Yoni's Media News

First iPhone 4 Scratch On Its Ultradurable Glass

2010-06-23T13:39:00.001-07:00

When the iPhone 4's screen was shattered, people said that the test wasn't valid. Only scratch-resistant. But it seems that "30 times harder than plastic" can still be scratched in normal use.

In his review, Walter Mossberg agreed. He said that he tried to break it and scratch it, and he couldn't do it:

I dropped it several times from a few feet onto a hard surface with no problem, and it acquired no scratches at all in my testing, even though I didn't use a case or coddle it.

In their advertising, Apple says that the iPhone 4's aerospace-grade glass is "Chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic". According to them, "the glass is ultradurable and more scratch resistant than ever." But, they said it's 30 times harder than plastic, not 30 times more scratch-resistant than plastic, meaning that "more scratch resistant" might mean just 1 or 2 times more so than plastic, and less of an improvement over glass. Who knows.

Apple: White iPhones Delayed Until Mid July

2010-06-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

According to an official Apple statement, the reason you won't see any white iPhones on shelves tomorrow is that they've "proven more challenging to manufacture than expected" and are delayed until mid July. Full statement:

CUPERTINO, Calif., June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — White models of Apple's new iPhone® 4 have proven more challenging to manufacture than expected, and as a result they will not be available until the second half of July. The availability of the more popular iPhone 4 black models is not affected.e

11-Year-Old Kid Gets Contract From Ferrari Racing

2010-06-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

11-year-old two-time Canadian Karting champion Lance Stroll becomes the youngest person ever signed by Ferrari Racing to a development deal and training at the Ferrari Driving Academy. He also wins the title of luckiest kid ever.

Lance will be the youngest ever recruit of the academy, but according to Ferrari Driving Academy director Luca Baldisserri, "He is very young, but he has already shown in karting that he is exceptionally talented. We will follow him step by step in his forthcoming events in North America and he will soon also take part in our courses at Maranello."

Lance has been dominating the Rotax Mini Max division since he started racing in 2008, a season which saw him nominated Rookie of the Year in the Federation Sport Automobile du Quebec followed by a Driver of the Year nomination in 2009.

World Cup Tech: Natural/Artificial Pitch Hybrids Dot South Africa

2010-06-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Game is played on a beautiful field, typically one comprised of grass. So, when ESPN commentator Adrian Healy said 2 million artificial fibers were woven into the Moses Mabhida Stadium pitch this morning, I was dubious. No longer:

You see, for all intents and purposes the field is predominantly grass. Beautiful Game integrity intact! However, strengthening that grass are the 2 million artificial turf fibers that Healy had alluded to during the Slovenia/Algeria match this morning.

The tech is called GrassMaster (a brand name), and it's the work of Desso Sports, an artificial turf company that's been in the biz for about 20 years.

F-18 Coming Out of Hyperspace

2010-06-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets of the Royal Australian Air Force have teleporting powers. That, or the Australians have discovered a way to magically create combat jets out of vapor.

Tiny, Tiny Wiimotes For People with Tiny, Tiny Hands

2010-06-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

Do you have tiny, child-sized hands? Is the Wiimote just too darned big for you to grip comfortably? Well, Power A's new MiniRemote and MiniChuck controllers are 35% smaller. But don't expect to use them without getting mercilessly teased.

Would You Fly In This Plane Fixed With Tape?

2010-06-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

"I don't believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape," said Miles in the Lost finale. This, however, isn't TV. This is a real airplane flying. And that's real ~~duct~~tape. Heat tape. Updated

Would you fly in a plane with ~~duct~~ heat tape on its wing? My first answer was, sure, why not. But then, let's put it this way: If the mechanics left that on plain view, imagine what is hiding elsewhere in that plane. So, to answer the previous question: In a word, no. Would you?

Update: Some readers who are pilots are saying this is heat or speed tape, a much stronger aluminum-based tape approved by the FAA. Salon's old pilot in residence also says taped up planes are perfectly fine. But would you feel safe flying it?

The Nintendo 3DS Is Real, and Doesn't Need Glasses

2010-06-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is the Nintendo 3DS. It has two screens: a 3.5-inch widescreen on top, and a standard screen on the bottom. It also has a Slide-Pad, and it has a two-tone color scheme. Best of all, no glasses. There is a 3D depth slider to choose a degree of 3D, to maximize or even turn it off entirely. So, it looks like they made the touch panel only on the bottom screen, because it doesn't play well with the 3D top screen. There is also a motion-sensor and a gyroscope. "A number of new game ideas will be born to take advantage of these new game mechanisms."

Ural Patrol T Motorcycle

2010-05-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

With old-school looks and useful tech, the Ural Patrol T Motorcycle is just the thing for poor-weather riding. Most notable on the Patrol T is its sidecar, which gives the bike its World War II feel — think Indiana Jones vs. the Nazis — but it's also the sidecar that gives it its stability in bad weather, thanks to the world's only on-demand two-wheel-drive sidecar drive shaft. Other features include an OHV air-cooled 4 cycle opposed twin cylinder engine, Herzog gears, Brembo brakes, a true reverse gear, a large sidecar storage compartment, straightforward maintenance, and true Russian heritage.

Mystery Man Buys Ten Aston Martin One-77s

2010-05-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ten of the hyper-rare 220 MPH Aston Martin One-77 aluminum-shelled dream cars are going to a single unnamed Middle Eastern buyer according to persistent rumors. That's $19 million for 7,500 hp and 13% of the total run.

Kid Shows Off Stolen Cop Car

2010-05-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

An English "bad boy" steals a police car and what's the first thing he does with it? Has his mates film him hooning it, of course. Since this is England, we're guessing anAnti-Social Behavior Order is headed his way.

World’s Largest Car Dealership Has Rooftop Racetrack

2010-05-25T13:54:00.001-07:00

Featuring a roof-mounted racetrack outside and 56 separate bars inside, the 708,661 square-foot Autopia Europia in Istanbul, Turkey will be the largest car dealership in the world. It's currently under construction, but here's a peek at the automotive wonder.

Detroit, 4:23 PM Tue May 25 23 posts in the last 24 hours BR Get Jalopnik in your inbox: JALOPNIK TEAM Tip your editors: tips@jalopnik.com Editor-in-Chief: Ray Wert Email | Twitter | AIM Editor, News: Matt Hardigree Email | Twitter Editor, Features: Sam Smith | Email Contributing Editor, Road Tests: Wes Siler Email | Twitter Contributing Editor, Weekends: Murilee Martin | Email Writer, Detroit: Ben Wojdyla Email | Twitter Writer, Europe: Peter Orosz | Email Contributors: Graverobber John Krewson Editor Emeritus: Mike Spinelli Follow Jalopnik on: Facebook Twitter Shake-Up At Microsoft Kotaku's got the scoop on who's in and who's out. The Next iPhone. A Gizmodo Exclusive. SUBSCRIBE TO JALOPNIK BMW Gets 1,013 Miles On Single Tank Of Diesel

2010-05-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Fifth Gear co-host Tom Ford managed to drive a stock BMW 320d ED from the Chunnel exit in France to Munich, Germany and nearly the entire way back on one tank of diesel. That's 1,013 miles, a 68.9MPG average.

