awesomely Huge

Haroon Malik — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 11:25:00 EST

We just spotted these great, life-sized Lego models of Indiana Jones, C3PO and a Clone Wars Trooper at the annual Toy Fair. We asked how many Lego bricks it took to construct each one, but were told that it was "a big secret." We couldn't care less, they look amazing, and we desperately need some new office furnishings to brighten up the place. Unfortunately, these are just show pieces, and those hoping for a gigantic Indiana Jones Lego pack will have to make do with these (movie spoiler) kits instead. Clone Wars fans get some smaller Lego-loving, too, but we want them so bad, we're going to try and smuggle the life-size models out. Stay tuned for news on the covert operation. Checkout the gallery for a ton of awesome images.

LEGO New Clone Wars Sets Will Excite Whoever Gets Excited by Clone Wars

Jesus Diaz — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:25:55 EST

The new LEGO Clone Wars sets announced at Toy Fair 2008, to be released just in time for the new Clone Wars animated movie and TV series, look nice. "Nice" as opposed to awesome giant bombers, ingenious Steam Wars, funny Indiana Jones, good old classic Star Wars or some of the best sets ever. Still, nice. All of them, plus info, prices and the new Clone Wars trailer, after the jump.

7673 MagnaGuard Starfighter Building fans can send General Grievous' elite personal bodyguard on a special mission using the MagnaGuard Starfighter from "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." Includes opening cockpit and engine compartments, and 2 new MagnaGuard minifigures. 421 pieces Ages 8+ $44.99 (USD) Available in August
7674 V-19 Torrent
Builders can battle the Separtist forces with the Republic's V-19 Torrent. Features a geared wing and landing gear system that automatically switches between landing and flying modes, flick-firing action, opening cockpit and new Clone trooper pilot.
471 pieces Ages 8+
$54.99 (USD) Available in August

7675 AT-TE Walker
Help Anakin Skywalker and his apprentice, Ahsoka, protect the baby Huttlet, Rotta, by firing the AT-TE's missiles at the droid STAP. The six-legged AT-TE model features flick-firing action and hatches that open to reveal a detailed cabin and crew bay. Includes 2 clone troopers, Battle Droid on STAP, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka and Rotta minifigures.
798 pieces Ages 9+
$89.99 (USD) Available in August

7676 Republic Gunship
Builders can take the battle to the Separtists with this heavily equipped troop transporter from Episodes II and II and the "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" television series. Features crew bay doors that open and close, flick-firing action and separate speeder bike. Includes seven minifigures: 4 Clone Troopers, new Obi-Wan Kenobi, and 2 new minifigures: Plo Koon and Asajj Ventress, a Sith assassin equipped with a double lightsaber that can be split in two.
1,034 pieces Ages 9+
$119.99 (USD)  Available in August