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Remember Vex, the RadioShack robot platform that was going to change the face of home android-army construction? After a spell out of the limelight, it’s back with some cool upgrades: the RCR Mini platform is half the size (and at under $100, a third the cost) of standard Vex, and works alone or with the…
The Pitch “Originality? We don’t need no stinkin’ originality!” So sayeth Toshiba’s ad agency, which commissioned this stunningly unimaginative Super Bowl spot (which we previously lampooned as the game’s “Best Lost Cause”). Three slovenly friends enjoy the big game—sans authorized NFL logos, natch—while cheerleaders cartwheel by. Once the game’s over, the couch potatoes switch over…
Silverthorne is a teeny processor built on the 45nm process (like the much-ballyhooed Penryn), designed for UMPCs, subnotebooks, mystery Apple products and any other smallish gadget that needs real crunching on an ultra-lean power diet. https://gizmodo.com/giz-explains-whats-the-f-is-a-penryn-335090 It’s about as powerful as the first Pentium M chips (Banias), but while those idled at 5W and averaged…
Time to fire up uTorrent, Vista pirates users, the RTM version of SP1 has been leaked to the Pirate Bay and other major torrent trackers. The torrent appears to be a complete Vista install, not just an upgrade, so be careful and back up your files before you proceed—or else, wait until mid-March when it’s…
This pendant lamp concept by a group of Korean designers has an extra function as a dinner table water fountain: hot and cold water is delivered by the globe “fruits” you can see plugged into it. So yes, it’s a nice idea and certainly seems convenient, but no no no! Water supplies, light bulbs and…
Researchers at the University of Arizona, with funding from the US Air Force, have developed the world’s first rewritable holographic display. And by “holographic display” we more mean cheesy baseball cards, mid ’90s artwork and credit card logos…as opposed to Star Wars. But the process is still pretty incredible nonetheless. Essentially just laser-etched plastic sandwiched…
Wondering what actually would happen if you took a picture of your junk with your cameraphone and texted it to some unsuspecting lady? You’d get fined for “distributing pornographic material,” at least if you do it in Germany, where one such exposure case closed just yesterday. The actual cost was around $220. But the humiliation—especially…
So, this new Transportation Security Administration blog is both endearing and creepy. Endearing, because it’s cute when bureaucrats try to act like real people with real lives and feelings and whatnot, but creepy because of things like its subtitle: “Terrorists Evolve. Threats Evolve. Security Must Stay Ahead. You Play A Part.” Anyhoo, some real bloggers,…
In these shots, a ping-pong ball fired at an unnamed “near-sonic” speed destroys a metal can that, you’ll note, is first dented just by the cushion of air coming from the barrel. Kinda makes you wonder how much devastation the cannon could have gotten done without any projectile at all. If this rings of deja-vu,…
The difference between Thane Heins’ perpetual-motion invention Perepiteia and last year’s flop Steorn Orbo is that when it was demonstrated last week—to scientists at MIT, no less—it appeared to really work. The result of more than 20 years tinkering, Perepiteia defies conventional thought, apparently using magnets to accelerate a turning electrical motor, as the video…
IBM has successfully miniaturized the Cell processor that you know from Sony’s PlayStation 3. Formerly built upon the 65nm scale, the new version will be based on the 45nm high-k process. What’s this mean? Money, power and heat savings for Sony. And maybe a smaller or cheaper PS3 for you. Along with the higher processor…
I never got the whole Guitar Hero, Rock Band and their fake guitars playing thingie, which require so much practice to master that you may as well use a real guitar to become as good as Satriani. That’s why I love the idea of Guitar Rising, which can use any real electric guitar, from a…
This Coco Chanel phone has a leg up on other fashion phones by being an actually unique and new design, but takes a blow by being a mere concept based around technology that may or may not have been made up for the purpose of justifying a neat-looking Photoshop. Let’s see if any of you…
Hey kids! Do you like Bionicle? Of course you do! Well then you are gonna love LEGO’s rad new collection, Prisonicle! Take your friends Eddy (serial killer), Charly (LEGO thief) and Jeffrey (reformed serial killer who just wants to do his time and repent) to the LEGO electric chair and watch as they fry away…
Just like they did at last year’s ceremony, Motorola is gifting 2008’s Oscar nominees with personalized versions of its as-yet-unreleased ROKR E8. Yeah, yeah, you probably think we are turning into a celebrity website, but, given the past few weeks of will they, won’t they? speculation as to whether they are getting out of the…
These MP3 players grab on to every single lovey-dovey Valentine’s cliché: a separable pair of players for you and your other half, that look like kissing lovers when they’re stuck together in a cutesy heart shape. We don’t know where you can buy them, but we do know they’ve got touch controls, have 1GB memory…
Toshiba has upgraded and updated the Gigabeat T401. Now known as the T802, the slimline PMP now has wireless network connectivity, 8GB of flash memory, and claims 16 hours of MP3 playback or five hours’ video use with WMV support. Price is $280, available in Japan from February 15. [Impress through Google Translate] https://gizmodo.com/toshiba-gigabeat-t401-slims-down-beefs-up-sound-294121
The new Toshiba’s Gigabeat V81 portable digital TV has a 320 x 240-pixel 3.5-inch screen, fitting 40 hours of recorded TV into its internal 8GB memory, which is double the previous version, expandable with an SD card. They claim 10 hours of broadcast viewing, and 13 hours of playback video viewing with WMA, WMV and…
This Magno radio is simplicity with knobs on, very retro-toytown, if you ask me. Designed by Singgih Kartono, it is made from sustainable wood instead of nasty non-biodegradable plastic like every other audio gadget out there. It’s “MP3 player compatible,” (which we guess means it’s got a line in) has AM/FM and shortwave reception, and…
Modu’s tiny cellphone could be inserted into multiple “jackets” to change its function. Or better said, the Modu phone carries your data, giving your personality to whatever gadget you insert it into, GameBoy cartridge style. After seeing all the pictures of the different jackets and the announced prices, the video and the idea makes a…