To start things off, no, you peasants in the US cannot get a BMW 320d ED, the uber-efficient 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel sold under the "Efficient Dynamics" banner. Remember that. Ford took the BMW from a fill-up just outside the Chunnel exit in Calias, France all the way to Munich, turned around and drove all the way back finally running out of fuel in Lille, France, only 75 miles from Calais. Ford says he didn't hypermile the car, "Although I did try and be careful and drive in a feather-footed manner, I did cruise at a reasonable 65ish mph on the autoroutes and autobahns, so faster than the usual economy run pace." The car ran an average pace of 59.3 MPH and returned as high as 75.9 MPG while sipping from a roughly 16.1 gallon tank. In total the 1,013 mile trip averaged a ridiculously good 68.9 MPG. That's US figures, not some imperial gallon baloney.

OK Go Perform Underwater With Fish Bowls and Snorkels at Maker Faire

2010-05-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

The band took to the Maker Faire arena over the weekend, and actually played two songs underwater; snorkeled-heads stuck in fish bowls.

The video below shows the "behind the scenes" preparation for the soggy gig, where they played This Too Shall Pass and I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe (a nice choice, when drowning is a real possibility.)

Pushball

2010-05-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Pushball is a game played by two sides on a field with a ball 6 feet wide and 50 lb. The game was invented by M. G. Crane of Newton, Massachusetts, in 1891, and was taken up at Harvard University the next year. Usually eleven on both sides, there being five forwards, two left-wings, two right-wings and two goal-keepers. The goals consist of two upright posts 18 ft and 20 ft apart with a crossbar 7 feet from the ground. The game lasts for two periods with an intermission. Pushing the ball under the bar counts 5 points; lifting or throwing it over the bar counts 8. A touchdown behind goal for safety counts 2 to the attacking side.

Pushball Video

MOTHERFCKING SHARKS CAN BECOME MOTHERFCKING INVISIBLE

2010-05-25T13:02:00.001-07:00

As if they weren't scary enough, scientists have discovered that sharks can become invisible to prey/you using an optical trick. Not scared yet? Well, one of the invisible shark species is nicknamed the phantom hunter of the fjords. Run. Now.

The real name of the phantom hunter is Etmopterus spinax, or velvet belly lantern shark, which lives in the deep waters of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. According to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, the shark becomes invisible by regulating the photophores underneath its body. This makes their belly glow matching the light of the sun above them, as filtered by the sea. As a result, preys or predators looking from under them are not able to see them.

Fortunately, not all sharks can turn invisible: Only ten percent of the sharks can use this trick. And even better news: No flying invisible sharks with laser weapons have been discovered yet.

This Is How You Lift a Sunk War Ship Off the Sea

2010-05-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

It's the Cheonan, a South Korean Pohang-class corvette that broke in two on March 26. According to an international investigation, the cause was a torpedo fired from a North Korean Yeono class miniature submarine, killing 46 crew members. A few weeks later, on April 15, the South Korean Navy recovered the stern part from the bottom of the sea using a giant floating crane. On April 24, the bow was recovered.

Remember When Automakers Encouraged Drinking And Driving?

2010-05-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

Fifty years ago, the world was a very different place. Proof? This image of a '57Cadillac Eldorado Brougham's glovebox was a General Motors PR shot. My, how times have changed.

$40 Million Bugatti: New Most Expensive Car In The World

2010-05-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

Last week the Mullin Automotive Museum purchased a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic from Dr. Peter Williamson's estate for between $30M and $40M, making it the most expensive car ever sold. This makes our prospects of ownership ever-more-depressingly dim.

Art Lebedev's Mixed Metaphor Coffee Cup: Somebody Is Going to Die

2010-04-30T13:20:00.001-07:00

The battery's power level rises with the temperature—not the amount of caffeine. Bleary-eyed and hungover, somebody's going to find this out the hard way. That'll be that screeching sound, trailing in the distance.

The Perfect Loft Is Under the Sea

2010-04-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

The Maldives. I would like to go back there, become a dive instructor, and live a simple happy life. And I want this to be my house, five meters below the surface, off the coast of Rangali Island.

Unfortunately, it's not available for sale. It's the 12-seat restaurant of the Hilton Maldives Resort & Spa, which is located five meters under water. It has been temporally turned to a suite to celebrate its 5-year anniversary.

Transform Your Old Boeing Into A Futuristic Boatplane

2010-04-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Is your yard cluttered with retired Boeing 727s? Do you dream of stylish sea travel capped with the potential for fiery death? The Hydro Lance Corporation has a solution to your problem: giant, untested pontoons!

Carl Zeiss Cine Lenses Target HDSLR Filmmakers This June

2010-04-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

Later this June, well-known lens manufacturer Carl Zeiss will begin offering a line of Compact Prime CP.2 lenses with the discerning HDSLR filmmaker in mind.

The new is no surprise, really, given the versatility and functionality that HDSLR rigs have shown over the past year in the film making space. As you may recall, the season finale of House was shot entirely on a Canon 5D Mark II. That's one example of mainstream acceptance, and there are many more.

Anyway, the Compact Prime CP.2 lenses are rumored to be compatible with Nikon F, Arri PL, and Canon EF mounts. There's also a lightweight Zoom LWZ.2 lens that will presumably offer similar mount compatibility.

The Weirdest Chair You'll Ever Carry In Your Pocket

2010-04-15T13:30:00.000-07:00

This girl is sitting on—or in—Chairless. Chairless is most certainly not just a nylon strap. No, it's a "seating device for the modern nomad." Yeah, it's a chair that fits in your pocket

Supposedly this seating device was inspired by a strap used by Ayoreo Indians. It allows a person to sit comfortably without needing to lug around an actual chair. All you need to do is slip the strap around your knees and upper body and sit. Awkwardly.

Invisible Cloak Invented...Just Not What We Had In Mind

2010-04-14T13:26:00.001-07:00

This LA street performer, Mirror Man, has just succeeded where dozens of scientists have failed. Take that, Harry Potter!

Cops Ticket Drivers For Ignoring Creepy Pedo-Bunny

2010-04-13T13:20:00.001-07:00

Police in Glendale, California sent an officer dressed as a scary pedo-bunny into traffic and ticketed anyone not yielding to it/him. If we saw it/him on the road we'd hit the gas too.

Adobe Creative Suite 5 Now Available

2010-04-12T13:07:00.001-07:00

As expected, Adobe's Creative Suite 5 has officially become available. Including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash Catalyst and 11 more products, it's pricey—but reaming with the goods needed for any designer serious about their work.

New features in the flagship title Photoshop are Truer Edge which has better edge detecting technology, and of course Content-Aware Fill, which definitely looks like magic. Native 64-bit support for both Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects is big news too, for file processing alone.

Full release below, with prices—which start at $1,699 for the Creative Suite 5 Production Premium kit.

Beer Bottles Reblown Into Glassware

2010-04-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Why is it that we're perfectly fine reusing some glass and completely refuse to reuse other glass? For $60, you can buy a six pack of tumblers, made from real beer bottles.

In Honda's Future, We Are All Rolling Meat Puppets

2010-04-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Riding Honda's U3-X personal mobility prototype is easy. Very easy. Gut-fatteningly, motivation-drainingly, muscle-atrophyingly easy.

The U3-X is a continuation of Honda's unofficial human meat puppetry project, which started in 2008 with a set of assistive robo-legs, and will end with, well,Wall-E. Conceptually, it sits somewhere between two other historically dignified modes of transportation, the unicycle and the Segway. It supports the rider's weight with an omnidirectional wheel, which is actually made of smaller, perpendicularly aligned wheels, and which responds to slight movements in the rider's upper body; a shift of the shoulder in any direction eases the rider across the floor, in a surprisingly predictable and controllable way. It doesn't feel like rolling so much as it feels like floating.

Some other riders hammed it up and fell, but to have anything worse than an awkward dismount, you almost have to try—your feet are never more than a few inches from the ground, and this thing doesn't move any faster than your average person walks. The only thing that takes some practice is turning, since you can't rotate without dragging a toe. It's like controlling an FPS character with only your WASD keys.

Of course, no one wants to end up a meat puppet. But for now, while we still have our legs to fall back on, time spent sitting on the U3-X is a joy. And sitting is really what you're doing—with your feet so close to the ground and your butt planted firmly on the seat, you're basically just sitting in the world's most high-tech rolly-chair. On a Segway, you always feel like you're supposed to be doing something. On the U3-X, it seems perfectly normal just to hang out, and it's frighteningly easy to forget you're sitting on an experimental gyroscopic personal mobility device altogether.

You can't buy a U3-X, and you probably wouldn't want to: the battery lasts an hour, the charm of the loud electric motors would wear off quickly, and the clearance between the wheel and its guard is small enough that it could scrape on uneven terrain. But the fact that this works—and well—is pretty stunning, and the shortcomings don't require much creativity, just time. Since a person on a U3-X doesn't take up any more space than a person on foot, the everyone-needs-a-gyroscope future laid out by the Segway seems, for the first time, not ridiculous.

Click For Video

Dorks Rick Roll Subway, New York Doesn’t Notice

2010-04-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

The University of Oregon's male a cappella group decided to Rick-Roll New York's A train. This probably sounded like a great idea, but it turns out a bunch of white kids acting fruity doesn't even make New Yorkers blink.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner: Ultimate Wing Load Test

2010-04-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

This is the carbon-fiber Boeing 787 Dreamliner at 150% service load during the ultimate wing load test required for FAA certification. During the test, the wingtips underwent 25 feet of vertical deflection without failing. Engineering is awesome.

Large Hadron Collider for Dummies

2010-04-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

Feeling clueless about this Large Hadron Collider thing? Don't panic—NY Times has you covered. Their LHC primer boils down the basics of the giant particle smasher in layman's terms, saving you from a weekend spent deciphering jargon. [NY Times]

How A $500 Craigslist Car Beat $400K Rally Racers

2010-03-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

Professional motorsport is a cold, hard place. If you want to run with the big dogs, you can't just build a car in your mom's garage and show up, right? Wrong. One guy did just that. Here's his amazing story.

This is the multifaceted tale of Bill Caswell, a man who bought a $500 crapcan off Craigslist to run against the $400,000-plus rally cars in a World Rally Championship race earlier this month. It is a tale of a guy who had a welder, a bunch of credit cards, and a lot of free time but no real backing or funds. It is a story of a dude who taught himself how to build an FIA-legal roll cage, with no prior experience, because he wanted to spend the fabrication fee on race tires instead. It's the story of an enthusiast who drove a rustbucket to a third-place finish in an FIA-sanctioned race.

Most of all, it is a story of hoonage.

Bill Caswell, an unemployed Chicago racing freak, entered the Mexico round of the World Rally Championship in a 1991 BMW 318i that he found on Craigslist. The car cost $500. One year ago, Caswell decided that he wanted to go rallying with Rally America. Two months later, he crashed a car and blew up an engine five minutesinto his first event. Four events later, he found a loophole in the FIA rules that let him enter a twenty-year-old car in the same event as guys like Ken Block and former F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen.

Google China Search Engine Killed

2010-03-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

If you head to Google.cn, you'll be re-directed to Google.com.hk with a message saying "Welcome to the new home of Google China search." So that's that, I guess.

Google is officially no longer censoring search results for China, sending all searchers to its uncensored Chinese-language Hong Kong site instead. Just asGoogle said it would do after it discovered some pretty serious corporate espionage hackery coming from what turned out to be government-related sources in China, they're pulling out much of its business in the country. Google isn't closing down all of its Chinese offices, keeping some sales and R&D staff on board there, but clearly they'll be making some serious cutbacks to staff.

It's a big victory to free speech advocates, who were never happy with Google's decision to self-censor its search results in order to do business in the country. But it's not great news for people inside China, especially scientists, who are used to relying on Google daily.

Here's a helpful rundown of just what parts of Google are available in China at the moment.

Bill Nye the Science Guy: Don't Worry, Your Phone Isn't Making You Dumb

2010-03-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

Are there similarities between computer memory and human memory?

Everybody remembers numbers and computers remember numbers. People remember procedures and computers certainly remember procedures. But the other thing that's still important is that your perception as a human is affected subtly by all this stuff that you can't quite articulate. You run your life according to all this stuff that's happened to you. All of your memories affect everything you do whereas with a computer, there's adaptive software and things, but it's more literal.

So one of the significant differences between computers and people is the subconscious?

Yes. This business of "Drink Coke," the thing they would do in movie theaters [in experiments back in the late 1950s]. On some level, that really works. Apparently it has to be an important image. The thing that gets the guys is, you show a naked woman for less than the time you can perceive it, so 1/16th of a second, or about 60 milliseconds. The next image a man is exposed to will be remembered better. If you're a hunter or if you're trying to make a decision when driving, you make that decision based on stuff that you can't quite perceive. So the quality of a computer memory is only as good as the instruments that are feeding it.

So what's special about how the human brain stores memory?

