Gadgets 2008

by Richard Lawler, posted Aug 7th 2008 at 3:24PMThe 2008 Beijing Olympics — the first covered entirely in high definition, with super slow-motion cameras and 3,600 hours of coverage, online and on TV — approach. Think you’re ready to get the most out of the Games, and maybe, just maybe catch the event you actually want to watch live as it happens? Head over to Engadget HD and get the full rundown on the different ways the Games are coming home and how to take advantage of them all.

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 7th 2008 at 9:46AM
Thanks to an early jump in Japan, we already knew that Canon’s VIXIA line was getting a refresh, but now we can rest easy knowing they’ll be coming to America. The HF11 Dual Flash camcorder (32GB in addition to an SDHC slot) and HG20 (60GB) / HG21 (120GB) HDD camcorders all boast 1,920 x 1,080 capture modes, Instant AutoFocus, SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization and 24Mbps recording to the AVCHD format. The whole lot is expected to ship next month for $1,199, $949 and $1,299 in order of mention, and the increasingly intriguing HF11 has already spent some quality time on Camcorder Info’s review bench. Check out the in-depth writeup below before pulling that trigger in the heat of the moment.

[Thanks, Robin]

Read - Canon VIXIA releases
Read - Canon VIXIA HF11 review

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Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 7th 2008 at 10:59AM
Wipe those tears away, budding astronaut. SpaceX’s latest failure wasn’t completely in vain. According to head honcho Elon Musk, the problem came just after a “picture perfect first stage flight” when a longer than expected thrust decay transient of the new Merlin 1C regeneratively cooled engine became “just enough to overcome the stage separation pusher impulse.” You honestly may need to be a rocket scientist to digest all of that, but here’s something even the layman can understand: Musk wants flight 4 in the air as early as next month. We’re told that the long gap between flights 2 and 3 was simply due to all that engine engineering, but technologically speaking, nothing will change for the next attempt. Godspeed, Falcon 1 (v4).

[Thanks, Kenneth]

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Filed under: Transportation

This is me, . . . weeell, on a really good hair day, with make-up and clothes (instead of the PJs I usually write in.) PosePrints made this up for me, to demonstrate their unique, personalized stationary.

Usually, I scoff at look-alike characters, avatars and such, but I have to admit these gals captured something of the real me. Or else, I’m just flattered.

The mother-daughter team created an easy to use website where you can design yourself step-by-step. Just click on the “design ” tab, and once you decide on a design you like, click “personalize this design with my pose” and you will be taken to the sketch page. Here, use the arrows to scan all of the available facial variables and accessories, and customize your person by clicking on specific features. When you are happy with your “pose,” click “Save Model” and you will then be prompted to “Personalize Message” (if they are invites, thank you cards, or snappy notecards, like mine).

To customize even more, such as “I want a different hair-do, my Baby Phat pants suit for clothes, and a unique background design,” then they charge an up-front $50 for Jen’s customized artwork, plus the cost of cards and shipping. For me, they used a photo (which they took from my Facebook page) for more likeness.

For weddings, dinner parties, or baby showers, etc, you could do a cute silhouette card, like this:

$50.00 for 25 cards. A deal for such a unique gift.

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 7th 2008 at 3:02AM
Don’t even try to deny it — you’ve been holding one mean grudge against that ridiculously accurate DeepNote bot ever since you saw it dominate Guitar Hero in mid-July. Really though, all that pent up aggression is completely unnecessary, and if you’ve been fruitlessly aiming to concoct one of your own, we’ve found the perfect place to start. The video posted up after the jump gives a fantastic overview of how the device actually works, and while it’s far (very far) from simple, it’s nothing the seasoned DIYer couldn’t handle on an extended weekend. Give it a look if you’re head over heels for PCBs and flashing LEDs (oh, and shameless rock ‘n roll).

[Thanks, Jeremy]

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Filed under: Gaming

Ever since Activision released Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, rumors have been circulating about the other bands that might get the GH treatment. Among the most popular names floating around are The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. And while they might have their own Guitar Hero game in time (fingers crossed), it seems that next up in line is the legendary thrash metal band, Metallica.

Drummer and RIAA co-conspirator Lars Ulrich all but confirmed rumors with a statement he made to MTV News:

There’s an Aerosmith game out there that’s super successful, and if somebody’s gonna follow that up…we’re talking, and its exciting, and the people at ‘Guitar Hero’ and Activision are rapidly becoming our best new friends in the world. You can put the rest of it together yourself.

Sounds like a done deal. Though Lars might just be getting his panties all in a bundle to promote Metallica’s upcoming album, Death Magnetic. You can use your own powers of logic and deduction to solve the rest of this mystery. No need to call out Scooby Doo and the crew. This is sounding pretty much in the bag. Although, this does come from a band whom before every album claims to be “going back to their roots”. We can only hope, Lars. We can only hope.

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As an adult I rarely find bugs to be cute, as a kid maybe, but it seems I’ve lost that love for brightly colored insects.  Well even if this Nymph lamp is modeled after a bug, I still in this particular case find him to be cute.  It was created by Site Specific Design, which is an interior and furniture design company that is based out of Brooklyn, New York.  The lamp would be great to add a quirky twist to any modern home.  Especially with the bright white coloring for the body and legs.

The body itself is made of a two-part fiberglass mold with a white lacquer finish.  The legs are made of 5/8” hollow steel tubes, no two legs are exactly alike either.  Each one’s curve is unique to it’s specific location.  The light cover is made of Corian and overall it is topped off with a white powder coat finish.   It measures 19in tall by 15in wide by 31in long.  The lamp will end up costing you $2,600.  Which means it’s not just any novelty lighting, but overly expensive novelty lighting.

Source: GeekAlerts

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You know it’s true, how many times did Jr. drop that pacifier and pop it right back into his mouth before you can catch him?  By nature, kids are just gross.  It’s best that we don’t know exactly where that pacifier has been, especially when they attempt to shove it into your mouth.  Well for those moments of horror when you actually find out where it has been, Pipila will be there to save the day.  It takes UV rays and will kill 99.9% of the germs on the pacifier.

It’s also nice because it is about the size of a grapefruit, so it will fit into the diaper bag along with everything else in the world.  It will take a full six minutes to do its job, which will seem like an eternity if you have a screaming child on your hands.  This gadget will likely appeal to mostly first time parents, who haven’t yet realized that no matter how hard you try kids are still gross.  This probably would also be more realistic for just doing on occasion instead of after every single time the pacifier hits the floor.  You can pick one up for $40 through their site.

Source: DaddyTypes

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by Darren Murph, posted Aug 7th 2008 at 8:30AM
We know how much those suits love to hit wild targets they set without any real understanding of the future, so we’re pretty sure at least one or two are getting the kudos of their life with this one. Earlier this year, HTC boldly predicted that it would move a staggering two million Touch Diamond handsets before 2009 dawned, and according to a new report, it’ll ship the one millionth unit sometime next week. With Sony Ericsson having all sorts of difficulties moving its mid- to high-end mobiles, one may wonder if HTC really can sell another million before December 31st. But we have all ideas the looming Sprint / Verizon launches will be all the help it needs to call itself a proven prophet.

[Via MoDaCo]

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Filed under: Cellphones

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 7th 2008 at 6:39AMAh, Black Hat. How we adore you. Each year there’s always one speaker who shows up and completely undermines something that most people assume is rock solid. This year, our pals at Hack-A-Day were in attendance to hear Nate Lawson expose California’s FasTrak toll system for the security hole that it is. Essentially, toll transponders that are purchased and slapped onto vehicles offer up exactly no authentication, meaning that anyone with an ill will and an RFID reader could wander through a parking lot and lift all sorts of useful information. Think it can’t get worse? The transponders reportedly support “unauthenticated over the air upgrading,” which means that each tag could be forced to take on a new ID if the right equipment was present. We don’t have to spell out “potential disaster” for you, now do we?

[Image courtesy of Mindfully]

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Filed under: Transportation