Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
You big tough IT guy you. Just because you can rip the still-beating RAM from a PC doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the simple beauties of life, like USB ports shaped like tulips. The USB Tulip Hub is a 4-way port adapter that cleverly hides flexible USB ports into a tulip design. Either plug…
When consumer budgets are tight, companies tend to back off the horrendously priced luxury goods. But according to the OLED Association, it’s not poor consumers that are holding up new, bigger OLED sets—it’s poor manufacturers. Ars interviewed Barry Young, Managing Director of the OLED Association, and managed to get a pretty good read on where…
Get ready, because the world as we know it is going to change in May 2009, when Wolfram Alpha—a computational search engine that belongs in the Enterprise’s computer—appears, giving you precise answers to everything. That’s what this thing is going to give us: A natural way to plug into the vast pool of information of…
Hold your horses, because after IGN said that Wii MotionPlus was delayed, Nintendo is saying that it is not delayed. Kind of. Sort of. Or something. https://gizmodo.com/wii-motionplus-delayed-according-to-ign-5166589 IGN said that Nintendo was struggling internally with the Wii MotipnPlus, pushing back the release of Wii Sports Resort, which is missing from the upcoming Nintendo games lists.…
Just in case yesterday’s Commercial Times report didn’t get your speculative juices flowing, the repectable-sounding Dow Jones Newswire is basically restating it, with their own sources and a little extra detail. https://gizmodo.com/apple-releasing-a-touchscreen-netbook-this-summer-5166576 The story is more or less the same: Apple is allegedly planning a touchscreen netbook for release as early as H2 of this…
The gCubik display cube, which simulates a fully rotatable, multi-viewable 3D object within its walls, has evolved quite a bit since we last saw it: its six sides, up from three, now respond to touch. https://gizmodo.com/gcubik-is-palm-sized-3d-display-everyone-can-see-at-onc-5015736 Like its predecessor, the newest gCubik is a strange device—more of proof-of-concept than anything else. It’s purpose is to…
And so it has come to pass: Steve Wozniak, gussied up and smiling like maniac, danced on national television. For like a minute and a half! Here’s how it went: https://gizmodo.com/woz-to-dance-with-the-stars-and-denise-richards-5149503 Actually, no, I have no idea how it went, but here’s what I saw: Woz came out wearing an awesome pink boa, the music…
Elementary school teachers watch out. Japan’s trying to make you obsolete! In lieu of a real flesh and blood person, one primary class in Tokyo is now getting a robot teacher named Saya. Saya has 18 motors hidden behind her latex face which can help her express emotions that run the gamut from approval to…
Wow. I’ve seen a couple ads of questionable taste in my day, but this one—in which a desperate "live jumper" takes a leap but doesn’t hit the ground—really takes the cake. [Youku Buzz]
Dell‘s new ruggedized laptop, the Latitude E6400 XFR, manages to be slimmer—yet manlier—than its first foray into military-grade notebooks, with better ballistic armor, higher drop specs and dust/moisture shielding in 8.5lbs. https://gizmodo.com/dell-leaks-rugged-e6400-atg-and-xt2-ultraportable-table-394351 To help out all the military, first responders, oil & gas workers and like to get their computing done, the E6400 uses a…
Nobumichi Tosa is the founder of Maywa Denki is a Japanese design firm that creates wonderful nonsense gadgets, like this musical backpack that makes music when you move your arms. As you can see, different positions correlate to different types of sounds and tempos. There’s no explanation provided for how the machine works, but that’s…
Clearance pricing is a fact of retail, but this year, the remaining 2008 TVs are taking sick price slashings to make room for only marginally better 2009 sets, according to research done by HD Guru. Gary at HD Guru found the most aggressive pricing at J&R, Costco, Fry’sand Vann’s. He put together a list of…
BERU’s Factor 001 is scheduled to be unveiled next week in the UK, and purportedly has GPS, motorsport-grade sensors and a radio transmitter, which all go back to an on-board computer. Gizmag says the Factor 001 can collect various bits of info, such as ergonometric, biometric, physical force and environmental data, then take all that…
Labeled as “gravity-defying,” this spill-resistant bowl uses gyroscopes to avoid spillage, no matter which way kids turn, tip and flip it. Impressive, but I’m sure I can still find ways to create a mess. In fact, the other day as a kid—while eating my sugary breakfast cereal—I would jump on my bed with my bowl…
The blonde bombshell known for her appearance in “Barbie,” the self-titled 1985 C64 game, turned 50 today. Some allege that Barbie is popular for reasons other than C64 compatibility, but we’re not so sure. [Allure]
Caustic Graphics, a startup from ex-Apple engineers, thinks their approach to 3D graphics—ray-tracing—will result in way more realistic eye candy than you see today, with chips that are 200x faster than today’s by 2010. In a nutshell, ray tracing works by tracing rays (ta da!) or lines of light from a certain point through pixels…
Not only does this 27,000 Sqft. building wrap cover 26 floors of the Rio Hotel & Casino, it’s the largest wrap in Vegas. It’s only about 10 feet taller than Penn. Why would Penn & Teller go to the trouble of having themselves plastered all over their workplace? Because it’s their 35th working anniversary. When…
The Wii MotionPlus is delayed, but does anyone care? It does improve the Wiimote’s accuracy to true 1:1 status, but is THIS the biggest problem with the Wii? https://gizmodo.com/wii-motionplus-delayed-according-to-ign-5166589 What do you think? Will the MotionPlus really make a difference for you in terms of gaming on the Wii? Will the Wii MotionPlus make a…
“CompUSA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Systemax Inc., has appointed Enas Raynor as its new Vice President of Business Development. Ms. Raynor most recently held a variety of senior executive positions with Circuit City.” Wow. Really. Just. It makes my head hurt. [Ed Yourdon/Flickr]
I am tragically allergic to kitties, but I think a pet AT-AT would be perfect. As long as it doesn’t eat my Star Wars minifigs and puke them up later. [NickIsConfused/Flickr via BuzzFeed] Do check out the whole gallery here.