It's not how big your brain is. The significant thing is how well the brain is connected. Apparently there is redundancy in memory: You store the same memory in different parts of your brain for accessing at different speeds. That speed would depend on the frequency of use and the importance of the knowledge. If you have a memory, "A burner is hot; do not touch burner," you might store that in a few places to make sure you have it. It would be very strongly reinforced. Riding a bike is apparently very well fixed. But as the cerebellum degrades with age, so does the quality of those memories. The memories are there, but they're not as good.

You did an episode of your show covering addiction. What were the key brain issues there?

There are two really striking things. First, whether it's methamphetamines or alcohol or gambling where there's no chemical involved or drug involved at all, all the researchers are studying dopamine. Dopamine is this brain chemical that gets to your dopamine receptors and makes you happy. You start doing the addictive behavior to feel good and then your receptors get overloaded with dopamine, then you stop doing the addictive thing and some of the receptors have shut down and you don't have enough dopamine to feel good. So then you feel bad and go back to the addictive behavior to get more dopamine. The strange thing is that it works with what we think of as uppers and downers and whatever you call gambling—sidewaysers.

Are smartphones and Google going to take the place of our memory?

I don't think so. If you memorize the periodic table it will speed you up if you're a chemist, but by and large, the reason you have a periodic table is so that you can store that information outside of your body. That way it frees up some part of your brain to do something else, doesn't it? Intuitively you want some place [such as your phone] to store phone numbers, so you have that part of your brain to do other tasks.

So you're saying that even before the iPhone and Google and everything, we were offloading information?

That's what makes a human a human, if we store information outside our bodies. If you put a blaze on a trail, a stripe of paint or ax chop on a tree, it shows other humans where the trail is. It's storing information outside of your bodies. It's the hallmark of being a human. I mean, dogs and other animals mark trees—and I'm all for that—but it isn't quite the same.

So we're not going to get stupider as a result of using computers?

Boy, I don't think so. It's different skills. For example, I'm so old—here you might say, "How old are you?"

How old are you?

I am so old, I entered engineering school with a slide rule. And I left engineering school with a calculator. I can still use a slide rule but it's not a skill you especially need anymore. And you can go on and on about these kids today, they don't know where the decimal point is, back in my day... Fine! But you don't really need to learn the slide rule. It's a cool thing, but a calculator is much better.

And now they have an iPhone instead of a TI-whatever.

So the first calculator that almost everybody could afford and had was the SR-50, Texas Instruments SR-50. Do you know what the SR meant? "Slide rule." It was as good as a slide rule, an SR-50. It was that good. I always say when you see that old black-and-white footage of the rocket on the launch pad and it falls over and explodes, that's because people had slide rules. Not having the decimal point is a real drawback. You want the decimal point, take it from me.

In geographical terms, GPS has done that too, right? People don't have to remember anymore.

The US Navy has several people on every ship that can navigate by the stars. They don't fool with that. Have you ever heard of the electro-magnetic pulse? The US Navy is very sensitive to this failure mode where people explode enough weapons high in the atmosphere and a significant fraction of the satellites are disabled. What are you going to do? You're a ship at sea in a trackless ocean. Cadets from the Naval Academy know how to navigate by the stars.

It almost makes me think of the book Dune and the mentats, the human computers.

Speaking of human computers, there is a guy named Art Benjamin, he's a human calculator. He says it's a skill he learned as a kid. Now he's a math professor at Harvey Mudd. He can find the square root of a six digit number in a few seconds. Practice.

But is that skill less impressive to kids now because they have computers?

I don't know, I think it's pretty impressive. It might be more impressive because it might be that arithmetic is even further from a kid's everyday experience. I mean, how can you do it as fast as a machine? And I meet so many people who are intimidated by arithmetic.

The Secret to "Ripping" Your Books

2010-03-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

It's easy to rip your CDs and turn them into easily stored digital files: You pop in a CD, click a few buttons, done. Now try ripping a book into a digital format. Struggling? Here's setup you'll wish you had.

All you have to do is flip the pages of a book and they're captured at 500 frames per second. Then the images get adjusted, straightened, and turned into perfectly scanned ebooks. Is it insane? Yes. Do I wish I could do that with all of my old books? Yes.

www.justrdmustrd.com

2010-03-17T13:11:00.001-07:00

New site I've been building for a friend. It's filled with all his art and photography. Visit it! JustrdMustrd

GigaPan Epic Pro Gives Your DSLR Full Panoramic Power

2010-03-16T12:58:00.001-07:00

We've been waiting on a DSLR version of the GigaPan Epic gigapixel photo systemfor a while now, and the moment's finally arrived: the GigaPan Epic Pro handles DSLRs and large lenses to stitch together photos into sweeping panoramas.

The GigaPan Epic Pro can handle a camera and lens combination of up to ten pounds, which should pretty much have you covered. Like the Epic and Epic 100, it automatically tilts and moves your camera to capture hundreds of photos of the scene you want to capture, then stitches them together with its proprietary software into a mammoth panorama.

It also fits standard tripods, and will take up to 20 pictures per position. The mount will be available in April for $895, which includes the GigaPan Stitch software that does the dirty work. Not a bad deal, given the breathtaking images you'd be able to get.

My God, It's Full Of... Cars

2010-03-15T13:01:00.001-07:00

Photo of a sea of Volvos in formation awaiting transport in Malmö, Sweden

Motorola Replacing Google Search With Bing On Chinese Android Phones

2010-03-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

Cynics will likely say China's forcing Motorola to include Bing search instead of Google in Chinese Android phones, due to the ongoing war o' censorship with Google. Me? Well, Bing is the better search engine. Kidding!

All Motorola phones in China, starting this month, will be pre-loaded with a Bing bookmark and search widget. This comes a week after AT&T ditched Google for Yahoo Search on the Motorola Backflip—an Android phone. It's just in China for now, but Reuters is reporting—rather ominously—that the deal is "starting in the coming weeks with phones in China."

Due to the open-source nature of Android, and the flurry of Google-supporting apps, if Motorola were to roll out Bing search to all Android phones in every market, it wouldn't be the end of the world. But if this expands to all their phones, that could be troubling. Not that I'd suggest buying a non-Android Motorola Phone, obviously.

Chatroulette Map Shows You Where These Creeps Live

2010-03-11T13:03:00.000-08:00

Ever wanted to know exactly where that disembodied penis you just met on Chatroulette is located? Good news! Now you can.

Chatroulette is a pretty slapdash application. It was built by a Russian teenager, after all! So it just connects you with a stranger directly rather than routing you both through another server, allowing you to see the IP address of everyone you connect to. And an IP address can point to where that person is on a map.

ChatrouletteMaps doesn't let you pinpoint everyone you connect with on Chatroulette, unfortunately. Instead it just lets you poke around a global Google Map for screenshots of people who's IP its captured. And obviously an IP address isn't like GPS; these things aren't going to be totally accurate to the street level. But if you're curious about which country has the most perverts, say hello to your new research tool.

