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Live Helio Fin Unboxing and Grope by B.Lam in ~20 minutes using Justin.tv’s lifecam. What music would you like in the background, nerds? (Here’s our first gallery, from earlier this morning, btw.) [Justin.tv/Gizmodo] https://gizmodo.com/helio-fin-unboxing-meet-the-thinnest-clamshell-in-the-290152

Samsung Files Patent for Safe (ie Non-Baby) Sex Cell Phone

A cell phone that lets lay-deez know if they’re running a higher-than-normal chance of getting pregnant is the latest idea from Samsung. The Korean electronics giant has filed a patent with the US Patent & Trademark Office for a “portable device for user’s basal body temperature (BBT) and method for operating the device.” An ultrasonic…

Hype Sheet: Ballin’ the Jack for VCast

The Pitch Jim, a typical office drone, has apparently switched to Verizon Wireless so he can download AC/DC tunes for his LG Chocolate. (Sorry, I don’t know the HTML code for a lightning bolt, so live with the slash.) This not-so-amazing (and, for that matter, not-so-believable) revelation is over and done with by the commercial’s…

Verizon Wireless just announced the availability of the Sierra Wireless AirCard 595U EVDO Rev. A USB Modem for $179 after $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract. (Service is $60 per month.) Our own Charlie White has already tested the Sprint edition of the 595U, and calls it “freedom on a stick.”

Chainsaw Wheelbarrow Drag Racer Runs Fast, Kills Faster

Yes, this is exactly what it looks like: a stupid mechanical contraption designed to increase the number of fatal accidents in the workplace. It’s also a wheelbarrow drag racer powered by two chainsaws and a participant on the Silverline Drag Racing competition, a contest for modified power tools and, apparently, unused props from the Texas…

Man With Fake Heart Claims He’s Lost the Ability to Feel Emotions

Peter Houghton takes his metaphors a bit too seriously. The first lifetime recipient of a Jarvik 2000 ventricular assist device (i.e. an artificial heart) is grateful for the fact that he’s, you know, alive, but thinks he’s lost his emotions since getting the fake ticker. Dude, your emotions come from your brain, not from your…

Cheapness Sends Student to the Grave via Computer Electrocution

From the Embarrassing Obituaries Dept.: a 20-year-old student in Shanghai was killed when his computer electrocuted him. Apparently, it was very hot outside, yet Wu refused to turn the AC on. His computer was overheating, so rather than go with the AC, he took the case off to let it breath. His sweaty legs hit…

Wiimote Knockoff, Doesn’t Play Wii

This Wiimote knockoff spotted at a local Wal-Mart doesn’t feature IR or accelerometers, but it does have a pretty sweet (.5 inch?) LCD screen for a football game. “Daddy, why didn’t Santa get me a Wii for Christmas?” “But Joey, Santa did get you a Wii.” “This isn’t a Wii! This is Satan!” Whatever it…

There’s been a major Skype outage since 3 a.m. PST due to a “software issue”—it’s expected to be back up in the next “12 to 24 hours.” [TechCrunch]

Helio Fin Unboxing – Meet The Thinnest Clamshell In The US

Clamshells make up 79% of the US market for cellphones, so it’s no surprise that Helio is introducing one to its lineup starting today. Here’s the unboxing, with Sizemodo to come. Earlier: The Helio Fin is a Magnesium-Cased Samsung Ultra Flip Phone!

Fancy Ulysse Nardin Watch Gives You the World for $118,000

If you’re one of the dozen people in the world who still wears a watch, you might have already been lusting after this Ulysse Nardin Tellurium J. Kepler masterpiece, one of just 99 to be made in the world. It’s named after Johannes Kepler, the 14th/15th-century astronomer who was one of the first scientists to…

Nail Artist Nails da Vinci (with Nails)

Where others use watercolors, one man uses metal. This artist (if you know his name, hit the comments) re-creates masterpieces using nothing but nails. The process appears to utilize a computer grid to map dots onto plyboard—we’re betting a projector and pencil is used—after which the artist nails thousands of metallic dots onto his “canvas.”…

Link Mugs Let You Carry Six Cups at a Time

Now that hapless Gizmodo intern who spilled hot coffee all over Chen’s famous pants can rest easy, because here’s a set of coffee cups that link together, making it possible to carry a sextet of steaming beverages at the same time. So there you go, cherished intern—you can serve the entire Giz writing team in…

Happy 25th Anniversary, Compact Disc

Today the compact disc (or “CD” as the hipsters are calling it) turns 25. I know how you feel, CD. After 24, when you can rent a car and trash the shit out of it for only like an extra $50 in insurance, it’s all downhill. But since Philips and Sony developed your form and…

Man Stuff – The Best of Uncrate

This week at Uncrate: We plow through our unkempt facial hair with the Braun Pulsonic Shaver, count down the hours until the weekend on the Tic Watch, and give our brains a rest for the duration of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD. We also make like a pirate…

Personal Protection Launcher Lets you Powder the Nose of your Attacker

With a range of 40 feet—that’s 25 feet more than a Taser&mdasj;the Avurt IM-5 personal protection launcher will keep away anyone you don’t want near you from getting too close. It’s simple to work: aim at the chest of a large, blond man in a stadium, pull the trigger and the man will be too…

UPDATED: Netflix Lowers Prices for DVD Rentals by $1 … Again

Netflix just lowered its prices on the “three DVDs out at-a-time” plan again, taking it down a buck to $15.99 a month. Our jaws dropped as we saw the above notice in our inbox, because it was just three weeks ago when Netflix had lowered the price to $16.99. Hey, keep those price reductions coming,…

Meebo Goes iPhone Compatible With the Best Fully Optimized Mobile IM Client

We wrote about Meebo’s iPhone compatibility right after the iPhone was launched—and it wasn’t so great. Consider that a thing of the past. Meebo’s just released an iPhone-only IM webapp that’s just as good as Meebo for the desktop. We’ve actually tested it on our iPhones, and can say it’s the best chat app on…

Microsoft Puts New RAM in Xbox, World Goes Crazy

The internet is buzzing about Microsoft’s announcement to replace NEC’s 10MB of 90nm embedded DRAM with TSMC’s 10MB of 90nm embedded DRAM in their Xbox 360 console. After all, there is a new company involved! And we’ve been expecting Microsoft to start implementing smaller chips in their Xbox, which should lead to lower power consumption,…

Starfish Self-Modeling Robots Learn to Walk in a Sad Way, Hold Potential to Kill Humanity

University of Vermont’s Josh Bongard just won the 2007 TR35 Young Innovator award for his self-modeling robots. His starfish can learn how to walk with no programming at all, just knowing the properties of their parts. The results —as you will see in the video after the jump—are quite pathetic to watch, but I am…