Gizmodo: Tron

Chevy Orlando is Totally the Minivan of the Future, Dude

Adam Frucci — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:20:00 EDT

This is the 2010 Chevy Orlando, a concept vehicle due to be shown off at the Paris Motor Show next week. It's pretty similar to the 2010 Chevy Cruze, but as you can see, it's got some pretty dramatic blue lighting on its exterior. I'm not quite sure if its completely ridiculous or totally awesome; it probably falls somewhere between the two. I mean, Tron lights are awesome, but Tron lights on a glorified minivan? It's interesting, at least. Hit the jump for a shot of this with its sunroof glowing, then head over to Jalopnik to see many, many more pictures of this thing.

[Jalopnik]

Yamaha Branded Deus Ex Machina Motorcycle Exoskeleton On Video, Looks Tron-esque

Jason Chen — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:40:00 EDT

We've seen this crazy motorcycle exoskeleton before, but its inventor Jake Loniak has just mocked up a video showing what it would be like in motion. Yeah, we're pretty damn impressed, but the guy gets cocky:

I believe a working prototype could be made, but it would take a great deal of time and engineering. This isn’t fantasy. It’s a green vehicle, and all of the numbers are based in the real world.

But who would actually use this? Sure, it looks pretty amazing and you can park it vertically in a garage to save space, but imagine having to unfasten yourself from this every time you get to work. Or the supermarket. Or grandma's house. At least with a Segway you can hop off and do your business. [Popsci via Crunchgear via Boing Boing Gadgets]

LED Fashion: Perfect for Joggers, DJs, Gizmodo Enthusiasts

Mark Wilson — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:40:00 EDT

EroGear is an LED clothing startup that embeds bright, eye-burning lights in otherwise drab cotton. And while their current LED jackets look perfect for late night runners and bicyclists, EroGear is actually courting a different group given the high price tag—the DJ who's looking to distinguish himself in a dark nightclub. The only downside is that since EroGear's fashion is still "in the design phase," custom LED jackets as seen in this clip cost about $1,500 a pop. And for that much, we'd need nothing less than a full-out TRON 2 bodysuit. [EroGear]

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]

Tron Guy Buys Custom-Painted Aircraft To Match Tron Outfit

Jason Chen — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:30:00 EDT

Tron Guy, whose wife calls him Jay Maynard, has just purchased a $140,000 aircraft. Why would the internet phenomenon spend so much money on a plane when it could be so much better used on some home exercise equipment? "I wanted a design that would leave no doubt in anyone's mind that it was Tron Guy's airplane." Well, alright then. [Wired]

Sweded Tron Movie Is Probably Best Sweded Movie Ever

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:45:00 EDT

While it's not the entire movie, this sweded lightcycle scene from Tron, every computer geek's favorite movie this side of War Games, has to be the best sweded version of a film in the entire history of sweded films. It may not be as funny as the hilarious sweded BigDog quadruped robot or the sweded Star Wars after the jump, but the execution of its cardboardish cheesiness is absolutely perfect.

And yes, I like to say "swede." I like swedes, some of my best friends are swedes, and I want to move to Sweden. I can't have enough of the TIE Fighters here either.

[StarWars Blog]

Make a Lamp That is Straight Out of Tron

Sean Fallon — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 19:45:09 EST

It is not hard to see where designer Greg Madison got his inspiration from for the Madylight —namely sci-fi movies and video games. He believes that one of the common threads between these mediums is "luminescent shapes which represent electronic circuits or magic spells." So the goal was to reproduce these shapes in everyday objects —like a lamp. It looks awesome, and the best part is that it is not all that difficult to make yourself. Hit the jump for a video and a link to the complete instructions.

[Instructables via Make]

Retro Frankenfight: Short Circuit Vs. TRON

Mark Wilson — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:30:17 EST

We like technology because it's "cool". But you know what? If it weren't for the brave tech-loving men and women of Hollywood, technology wouldn't be something you spoke of in public. Imagine a world where white earbuds weren't reason for a rough mugging, but a brutal wedgie instead.

That's why this week's Franken is between the two iconic movies that were ~~arguably~~ inarguably paramount in coaxing the masses to accept two of the dorkiest technologies (robots and software) as their rightful, hipper overlords. We took reviews from Ebert, the NY Times, Rotten Tomatoes and the scholarly IMDB community, and we converted them to fact through means of bar graph after the jump. Read the reviews, and then let us know the movie that convinced you that technology was not evil.

"The interior of a computer is a fine and private place, but none, I fear, do there embrace, except in TRON...The movie addresses itself without apology to the computer generation, embracing the imagery of those arcade video games that parents fear are rotting the minds of their children. [1]
[Short Circuit] was great from scene one, with the strange "computer" music, to the near hypnotic assembly of one of the robots... [3]

At a time when we're all too aware of the fatal failures of advanced technology, this robot is also reassuring. [2]
[But] What if a movie could capture the very spirit of a computer toy and make it last not just for a few quarters' worth of time, but indefinitely?...'TRON'' means to be a gloriously puerile movie, the full-fledged screen embodiment of a video game. It even means to go to the heart of video gamesmanship, and its premise is very promising in its way. [2]
There is a robot in "Short Circuit" that is really cute, if "cute" can apply to a robot. Its name is No. 5, and it moves and talks and even seems to think like something that is alive, even though we can see, clear as day, that it's made of tubes and wires and photoelectric cells...Too bad that robots, unlike humans, cannot be discovered in one movie and go on to star in another. I'd like to see No. 5 in a film more suitable to its talents. [1]
Sick, sick story of robot-lust. Avoid this film unless you seek moral corruption. [3]

For the record I give [Short Circuit] an official rating of green crap and banana sandwich. This is the worst comedy ever made. Ever. [3]
Tron is no doubt in my mind, the worst movie ever...Everyone I know who has seen it agrees with me...all it is is a bunch of guys throwing little, electronic frizbees. [3]

Winner: TRON
Even without NYT numerical scoring in the graph, TRON wins by a landslide. We recommend the DVD for its fantastic bonus features, for any late adopters out there. Surprisingly, Short Circuit actually made $13 million more at the box office, and Johnny 5 seems to be widely accepted by critics, even though his movie (and its sequel) were panned. – Mark Wilson

Images
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Short Circuit [rotten tomatoes]
TRON [rotten tomatoes]

Shoes Straight from the World of Tron

Gizloco — Mon, 22 May 2006 18:23:49 EDT

Why hide your nerdiness from the world when you can walk around town in shoes inspired by that movie of movies, Tron? From Addidas and available in the UK for £65 (about $122), these shoes—officially called The Stan Smith Comfort—won't give you special superpowers or anything, but then again, neither will that "Pwned!" shirt that you constantly wear. Apparently, the tongue shows a picture of Tron and the evil Master Control Programmer on the footbed, but you wouldn't know it from the pictures that Adidas supplied.

Are they worth importing all the way from the UK? We guess that depends on how much money you have to waste, as well as your level of self-confidence.

Product Page [Adidas UK via Kotaku]

TRON Disc or Frisbee?

johnb — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 09:54:19 EST

I have friends who like to play Ultimate Frisbee, which seems like a kind of silly game, but I guess now they can play it at night (perhaps in a spooky graveyard!) with this light-up frisbee. It comes in red, green, and blue, and will allow you to destroy Master Control with a few well-placed shots.

FLASHFLIGHT COLOR FRISBY [TheCoolHunter]