ExiTool: A More Practical Approach To Escaping Your Automobile

2010-03-10T13:29:00.001-08:00

Here are a few things you don't have time to do when your car plunges into an icy lake: remove a Leatherman multitool from your glove compartment; unfold it; cut through your seatbelt; refold it; smash through your window.

Thankfully there's the ExiTool, a clever little gadget that attaches to your seat belt for quick access when your shit goes "glug, glug, glug." It includes a high-carbon stainless steel slicer, a tungsten carbide smasher, and, just for good measure, an LED light.

Sure, having an open blade attached to your seat belt all the time isn't ideal, but it's definitely more ideal than being trapped in your car at the bottom of some murky body of water.

The ExiTool will be available soon for $27, so if you're the type of person that worries about this thing it's probably a worthwhile investment.

F1 Hero Sterling Moss Falls Down Elevator Shaft, Breaks Ankles

2010-03-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Retired Formula One driver and all-around hero Sir Stirling Moss fell three stories down an open elevator shaft yesterday, chipping four vertebrae, breaking both ankles and cracking four bones in his foot. Don't worry, according to doctors he'll be fine.

Moss was in his elevator when the door opened early and he stepped out expecting solid ground underneath. Instead, he found an empty space about three stories tall. He was quickly rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery to put pins in and make other preparations. Because he's a Highlander, or something, he'll be okay in six weeks. Get well soon Sir Cyborg Moss!

fakeself.com

2010-03-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

This site is amazing and I think everyone should check it out it. fakeself.com, where the average human being is always in mind. Nobody's life is perfect and we all need a way to 'vent'. This is why they created fakeself.com. Whenever you are having family problems, relationship issues, school, or just a bad day, they are here for you. And on the day you have nothing to 'vent' about, you can give advice to those in need. It's a give and take process and I want you to be a part of it.

NUMBER 26 OF 53!

2010-03-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

http://gizmodo.com/5483801/oscar-movies-gallery/gallery/26

The World's Largest Amateur Rocket Is Almost as Tall as a V-2

2010-03-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

Unlike wood-based models, the Heat 1X is a real metal rocket. At more than 9 meters high, it's also the largest amateur rocket in the world. The guys building it are planning one almost as large as the V-2. They call themselves Copenhagen Suborbitals, and they operate from an abandoned shipyard in the outskirts of the Danish capital. This group of nutters rolled out their Heat 1X engine last Sunday. The image above puts it next to their planned beasts and the first ballistic missile ever: The German V-2.

3D Photos

2010-03-01T13:05:00.001-08:00

Sports Illustrated photographer David Klutho is wielding two Nikon D700s bolted together like a double-neck guitar at the Olympics, except his rig is designed to take 3D photos, not bust out sweet guitar solos.

Chrome PS3 Slim Case

2010-02-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

The XCM Cyberchrome case makes your PlayStation 3 look like the bumper of a '57 Chevy, which is neat. Although I've gotta wonder if it makes the PS3 any less of a dust magnet.

Casttoo X-Ray Cast Wraps Replace Pity with Awe

2010-02-24T12:58:00.001-08:00

I've never had the pleasure of breaking a bone, but if I did, you can bet I'd be wearing a Casttoo to share my innermost threshold for pain with the world.

Casttoos are customizable cast decals. You email in the image of your choice—yes, X-rays work great, though a shattered Terminator endoskeleton might be a valid secondary option—and they'll mail you out a decal that can be affixed via hairdryer. Prices range anywhere from $20-$40, but hopefully, if you're on decent pain meds at the time, you'll have no issues shrugging off the small purchase.

Light Pewk

2010-02-23T13:07:00.001-08:00

What happens when Marcus Tremonto, the lighting artist behind this thing updates Kidrobot's famed MUNNY dolls? Pew pew crosses with puke...and I mean that in the best possible way.

Starting this Friday, Kidrobot NY will have Tremonto's "Lightbot" MUNNY remixes on display (and apparently available for purchase, too). Each is signed, numbered and sold in its own custom box. I'm a bit curious as to the power source, but I'm assuming a plug is hiding there somewhere.

Worker Dies From N-hexane Poisoning At Touchscreen Factory (That Also Makes Apple's Screens)

2010-02-22T12:59:00.001-08:00

Wintek, who supplies touchscreen components to Apple for the iPhone and iPod touch, just got "exposed" for "hazardous work conditions." One of the most severe conditions? N-hexane poisoning, which the company illegally used instead of alcohol to clean screens.

In August of 2009, 49 people were treated for N-hexane poisoning, with one dead. The BoingBoing post says that the worker died this weekend, so it seems like Wintek continued to use N-hexane even after they were punished from last year.

This Pot Holder Will Prevent Burns When You're Baking

2010-02-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

It's not always about high-tech. Sometimes it's the simplest of things that make our lives better and less painful. Like pot holders which keep our delicate fingers from getting burnt as we giggle over cheesy puns.

The Secret Snowboarding Superpipe

2010-02-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

Tonight's the Men's Olympics Snowboarding Halfpipe event. Have you heard of Shaun White's personal superpipe in which he compressed the training equivalent of years into a day, mastering insane new tricks that I can't even wrap my brain around?

The 550-foot long half pipe is located 7 miles from Silverton, which is built around Silverton mountain: a ski resort with the most advanced terrain of any resort in America, with no groomed runs, and only one lift chair. It was constructed out of snow from the surrounding inclines, and get this: To pile up the snow—250,000 cubic yards worth—Red Bull took one of their private helicopters around and dropped about 30 satchels of explosives that weighed 25 pounds each into surrounding inclines, triggering slides that would gather up at the bottom. They hired Frank Welsh, the world's best pipe shaper, to carve out the final shape. Unlike regular resort pipes, which are comprised of man made and natural snow, this pipe's uniform material meant it didn't chunk off as others might.

Next, Red Bull constructed a foam pit from 8,000 pounds of steel and about 7,000 foam blocks that Shaun could flip into when trying new rotational combinations like his his Double McTwist. They hauled up the thing on a truck and then when the truck couldn't get any further, snow cats. At one point the foam threw back some stored energy from his fall and he chipped the bone in his ankle, so it's not like the danger was completely gone. But a lot of it was. Enough that Shaun would learn new tricks never before performed, in a matter of hours. By his reckoning, it compressed his learning curve "by years".

Shaun appears to be air lifted to the practice site by private helicopter and shuttled to the top of it by snowmobile, of which I saw a pair.

I saw a clip of Shaun at the Grand Prix the other day and I thought to myself, it'll take a miracle for anyone to touch this guy at the half pipe today. Sure, luck is a factor, but If there's anything an olympic halfpipe athlete can do to to make his own luck, it's to make his own private superpipe in the secret wilds of Colorado.

