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In America, we call them “Wiimote jackets,” but in Japan, they’re just an ordinary pair of shoes. How foolish our uncultured ways must look to the rest of the world. [人生の調味料 via Kotaku] https://kotaku.com/wii-mote-jackets-double-as-kiddy-shoes-5139840
If you have teenage daughters, you had better think twice about taking away their cellphone—because you could end up hiding in a bedroom while she frantically stabs at the door with two kitchen knives. That’s just what happened to parents in Delaware after they revoked their 16-year old daughter’s cellphone privileges for stealing money to…
Not only does this Spider-Man look absolutely gross, we think that it might even be officially licensed. The Spider-Man webcam includes very few details—we know nothing of its resolution or price—but what we do know is that it’s an abomination to petroleum products and Spider-man alike, the superhero’s trademark webbing immortalized in what appears to…
If an invitation for an event at New York’s, ahem, Morgan Library is to be believed, Amazon’s new-and-improved Kindle could soon see the light of day. https://gizmodo.com/amazon-kindle-2-might-ruin-christmas-by-not-showing-up-5098516 The date meshes exactly with the previously assumed Q1 ’09 release date, and rumored pictures of the new device have been flowing since before the holidays. And we…
Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix addicts, pay attention: Hori’s Real Arcade Pro EX SE arcade stick is as solid a controller as you’ll find for the Xbox 360, but it’ll cost you. This chunk of an arcade machine really is just that, with the stick, buttons and components coming from Seimitsu, a company that…
Four of the prominent UK OiNK uploaders arrested months ago in a sting on the popular and beloved torrent site have finally been sentenced, and they’ve received mere slaps on the wrists. Steven Diprose was sentenced to 180 hours community service, and has to pay £378 in Court costs. Michael Myers was ordered to pay…
There’s never a ruler around when you need one, but these measurement gloves can conceivably clip to your jacket to always have on the job (you know, like mittens). Packing centimeter and angle measurements along with a few cute grids that we’re fairly certain are just for grids’ sake, the only flaw with the measurement…
Hey, this makes sense. No one wants to hear (or pay for) in-flight voice calls, and since only grandpa uses the voice feature of his phone these days, why not simply allow data plan usage? The service will launch only on BA’s business-class-only flights from the smaller London City airport to New York’s JFK, so…
If you’ve been looking for a PS3 deal but didn’t want to mess with rebates or credit card offers, Amazon has the 80GB model for $350, or $50 off retail. [Amazon via Joystiq]
This just in: Canon is the world’s greatest camera manufacturer. And it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with their actual cameras. In response to Japan’s aging population and Japanese couples’ propensity to have too few children to maintain the country’s population, Canon called off the traditional 12-hour workday twice a week, encouraging their employees…
Alongside the ruggedized TS1, Panasonic has announced a refresh to their P&S lineup, including one touchscreen camera, a few that shoot HD video and one that’s just…there. https://gizmodo.com/waterproof-panasonic-lumix-dmc-ts1-is-the-toughbook-of-5139949 The FX580 is pretty much the star of the show here, as it’s fitted with a 3-inch touchscreen and 720p HD video capability. Otherwise it’s a fairly…
Built by a company with some experience at making things that aren’t flimsy, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1 is a waterproof, dustproof and shockproof point-and-shoot camera for the outdoorsy and/or clumsy type. https://gizmodo.com/what-doesnt-break-a-toughbook-makes-it-stronger-how-th-5019770 Nearly every aspect of the TS1 was designed with rugged use in mind: the airtight shell, reinforced with rubber padding, glass and carbon…
Remember when 1TB, 3.5-inch drives were all the rage? Well those days are over, as Western Digital has released their 2TB Caviar Green, available now for $299. The 3.5-inch SATA drive features a 32 MB cache and about 1.8TB of actual space once you get things up and running. When Hot Hardware tested the WD…
According to IGN, the next incarnation of the PSP is on its way. And it’s taking a few design cues from the iPhone. (Their words, really!) UPDATE: Close Sony Source Denies with Sass IGN has learned from several credible sources that the PSP 2 is indeed on the horizon, and will be packing multi-touch technology.…
While we’re still fawning over tiny e-paper displays in e-book readers, the Japanese government is installing panels in Tokyo to aide evacuation in disaster situations—a very good idea, as it turns out. The multi-part displays, measuring at 1m x 3.2m and supporting a 240×768 resolution have been placed alongside a few main thoroughfares in the…
Nintendo has partnered with NEC, Panasonic and Hitachi to put together a system that actual doctors will use to check up on actual patients, using a Wii Fit. The add-on is a special channel for the Wii, called the “Health Checkup Channel”, that provides two-way communication between doctors and their patients. For the doctors, the…
Representative Pete King of New York has introduced a bill to Congress that would require all new cameraphones to have shutter sounds. Why? For the children! The bill states that “Congress finds that children and adolescents have been exploited by photographs taken in dressing rooms and public places with the use of a camera phone,”…
Microsoft cut the Entertainment & Devices division’s budget because the group’s R&D costs had skyrocketed in the preceding months—to twice as much as the Windows group, said TechFlash. Will this hurt the group’s great products? https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-laying-off-5-000-rumored-mostly-from-xbox-an-5137045 Our friend Todd Bishop over at TechFlash did some number crunching, and found that Robbie Bach’s E&D division was…
USB missile launchers have been around for a while, but this version is mobile—allowing you to infiltrate your co-worker’s enemy’s cubicle trench and win the battle for office supremacy. https://gizmodo.com/usb-missile-launcher-comes-with-webcam-for-optimal-accu-360447 Each tank can be controlled within a radius of 25-feet using a USB radio transmitter and the included PC software. Throw in the 12-foot range…
This prototype snow shoveling robot could clear driveways if let out early enough in the storm, before build-up. I would buy a snowbot, especially if it can shit ice bricks. [iShovel via Hackaday]