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Our buddies at Consumerist have discovered that all AT&T phones other than the iPhone (of course) are selling for a single red cent on Amazon today (with a two-year service plan, duh). Looking to grab a Blackberry Curve or Pantech Duo? You’re not gonna find them any cheaper than this. In fact, the Curve actually…
After Darth Vader kicked a Jedi Master’s ass with the Dark Side of the Crutch, District Judge Andrew Shaw issued an arrest warrant against the Lord of the Sith. After dictating it, he added: “I hope the force will soon be with him” (really—God save the Judge, Queen, and English humor.) Vader arrived later, pleading…
Everett Bradford is a student with a wannabe superhero streak, so for a project in his mechanisms class he’s built his own flamethrower. A wrist-mounted one, to give an arm-directed puff of flame like Pyro from X-Men. As you can see from the video, it actually works… so ten out of ten to Everett. But…
I just got my greasy hands on the FX500, Panasonic’s touchscreen point-and-shoot. As you see in the video, by pointing to a certain object in the frame, the camera stays focused on it even if either the camera or the object goes in motion. Also, manual options could be changed using a slider on the…
When Pioneer announced it was going to stop making its own plasma panels and outsource them to another company, informed speculation was that they were buddying up with Panasonic. A press conference earlier today confirmed that’s the case, and Kuro will use the same Neo PDP panels that are going into Panasonic’s Viera plasma sets.…
This week at Uncrate: We terrorize the neighborhood on the Dixie Chopper Xcaliber Lawn Mower, replace our bartender with the Cocktail Shake-O-Matic, and add some natural light to our dingy basement lair with the Solatube. We also check out the sweet samples in the latest edition of Materials Monthly, get our bagels just right in…
A dive computer by any other name, the Sea Instrument is a square and (sort of) attractive piece of kit for rich divers. Launched this month by Danish watch designers Linde Werdelin, it clips onto the Biformeter watch and gives you all the info you need while you’re blowing bubbles a hundred feet below the…
Inspired by Claude Shannon and Marvin Minsky’s Ultimate Machine, the LeaveMeAloneBox is made of a couple of hobby R/C servos, a switch, a microcontroller, and a battery pack, all contained in a little box and with a sprinkling of code. “I get a pretty consistent reaction,” says Michael, the guy who made it. “First no…
Take eight robots, divide them into two teams, set them loose in a miniature city, and arm them with non lethal lasers—but tell them to kill one another. It’s like semi-ethical dog fighting from the future. And we love it. Our Google Translate is a little rusty, but in the team game mode, each robot…
See those two USB plugs on this hub gizmo from Brando? They’re what makes this thing a little bit neat, even if its looks aren’t anything special. Most USB hubs need to draw energy from a power brick if you’re going to load them up with much more than a memory stick and charge up…
The camping trips of tomorrow will not only include throw-away clothes, but apparently stow-away airplanes. This edition of Closer Than We Think appeared in the October 19, 1958 Chicago Tribune. Airplanes that can be stowed away between trips, like camping equipment, may be a common sight in the world of tomorrow. They could be folded…
According to some intel gathered by our brothers from another alien mother at Kotaku, rumor has it that Nintendo is ramping up Wii production to 2.4 million units/month (compared to the 1.8 million units/month currently produced). It’s a number that should allow Nintendo to sell more of their popular console while balancing the big Re-shhhhhh…
Here’s one of Boeing Dreamliner’s most closely guarded secrets: the Orgy Room. Boeing likes to call it “the Crew Quarters” but, come on, what images does this cozy compartment, hidden in the top of the composite fuselage bring to mind? Here’s a hint: it has six tightly packed beds for flight attendants, who use them…
Asus just gave a new look and hardware upgrade to its Lamborghini laptop. The VX3 edition has a 12.1″ screen, weighs 3.6 lbs, and features such luxe amenities as a sapphire-crystal lens on the built-in camera, a handmade leather palm rest and a titanium alloy hinge. There is also the “authentic” Lamborghini logo to show…
Sure, it’s only a model of a dual-saw-wielding giant robot, but we can’t help but to admire one man’s vision of an autonomous future of fighting forest fires. The Forest Fire “Clear Cut” Robot (model) has 600 parts and took its creator 6 months to complete. What it represents is a tool prepared to slice…
Remember that sleek black cellphone from LG we wrote about earlier this month? More details are emerging, most notably that the KF750 shoots DivX video at 120 frames per second, and sports face-recognition technology on that 5-megapixel camera, as well as having haptic feedback, mobile Google apps and Bluetooth. Oh, and one for Conan O’Brien—its…
According to Steve yesterday, that $44.6 billion offer to buy Yahoo is “a lot of money,” which comes as no surprise to anyone. But he followed it up by saying Microsoft is “prepared to move forward alone without Yahoo.” Is he threatening to walk away? One suggestion to explain this is that employees inside Microsoft…
This spoon, which looks like a prop from CSI, has built-in scales so you can scoop and check the amount all in one. Made of ABS plastic and stainless steel, it has an LCD screen, and an accuracy of 0.005 ounces. It also measures in metric or imperial and can keep track of added weights.…
Doctor Who fans can now get their hands on the Master’s laser screwdriver. Darth Vader to the Time Lord’s Luke (father-son relationship aside), the Master’s laser screwdriver is more powerful than Doctor Who’s—well, that’s what you’d think, wouldn’t you? Although you can get a simultaneous blast from all three laser barrels, not to mention the…
I have to confess that I still can’t get Xiaxue—the amazingly popular Asian blogstar who slammed the iPhone in favor of a Chinese knock-off earlier this month. At first I told Matt that I thought she was a completely dumbtastic bozo but, after seeing this, I think she may be the biggest toe-curling comedy genius…