If you have your doubts, watch him perform his new tricks, which are on the website below. In a way, you'd think he'd want to keep his new tricks secret from his competitors. But like any competition, there's a pregame mental battle and you can bet the guys in that contest have watched those videos a couple dozen times, each time saying WTF to themselves a couple dozen times. It can't be good for morale. Unless you're Shaun White.

Apple Offering Free Hard Drive Replacements For MacBooks Bought Between 2006 - 2007

2010-02-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

MacBooks bought between 2006 and 2007 could be eligible for a free hard drivereplacement, with Apple dodging a guilty admission, stating that "a very small percentage...may fail under certain conditions."

If you own a white or black MacBook bought between 2006 and 2007, with either a 1.83GHz, 3Ghz, or 2.16GHz processor and 60GB, 80GB, 100GB, 120GB or 160GB, you may be in luck. Or out of luck—as you have to prove the hard drive actually has failed.

Shotgun Revolvers Are the Newest Thing In Gang Weaponry

2010-02-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

This crazy DIY monstrosity apparently isn't the first shotgun revolver, but it is the first one authorities in Taiwan found that can shoot standard 12-gauge rounds. Think about that. 12-gauge rounds in a revolver.

Falling Down the Guggenheim Museum Hall

2010-02-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

JDS Architects thought that this trampoline net spiral—which would allow people to bounce from the top floor to the bottom of the Guggenheim Museum rotunda—could be the funniest thing ever.

Verizon Has Blocked Access To 4chan

2010-02-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

Last year AT&T blocked access to 4chan for about a day, due to a DDoS attack against the site. I'd love to see how Verizon manages to avoid the inevitable shitstorm headed their way.

Writing on the 4chan Status blog last night, founder Moot confirmed the site was down for Verizon.

Ken Block's Rally America Ford Fiesta

2010-02-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

Ken Block's Ford Fiesta made its competition debut this weekend at Michigan'sSno*Drift Rally. Block retired early with suspension problems, but his car lived long enough to give the world some wicked video.

80-Port USB Board

2010-01-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

Let's pause for a moment and consider how many gadgets we insert into the couple USB ports on our computers each week. Around five? The mind boggles as to just what Thanko was thinking when they created the 80-port board.

The worst thing is, you can't even transfer data through the 80 ports—they merely charge whatever you stick in. This could potentially work in an office, with everyone sticking their phones in, but if you've just pulled out a tape measure and are trying to see if there's enough room in your lounge for one, don't even bother.

But you know, if I really can't convince you to step away from the "add to cart" button, it's $208.68 at Geek Stuff 4 U.

Hands-On Video Of BlackBerry Magnum Shows Marriage Of Touchscreen and QWERTY

2010-01-28T13:05:00.001-08:00

Leaked photos of the BlackBerry Magnum (aka, a cross between a Bold 9000 and Storm, aka, my DREAM BlackBerry) didn't manage to illustrate that touchscreen well, but how 'bout a video fondling?

While The Cellular Guru's Magnum was just a prototype, lacking in a working OS, he was able to demonstrate the touchscreen display and Bold 9000-type aesthetics. As someone who's owned both the 9000 and 9700, I've got to say I'm pleased to see a return to the more premium build quality, though I'm hopeful the back will be made with the same leatherette finish (the prototype in the video was missing the back cover).

Ariel Slashes Entry-Level Atom 3 Price to $49,980

2010-01-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

The entry-level Atom 3 now comes with a 219 HP Honda K20 engine as opposed to the 245 HP unit that we tested last year. Of course, if you truly have a death wish, there's also a supercharged 300 HP option.

TMI doesn't expect you to sacrifice much performance just because you're paying less money, the 219 HP engine still delivers a 2.9 second 0-60 time.

The Best Hamster Wheel Sand Print

2010-01-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

The wheel was created by Barcelona designer Tomás Silva Alonso, for his Zanadesign firm, and going by some of the expression on these kids' faces, it's the most fun anyone's ever had at a beach.

Hydrogen-Powered Yacht for 21st Century

2010-01-14T13:24:00.000-08:00

It's not only that this yacht has been designed by an Egyptian naval architecture house, it's that it reminds me of the Egyptian ships of old, rolling up and down the Nile. Except that this 197-foot vessel runs on hydrogen.

Its hydrogen diesel-electric engine can, in theory, give it a range of 13,000 nautical miles at 10 knots—which is mind blowing for a yacht with these features. The axe bow gives it lower resistance. And its general design makes it look like it can kick any other yacht ass. Or a cheese knife. Or a kick yatch ass cheese knife.

570-Megapixel Digital Camera Is the Mother and the Father of All Cameras

2010-01-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

Dark energy Peeping Toms rejoice, because Fermilab has created the gadget to catch it: A $35 million, car-sized digital camera, with 74 CCD sensors in it. It will take 570-megapixel photos of the Universe.

The resulting sensor is one meter in diameter, covering a 2.2-degree field of view. The images are so big that, even with an ultra-fast data recording system, each photo will take 17 seconds to acquire.

The camera won't photograph the dark energy itself, however. It will just provide with ultra-detailed shots of the cosmos—tracking 300 million galaxies over the course of five years—which may bring evidence about the existence of this veiled intergalactic power. Which is too bad, because I bet she looks sexy in her undies.

Audi Reveals Second e-Tron Electric Concept

2010-01-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

Audi President Johan de Nysschen called anyone interested in buying an electric car an "idiot" but that hasn't stopped the company from making another all-electric concept also called the Audi e-Tron, the second electric sports car since the Johan's remarks.This latest e-Tron is probably most appropriately interpreted as the basis in design for the next generation Audi TT, it's a bit lower and wider with the cabin set further back in the chassis, a compact GT if you will. We're really digging the flying buttresses festooned with carbon-fiber gills. Under the skin is where the silliness begins. The e-Tron 2, Electric Boogaloo draws power from a 45 kWh lithium ion battery which is fed to a pair of electric motors with a combined output of 204 HP and "1954.54 lb-ft." We're assuming Audi's playing the game of measuring the torque figure at the wheels after gearbox multiplication. It's a concept car, so the claimed times of 5.9 second 0-63 MPH and range of 155 miles are estimates at best.

Lenovo Lephone

2010-01-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

New Lenovo Lephone. A new touchscreen Android phone. The keyboard is attachment.

IRON MAN 2 TRAILER!

