Western Digital WD TV HD Media Player Streams from Hard Drives on the Cheap

Western Digital, better known for storage than HD video equipment, looks to have thrown their hat into the video streaming ring with the WD TV HD Media Player. With two USB 2.0 drives working simultaneously, you can plug in your USB storage and stream to your HDTV in 1080p over HDMI or composite. The diminutive…

I Dream of Jetpacks: Mac Montandon Bears All

Click to view Love Boba Fett? ‘Course you do. So does Mac Montandon, who recently published a detailed report of his quest to find the jetpack of his dreams. Montandon, a freelance writer from Brooklyn, decided after living thirty-five jetpackless years that enough was enough and pulled out all the stops to travel across America…

Dealzmodo: 2 Sharp 46″ AQUOS HDTVs for $1999

Costco, in a fit of either economic optimism or pessimism, is selling not one but two Sharp AQUOS 46″ HDTVs for just $1999 with $99 shipping. That’s a solid $200 below anything PriceGrabber could find for me, and more than $350 below Amazon. Sure, two giant LCDs might be seen as a little excessive, but…

Make Me 2-D And Give Me A Comic Book Wife

It’s one thing to have a crush on a comic book character – I personally refuse to believe that I was the only teenager who didn’t wish that the X-Men’s Rogue was real, way back when (It was the accent) – but another thing altogether to take it as far as actually wanting to marry…

Hulk Brings Back Smash Lenticular Fad

Marvel Studios have released the cover art for their upcoming Hulk Vs. animated DVD and, just like their comics, you’ve got your choice of covers to choose from. While we’re normally partial to a screaming Hulk (see above), our hearts have been stolen by the return of lenticular technology. Wiggle the DVD box and watch…

If you’re looking for a recap of last night’s Clone Wars episode, then we’ve got some bad news for you – there wasn’t a new episode last night; blame Hallowe’en. But so that we don’t keep you from your dose of Lucas magic, why not check out the trailer for next week’s episode, in which…

Good Night, Sweet Phoenix

Five months ago, it landed on the Martian surface — and into our hearts. It gave us soil analysis data, photos of the sky from the red planet, and even hope of extraterrestrial life. Now, with its power deteriorating, its sunlight exposure shrinking, and Martian temperatures dropping to almost -100°C, the Phoenix lander’s time may…

Science Fiction’s Verdict on Patents? Guilty.

Is it the beginning of the end for the patent system? Last week, a US Court of Appeals decision eliminated most patents on business methods and software, but some still feel that the very system meant to reward inventors is stifling innovation. Many a scifi plot has hinged on who owns a particular technology, and…

Why Pushing Daisies Is The Best TV Show You’re Not Watching

I wish that headline wasn’t true, but the ratings back me up; not enough people are watching ABC’s Pushing Daisies. Bryan Fuller’s secretly twisted yet romantic detective show may bring the dead back to life on a regular basis, but it also goes out of its way to prove Isaac Newton and Stan Lee right…

This Little Piggy Went To Hell In New Fairy Tale Zombie Game

It’s the clash of genres that you’ve always wanted in new video game Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ, as poor Little Red has to fight undead versions of classic fairy tale characters in order to save the day. Thankfully, this version of Red was taking more than just food to Granny. How else to…

30 Burning Sci-Fi Bromances

Recently, we came across a story about “television’s hottest bromances”—you know, guys who share inexplicably tight, platonic bonds. The writer, Erin White, compiled a smart, pithy list: Barney and Ted from How I Met Your Mother, Denny and Alan from Boston Legal, Hiro and Ando from Heroes.… That last one got us thinking: Science fiction…

How Your Favorite Superheroes Cast Their Votes

DC Universe: Decisions, the DC Comics series that promised to tell us whether Superman was Red or Blue may have failed in that particular mission, but it did give us the political views of a lot of other characters within the DC Universe. If you’re still undecided as to whether you support the Republicans or…

Japanese Academy to Make Gundam a Reality

Japan thinks the real world should be more like Gundam. Next year, a team of experts from all walks of life will join together to form the Gundam Academy, an academic institution dedicated to bringing humanity into the age of mecha suits, helper robots, and space colonization. It’s time for the Universal Century.The Gundam Academy…

Now We Know: Aronofsky’s Robocop Not Sequel

We’ve asked before to no avail, but finally director Darren Aronofsky has come out and admitted that his new Robocop movie will not be a sequel to the previous three movies, but a ground-up reboot to the mechanical cop franchise. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll be robbed of seeing Peter Weller one more…

Chuck, Meet Your New Neighbors

As if Nicole Richie’s (surprisingly not bad) guest appearance wasn’t bad enough, NBC’s Chuck is about to be overrun with more stunt casting as Jenny McCarthy and Andy Richter step into the show to play a suburban couple who may or may not have a spy-esque past. Spoilers for the unexpected team-up of the year…

What Urban Fantasy Tells Us About the Future

Since we launched in January, io9 has steadfastly covered only science fiction, futurism, and science. We’ve had arguments with you over what this means, and occasionally we’ve covered borderline-fantasy tales like Hellboy and Ekaterina Sedia’s novel The Alchemy of Stone. But now we’ve decided to open our content coverage up to urban fantasy. Our muses…

A Retro 70s Oedipal Robot Explosion Wet Dream, Yeah!

Here’s Exhibit A for why I like the new Life On Mars series way more than it deserves. The time-stranded cop show just goes way, way over the top, as you can see in this bizarre acid trip. Sam Tyler doesn’t just have naughty thoughts about his own mom — he also sees the Vietnam…

The Shiniest Stories On io9 Last Week

Too busy rebuilding a tiny Manhattan? Don’t worry, we’ve compiled a list of the best stories of the week, just for you.Charlie Kaufman Will Break Your Brain in Synecdoche, New Yorkhttp://io9.com/5069579/ Synecdoche, New York, the latest film from Charlie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” Kaufman, creates its own brand of magical realism crossed with…

Why I Fell In Love With Karen Traviss’ Clones

When the Star Wars saga started delving more into the grim ‘n’ nasty Clone Wars era, I wasn’t that thrilled. I know, some bad stuff happened between the big fight scene at the end of Attack Of The Clones and the big fight scene at the start of Revenge Of The Sith — but I…

Stan Lee’s Acting Talents Finally Put To Good Use

What better way to celebrate Hallowe’en than listening to one of the greatest poems of all time read by one of the greatest orators of all time? That’s be great, but sadly, James Earl Jones couldn’t show up, so we’re left with Marvel Comics creator – and narrator of Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends –…