Dead
”Sony Trinitron Timeline Shows Why It Will Live Forever In Our Hearts
After 280 millions tubes sold, Trinitron will be officially dead this month. Few Sony inventions have had the same gravitational pull as their Trinitron display technology, perhaps only second to the Walkman. Trinitron became a synonym of the best quality TV sets and computer monitors on the planet, despite the thin cables that secured its aperture grille in place. This timeline shows TV history since 1873, how color TV became a reality in the '40s, and how Sony became the king of TV, with more than 100 million sets sold by 1994, to later fall under the weight of plasma and LCD technologies:More »
polaroid
Polaroid Instant Film Killed By The 21st Century
Polaroid is closing its last remaining film plants in Mass. so the oh so fun instant Polaroids will soon become a thing of the past. Well it's already a thing of the past, but this time it's serious since no more instant film will be produced. More »
format war
First Paramount Blu-ray Titles Spotted on Amazon
The first signs of HD DVD's ultimate demise may be coming from the UK on March 10. After the news on Universal and Paramount abandoning the exclusive HD DVD deal, it seems that Amazon UK is listing three Paramount Blu-ray titles with that definitive release date: Trading Places, Coming to America and Anchorman, the latter of which was never available on Blu-ray before (as far as we can see). Amazon UK doesn't list the HD DVD versions, and these are all new Zone 2 releases, not US imports. Could this be an error on Amazon's part or just a sign of things to come? [Format War Central]Confirmed: Bricked iPhones Rise From the Grave With Firmware 1.1.3
For all those unlocked iPhones out there that were bricked after attempting firmware upgrades, we have some great news. It appears that Apple's new 1.1.3 iPhone firmware rewrites either most or all of the phone's firmware, allowing for bricked iPhones to be brought back to life. If this sounds too good to be true, watch the video above. We tested it on our own dead iPhone that was originally unlocked with AnySIM and later bricked by an attempted upgrade. This phone had just been gathering dust in one of Brian Lam's many gadget drawers, so we were surprised when we finally had success with bringing it back to life. Getting the iPhone working again wasn't as easy as we expected, and at times it didn't seem like the firmware upgrade had worked, so here's what happened.
More »How to Win a Darwin Award: Float a Live Surge Protector in a Pool on a Couple of Flip-Flops
drm is dead
DRM Officially Dead: Last Major Label Sony BMG Plans to Finally Drop DRM
It's over. The last major label to hold out on selling DRM-free MP3s, Sony BMG, is "finalizing plans" to sell music not locked down with DRM. It'll be available sometime in the first quarter, apparently in time to get in on Amazon and Pepsi's 1 billion song giveaway, which now looks like it'll have tracks from every major label. So, how'd we get here? More »This Is What a Nokia E90 Blasted With a Shotgun Looks Like
Someone blasted their Nokia E90 with a 12-bore shotgun. And then decided to put the bent and twisted piece of telephony up for sale on eBay "for parts." Or for laughs, because then someone decided to buy the remains of the smartphone for $20.50. Apparently, he didn't realize that not a single part of this phone would work, as the E90 is mostly a single sandwich of printed circuit boards. Gunshot gallery is below. More »
santa
Microsoft Kills Santa
After Santa the IM bot's supposed obscenities came to light, Microsoft tried very hard to fix the fat bastard so he wouldn't curse up a storm at children. Programmers weren't completely satisfied with what came out the other end, so they threw up their hands in defeat and said, "screw it" to the whole thing and axed Santa for good. Who can you blame for killing Santa? Only yourselves and your salty, salty mouths. [The Reg]Even in Death, This Guy is a Massive Nerd
Living Dead Dolls Pencil Sharpener Will Haunt Your Dreams
The "Living Dead Dolls" Sadie Pencil Sharpener is a favorite of artist and sharpener aficionado Matthew James Taylor —and it doesn't take much to see why. Insert a pencil into her eye socket and watch her regurgitate the shavings at the push of a button. It is tons of wholesome fun for the well adjusted adult. You can have one of your own for as little as $2.99 when they become available. [Product Page and MJT via Neatorama]
Star Trek and MLB Urns Will Make You a Superfan in this Life and the Next
Would you like to be remembered as a pathetic geek who based his entire life around a piece of pop-culture sci-fi entertainment that you didn't even have a hand in creating, filling a unique role of someone who's completely passive yet also obsessive compulsive? Great! This Star Trek urn is for you. It's shiny, futuristic-looking (for now), and just so above-and-beyond dorky that you'll probably get into a special section of Nerd Heaven where they have 1,000,000-sided die and piles of mint-condition magic cards as high as the eye can see.
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gadgets
Diamond Synchotron Will Use Super X-Rays To Find Out What the Bible Really Said
England's Diamond synchotron, a device that covers five football "pitches" and is capable of generating an X-Ray light source that's 10 billion times brighter than the sun, will be used to examine precious antique documents that cannot otherwise be handled. More »
dead birds
Cuckoo Clock Takes Things Too Literally
If you're looking to make your apartment look as creepy as possible, you can't do much better than nailing a dead bird to your wall, hanging a clock around its neck, and calling it art. That's just what designer Michael Sans did, and it's why he presumably lives a solitary life. No, you can't buy one, as he only made one and it isn't for sale. You don't need me to tell you how to make your own, you creepball. [Watchismo Times via Product Dose]CulinaryPrep May Let Me Eat Raw Chicken 'Til The Cows Come Home
Although the press release doesn't mention my beloved chicken sashimi, it does say that the CulinaryPrep home unit, which went on sale today for $400, "removes e.coli, listeria, salmonella and other dangerous impurities from food." Still, something about it smells fishy.
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frogs
Control a Dead Frog via the Web
Art or science? That's the question you'll be asking yourself when you see this dead frog with a server embedded into its guts. Suspended in a clear glass of inert liquid, the frog has an Ethernet cable coming out of its insides, which in turn allows remote "visitors" to issue commands and make the frog twitch its muscles. It's definitely the most sadistic thing we've seen done to a frog since that Miss Piggy's S&M video. [Conceptlab via BoingBoing]The Fatty Speakers Made from Hemp are Smokin'
The Fatty is an awesome name for a set of speakers. Designed by Hard Truckers, the crew behind the Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound, both cones (they're 12" Tone Tubby Alnicos if you're interested) and cabinet are made of hemp, making The Fatty as friendly on the environment as it is on the eye and ear. Not so easy on the pocket, however, is the price... More »
not dead yet
PSP Firmware Signals Downloadable Games
PSP firmware code... [via gadgetvenue]