2009-12-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

IRON MAN 2 TRAILER CAME OUT YESTERDAY. IT LOOKS AWESOME TO BAD IT'S COMING OUT IN MAY :(

Click for trailer

Flexible Flash Memory Gets Us One Step Closer to Bendy Computing

2009-12-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

This organic flash memory from researchers at the University of Tokyo has got me dreaming in flex-o-vision. Takeyo Someya, Tsuyoshi Sekitani and their team have placed memory cells on a polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) sheet that can bend with a curvature radius up to 6mm before causing any mechanical or electrical degradation. We're still pretty far from seeing this research being used in practical applications—in its current form, the organic flash memory has a memory retention of only a day. But at some point, the researchers say, we'll be seeing it used for large-area sensors, electronic paper and other large-area electronic devices.

Using Micro S'mores Is Akin to Playing God

2009-12-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

The automated precision with which the Micro S'more plunger fuses a marshmallow to its chocolate and graham cracker counterparts is not a power Man has proven worthy to wield. Two for $20.

Welcome Mat Humiliates Guests by Weighing Them

2009-12-11T13:07:00.001-08:00

"Happy holidays, Grandma! Ohh...well...this is awkward...but you appear to have gained too much weight in the last year to celebrate Christmas with your grandchildren.

iPhone Fitted With SLR Lens (It Was Bound to Happen)

2009-12-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

ILM Research Engineer Bhautik Joshi disassembled his iPhone only to stuff in part of his DVD player, the laser pickup, which houses three miniature magnifying lenses. These lenses are what made it possible for the iPhone to accept the light/images beaming through the 18-55mm lens, which was carefully positioned through PVC pipe, duct tape and cursing.

Top Gear "Bans" Gay Couples From Studio Audience

2009-12-01T13:06:00.000-08:00

Top Gear is allegedly banning same sex couples from its studio audience, dictating that all ticket bookings must have a 50/50 male to female split. The show's ticketing website states, "Each booking requires equal amounts of men to women, so please ensure that you have a 50/50 split of guys and gals in your party."

Thinkpad Bus Seats Inaugurate New Buttputing Era

2009-11-30T13:08:00.001-08:00

The notebooks—part of a campaign created by Ogilvy Frankfurt—were installed in buses and tram shuttles that lead prospective buyers to Lenovo Roadshows all over Germany. The buses were waiting by train stations and airports to get visitors to the events, offering them the possibility to either surf the web or rest their buttocks while having a key massage. I would like to do both at the same time.

2009-11-23T13:06:00.001-08:00

I've definitely wanted to Force Quit some conversations in my time, so a real lifespinning beach ball of death would be the perfect excuse. Watch:

Microsoft may have backed out of the show's live special, but Family Guy definitely has the geek cred thing down. The Video

Camangi WebStation: 7 Inches of Android Tablet for $400

2009-11-20T13:06:00.000-08:00

The Camangi WebStation has been floating around for a few months now in little more than proof of concept form. Now, it's on the cusp of being a real product, released next month for $400.

The system runs Android 1.5 through its 7-Inch (800×480) glass touchscreen display, plus you get Wi-Fi (b/g), GPS , microSD reader, 2MP camera, .3MP webcam and a USB port that can always add 3G (though, the whole idea becomes sort of silly at that point).

Apple Exec Wants You To Puke All Over His Mind-Bending Backyard Deck

2009-11-19T13:06:00.000-08:00

Senior Apple Exec Jeff Dauber's passion for technology is matched only by his passion for contemporary art, which is why he called on architect Thom Faulders to build him a backyard deck that is a mind-bending combination of both.

Robolamps

2009-11-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

Croatian artist Robert Matysiak has a really awesome thing going with his Robolamps. It's just a bunch of plumbing supplies and green light bulbs, but I want to collect them all.

World's Fastest Supercomputer Is World's Largest, Tackiest Case Mod Too

2009-11-16T13:00:00.001-08:00

This is Jaguar, the new King of the Petaputer Hill, running at 1.75 petaflops-per-second. The Cray XT5 supercomputer was behind IBM's Roadrunnner for more than a year, until some clever scientist decided to paint a running Jaguar all over it.

Then it surpassed IBM's 10.4 petaflop/s supercomputer, achieving its 1.74 quadrillion floating points operation according to the Top500 Linpack benchmark. I mean, it was probably some extra CPUs coming online, but I'm pretty sure the main reason for the boost was that drawing.

Roadrunner took a dip from June's 2009 test, which gave it 1.105 petaflops. That's probably Wile E. Coyote's fault. My recommendation to IBM: Paint flames on it to win the #1 spot back.

Walmart Hacks the Palm Pixi's Price Down to Size: $30 at Launch

2009-11-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

It looks like retailers are going to have to do what Palm won't: Make the Palm Pixigenuinely cheap, or at least cheaper than the Pre. For example! Walmart's already cut the Pixi's price from $100 to $30—pre-launch.

The $30 Pixis (Pixies?) are backordered already, probably because this is far and away the best deal we've seen so far for this handset. This news does two things: It raises the possibility of a free-on-contract Pixi sometimes in the near future, and calls into question again whether or not the Pixi can ever be a truly good deal. Today, the Pre is $100 at Amazon, so a $30—or even free—Pixi might not be worth the loss of screen size, speed, Wi-Fi and camera quality. This isn't the kind of queasy, awkward decision a company that's so close to the brink needs its customers making right now anyway.

What Space Invaders Really Look Like (T-Shirt)

2009-11-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

All these years, we pegged the Space Invaders for grotesque aliens. Really, they're men and women just like us, flying spaceships in a war they neither want nor understand. $18.

Google's Swiss Headquarters Blend A Lot of Fun With Some Function

2009-11-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

I couldn't be more envious of Google engineers working out of Switzerland. Despite the tacky wallpaper in its library, the new EMEA Engineering Hub is the most fun looking office environment I've seen in a while.

Google's philosophy that work and play are not mutually exclusive is definitely shown off in form of game rooms and themed, cozy looking seating areas, but despite no picture evidence of them, I'm sure that they've got plain ol' cubicles hiding somewhere.

Alex Reader Hands-On Pictures

2009-11-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

There was a lousy video, but coming from the generation that had crushes on girls with staples on their belly buttons, I prefer these glossy pictures of the Alex Reader. And I don't mind its extra thickness. Maximum PC got their hands on one, and liked it very much, from the capacitive screen—running Android—that can play video to the onscreen keyboard. The only thing they didn't like is that it is thicker than Kindle.

Ken Block's Tracked Subaru STI Begs For Snow

2009-11-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

This is Ken Block's latest toy, a 400HP Subaru WRX STI, stripped and caged and outfitted with a set of Mattracks all-terrain tracks debuted today at SEMA. Is it badass? Yes. Would we sell our eye-teeth for one? Probably.

Wall of Sound iPod Dock Stands 3 Feet Tall by 4 Feet Wide

2009-11-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

For a stereo, the Wall of Sound isn't massive. But for an iPod dock, it's gargantuan.

