Gizmodo: Sad

Metal Gear Solid 4 Bluetooth Headset Reviewed (Sounds Like Crap)

matt buchanan — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:30:00 EDT

No wonder Solid Snake is so grouchy in Metal Gear Solid 4. Sure, the MGS4 Bluetooth headset looks like the most badass one ever, but the sound quality is apparently horrible—like you've been kidnapped and gagged with Liquid Ocelot's underwear. How are you supposed to banter with Roy Campbell while ducking exclamation points if he can't understand you? I think this officially ruins our Friday. =( [Gadget Madness via PS3Fanboy via Kotaku]

Ridemaster Pro Horseriding Simulator Is Just Sad

jesusdiaz — Wed, 07 May 2008 08:40:00 EDT

Seriously. I don't care how high-tech this mechanical horse—which apparently allows you to "simulate" horse riding—may be, but really, if I like to ride, I want to do it outside, on a real horse, experiencing the thrill, and feeling the wind on my face. And if I was a pro, I would like to practice on a real horse. In other words: there's only one kind of riding to be done indoors. And this ultra-expensive $10,000 contraption is not it. Update: we found a video of it—and yes, it's actually sadder than we imagined.
[Born Rich via Ridemaster—Music: Miwaku no Horse Riding (Go Go Cactus Man) - from Cowboy Beebop]

Senslux SLD Desklamps Try to See Off Your Winter Blues, Acne

Kit Eaton — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:51:01 EDT

Senslux's new SLD range of desk lamps will light your stuff with LEDs for low power-consumption eco-friendliness, and come in three types. The SG-1500 model appears to be just a plain ol' desk lamp, but the SF is apparently a "full spectrum" lamp, presumably to give more natural light to combat the dim winter sun. The last, SA model, claims to be a light therapy for acne. Brilliant. Available in Korea for around $150, not sure if or when they'll make it over here. [Aving]

Arthur C Clarke Dies, Probably Headed Back to the Stars

jesusdiaz — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:30:06 EDT

[Biography of Sir Arthur C Clarke]

Shiny Shiny Reviews Seasonal Affective Disorder Lights (Verdict: A Bright Idea)

Jason Chen — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:00:01 EST

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or winter depression, or "where the hell is the Sun," can be treated by gadgets that mimic the sunlight you're otherwise not getting. The special name for these gadgets is "lamps," or "lights" if you're going strictly scientific. The crazy dames over at Shiny Shiny reviewed two of them and decided (I think) that the lights are great, but using the alarm function to wake up to frogs or static is "rubbish." [Shiny Shiny]

George Ou Says HD Bitrates Mean They Suck, Forgets About Codecs

Mark Wilson — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:00:46 EST

George Ou over on Zdnet wrote an excellent piece outlining why those too-good-to-be-true HD downloads we see in Xbox 360, ABC.com and even Apple TV are a bit bogus. He points out that while these services deliver on their 720p resolution promises, the encoded bitrates are so low, compressing the data to such small proportions, that the image within the said resolution has inadequate fidelity. He's dead wrong, forgetting that MPEG-4 generation codecs can take the same bitrates from sources like DVDs and ratchet up the res and quality in the same space. Duh. [zdnet via engadgethd]

PCWorld Calls Vista the Biggest Tech Disappointment of 2007

Mark Wilson — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:26:04 EST

PCWorld has listed the 15 Biggest Tech Disappointments of 2007, and Windows Vista went for the gold. Their article begins, "Five years in the making and this is the best Microsoft could do?" and really just snowballs from there. While PCWorld enjoys Aero, better networking and faster searches, they thought that both the price and third party hardware incompatibilities were unacceptable. And this clever turn of phrase made us laugh out loud:

No wonder so many users are clinging to XP like shipwrecked sailors to a life raft, while others who made the upgrade are switching back. And when the fastest Vista notebook PC World has ever tested is an Apple MacBook Pro, there's something deeply wrong with the universe.

It's true, while Vista is an improvement in a multitude of ways, there is that (large) segment of the XP-using population who knows that there's a hole in the raft and it can't stay inflated forever. But you'd be damned if they're gonna take a pass at swimming for shore quite yet.

And why should they? XP just got a major speed bump in its latest Service Pack update. [pcworld]

Oh, and a note to people mad about the Mac joke, the iPhone came in at #5.

Darth Vader - "Luke, I am your flashlight"

Mark Wilson — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:42:03 EDT

How does it feel, Darth? From Ruler of the known Universe to kiddie flashlight. How far you have fallen after 30 years of over-merchandising. How do you work? A kid squeezes you, your head pops an you light up. Seriously? Do you like that, Darth? When the kids squeeze you?

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Geeks, it's up to us. We need to bite this Star Wars toy stuff in the bud ASAP, lest our children and children's children think Darth Vader is nothing more than a flashlight, dust buster or some other mundane marketing scheme. Unfortunately, this one is already sold out. [ubergizmo]

Litebook for SAD: Chase Those Winter Blues Away

Charlie White — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 15:59:11 EDT

With those long days of summer slowly turning into the short days of winter, it's just about time for some poor souls to develop seasonal affective disorder, the winter blues that have been appropriately dubbed the acronym SAD. Exposure to certain types of bright lights can fool that circadian rhythm mechanism and suppress the melatonin that brings on the dark clouds of winter, and here's the cure: Litebook, a clinically-proven portable device that SAD sufferers can take with them on the road.

It has 24 bright white LEDs and a stand, along with a clip that lets you attach it to your exercise bike or treadmill, making you feel like you're going for a walk or bike ride on a sunny summer day. Available next month, it'll be $379, or the rechargeable Litebook Charge 'n' Go that gives you two 30 minute sessions per charge is $447. – Charlie White

Product Page [Litebook Company Ltd., via ubergizmo]

Light Sleeper Wakes You Up With Light

Charlie White — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:09:32 EST

Who needs that honking alarm clock when you have the Light Sleeper pillow and duvet, a design concept for bedding with electroluminescent threads embedded into it? Designers at loop.PH note that exposure to certain bright lights makes you feel better, especially in the wintertime. Problem is, your body is only receptive to these bright lights at certain times of the day, and apparently the best time is about one to two hours before waking.

So, Light Sleeper is designed to come on gradually, fading up in a natural breathing rhythm over 15 to 20 minutes at whatever time you designate. Set it for just the right time of the morning and it simulates a natural sunrise, providing the proper amount of light to reset those circadian rhythms.

Light Sleeper [Yanko Design]

More sunrise alarm clocks [Amazon]

It's a SAD Revolution

Travis Hudson — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 15:41:05 EST

Seasonal Affective Disorder is this year's "Hot Disorder" as voted by E! Last week we saw the SAD Body Clock and this week we see some other SAD light boxes. They provide a 20-minute light therapy session that can supposedly set someone up for an entire day with energy. These light boxes (a.k.a. lamps) begin at $400.

Product Page [The S.A.D. Lightbox Company]