Pitched as "the world's most powerful iPod speaker," the Wall of Sound is a $4,500, handcrafted iPod dock with a stocky 3x4-foot frame that weighs in at 225 pounds. As for the sound itself, the 125W system promises a frequency response of 40 Hz – 20 kHz that will provide "graceful mids and crystal clear highs," according to the product's website. It's also purportedly "for people who believe that music should be listened to loudly."

Apparently, Apple Wants All iPod Shuffle Users to Look Like Idiots

2009-10-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

Oh Apple patents, you harbingers of coolness. Sometimes, however, you announce potential pain and doom.

DSi XL Coming To America in Early 2010

2009-10-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

The extra-large, extra-priced DSi LL, unveiled in Japan early this morning, will be coming to North America and Europe in the first quarter of 2010, Nintendo tells Kotaku.

"A new iteration of the Nintendo DSi system will be introduced in Japan on November 21, 2009," according to a statement from Nintendo released to Kotaku. "To be known as Nintendo DSi LL in Japan, and as Nintendo DSi XL in North America and Europe, it will offer a screen 93% larger than the current Nintendo DS Lite with a better view angle, an additional longer touch screen stylus, and preinstalled Nintendo DSiWare software. The new version will arrive in North America and Europe in the first quarter of calendar year 2010."

No word yet on how much the DSi XL will sell for in North America, though the DSi LL will sell for ¥20,000 (US$220) in Japan.

The Most Epic Treehouse Ever Constructed

2009-10-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

My childhood self just passed out from excitement. This thing is 11 stories and 90 feet tall, and it's growing ever-larger. Seriously, I want to live here so badly.

Watch these Real Flies Carrying Real Ad Banners

2009-10-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Someone thought that the best way to promote their company was by attaching paper ad banners to real flies. I tried this at school, to pass notes to a pretty girl called Carla. It ended in pain.

My math teacher wasn't amused. And Carla was grossed out. A clear lose-lose-lose situation. German company Eichborn, however, thought it was the best way to promote themselves at the 2009 Frankfurt Book. Look Eichborn, it didn't work with me, it's not going to work with you.

Live From Barnes & Noble's Nook Event

2009-10-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

Barnes & Noble invited us all to a fancy boathouse by the river, and they're very excited about something! Ok, it's the Nook, which they spectacularly leaked (again) a few hours ago.

65,000 Time Warner Customers Exposed To Remote Hacks

2009-10-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

A vulnerability in their modems and routers has left 65,000 Time Warner customers vulnerable to having their admin menus remotely accessed by evil-doers. Time Warner says they're aware of, and working on the issue as we type.

If I Could Skate, I'd Love The Bouwkunde School Building

2009-10-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

Actually, I can't skate worth a damn and I'm still daydreaming about grabbing a board and attempting to abuse this building as a huge skating ramp. Granted the photovoltaic panels might trip me up a bit.

Designed by Adam Wojtalik, the Bouwkunde is meant to replace a burned down building on the Delft University of Technology campus. With the usual auditorium, offices, and coffee bar wrapped up in a curvy design like that with a hidden lawn area to boot, I don't see why it shouldn't be approved.

Camera Tattood in Time Lapse (by Another Camera)

2009-10-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

Dabe Alan is got a vintage gadget tattoo of his own, but he shot the process in time lapse with a very modern Canon 5d Mark ii before editing this video in Final Cut Pro. Ouchies.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearandyeti/4027491253/

Rubik Lamp's Pretty Puzzling Light

2009-10-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

For now, the equally beautiful and dorky Rubik Lamp is just a resin prototype. Looking at its kaleidoscopic funkiness as it gets scrambled, however, I wish it was a real product available now.

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 5 Home Phone Also Does VoIP

2009-10-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Though many of us ditched landlines long ago, B&O still pushes out cordless phones for those who can afford its designer wares. The BeoCom 5 handles two-landlines plus PC-based VoIP calls, and its portable speaker can double as a charger.

New Chevy Caprice Most High-Tech Cop Car Ever

2009-10-05T13:20:00.001-07:00

Today's return of the Chevy Caprice to the police car ranks means more than just serious hoonage potential. With a new optional technology package, we're told it'll be the most high-tech production police car ever.

From what we can see and what we're told in the press release, the folks at Australia's National Safety Agency (NSA) are collaborating with the LAPD, Holden and Chevy to show off an advanced integrated technology system with the new Chevy Caprice.

New Sony Ad: Play PlayStation 3, Save a Nazi's Life

2009-10-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Apparently, if you play the PlayStation 3, you'll give a blood transfusion to a Nazi, or a heart transplant to Joan of Arc. What in holy hell do these mean, Sony?

Nikon D300s DSLR Review: Not Much of an Upgrade

2009-09-30T13:03:00.001-07:00

Nikon's D300s is the very same camera we loved two years ago, but with a few new tricks to try to stay relevant in this crazy video-shootin' DSLR world we live in. Namely, 720p video.

Stick a Video Camera on an iPod Nano and a Japanese Man Will Use it For Upskirting

2009-09-29T12:58:00.001-07:00

A man in Kobe, Japan, just got arrested for attaching the latest iPod Nano to his shoe, and using said nanoshoe to get video of the environment inside of women's dresses. The victim was an 18-year-old schoolgirl. Glad the dude at least stuck to the age limit, but it doesn't quite make it any better. And also, as you saw in our review, the Nano isn't that good of an upskirt camera. It may have an "infrared" filter, but that's not a real filter, and it doesn't actually help a camera that doesn't do low-light very well perform low-light any better. What you need is something with a flash, preferably infrared, so you can...wait...I shouldn't reveal all these tips.

MIT's Eyeball Chip Could Make the Blind See

2009-09-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

MIT researchers are developing a microchip that adheres to an eye to revive sight, and it could begin human trials within three years.

The chip, encased in titanium to withstand the tortures of the human body for 10 years, sticks to the outside of your eyeball. The eye's lens still seems to be used, but light strikes implanted electrodes that in turn cause the chip to fire image information directly into the optic nerve.

Users will still need to wear glasses, but not for the reasons you'd think. The glasses house a power source to transmit necessary energy to the sight chip wirelessly.

Researchers admit that the footage won't be a 1:1 replacement for normal vision, especially at first when trial participants will help refine MIT's algorithms. But the device should theoretically enable someone to navigate a room and even recognize faces, making social tasks quite a bit easier.

Nintendo Wii Price Cut Confirmed? $199 This Sunday

2009-09-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

So those rumors that the Wii will drop $50 on Sept. 27 are looking increasingly like a done deal. An internal memo from an anonymous Best Buy tipster backs-up the claim, and says Nintendo will make things official this Friday.

When you think about, it's amazing that the Wii has motored along for three years at $250. But it's clear that Nintendo has to do something. The 120GB PS3 Slim is $300, the 120GB Xbox 360 Elite is $250 with rebates, and 250GB bundles for both are strongly rumored to be around the corner.