music is boring, but the visuals are pretty cool.
Mattel To Make Real Hoverboards that don’t hover
Back to the Future Hover Board: Finally! This totally awesome 1:1 replica of the hover board from the BTTF 2 and BTTF 3 films includes multiple whooshing sounds and will glide over most surfaces (does not actually “hover” – check back in 2015 for that feature). We’ll be taking orders for it March 1 – March 20, 2012, and the final product will be shipped around November/December 2012. Because this is such a high-cost item, there will be a minimum number of orders required to go into production. If we don’t receive the minimum orders, won’t go into production and customers will not be charged. The price will be announced later this month. (Note: Hover board does not work on water.)
via nerdbastards.com.
Introducing the 8-Bitty controller
We’ll cut right to the chase: this image is not photoshopped.
Yes, it’s a handheld video game controller in the classic style 8-bit style you know and love–but now it’s for your iPad or iPhone, no console or cartridges required. And it exists IRL.
We’re calling it the iCADE 8-Bitty. It pairs wirelessly just like our iCADE, and it’s compatible with a growing list of hundreds of retro game apps, including the Atari Classics collection, Pac Man, Super Mega Worm, and more (see full list). Because the 8-Bitty uses a completely open interface system, any app developer can easily add game support–even to Android devices.
via ThinkGeek.
A Day Made of Glass
Is that a Philip Glass soundtrack? Sounds like him, and it would be fitting for the subject matter.
most amazing walking toy ever?
I for one have never actually seen a walking remote control vehicle before.
reminds me vaguely of something from an anime.
Dog Walk Out Barrel
that dog really likes to run, holy crap. Also, I’ve used treadmills before, and I’m always a little wobbly when I get off, so props on him for being so bouncy when he jumped off.
iModela, Roland’s $1000 hobbyist CNC milling machine
A milling machine is sort of the opposite of a 3D printer, because it carves away material from a piece of stock, while a 3D printer adds material.
I have no clue what I could possibly do with one of these things, but they seem cool enough to have one around just in case. Though for $1000 I could feed myself for a couple more days, so I’m not going to be dropping that kind of cash anytime soon…
via Boing Boing.
‘BreathalEyes’ app
There’s been a lot of talk about driving drunk on here, and now there’s a new way to avoid it! Since, it seems people are more apt to listen to an app than they are to another person, it’s probably a good thing that there’s now an iPhone app that tells you if you’re too drunk to drive.
I know when I’m too drunk to drive, it’s every time I drink, because I don’t have just one drink man, wtf is that about, no, I”ll have a couple dozen.
via DVICE.
Mobile weapon scanner for street sweeps
The NYPD is looking to create a mobile version of the kind of full body scans we’re all used to at airports, in that it’d show the shape of objects stored underneath clothing. The system would allow police officers to spot armed passerby on the street without ever having to get out of a police van.
this makes sense for places that don’t let their citizens protect themselves with guns, but for somewhere like Florida, you’d likely see a good number of legally concealed weapons…
via DVICE.
Rumor: Microsoft to discontinue its virtual currency system Microsoft Points
Microsoft’s proprietary virtual currency system, Microsoft Points, will be phased out by the end of the year, according to a source with knowledge of the company’s decision. The change will affect developers for Windows Phone, the Zune marketplace and Xbox Live.
By the end of 2012, all transactions will be based on the region set on the purchasing account and real money will be used to purchase all Windows Phone content. The move puts the Windows Phone Marketplace in line with the purchasing practices used in the App Store and the Android Market.
of course, in the end this will be a good thing, but what about those 90 points that I still have on my xbox 360 account? will I get those pennies back from MS somehow?
via Exclusive
Redbox refuses Warner Brothers
Two years after bending to Warner’s demands and delaying its kiosk rentals 28 days in exchange for lower acquisition costs and a steady supply of Blu-ray discs, Redbox announced the agreement has expired. This comes as a result of Warner’s desire to extend the delay between the time movies are available for purchase to the time they can be rented in kiosks or by subscription to 56 days, and instead Redbox will go back to buying the studio’s movies at retail
Nice to see that they’re pushing back against the insane stipulations of WB to not rent movies for 60 full days after it’s been released on the retail level. Of course, I’m using Netflix myself, so I have to wait up to a couple years to see the movies that I want to see, but I also have nearly 3,000 hours of entertainment queued up in there, I can stand to wait a wee bit longer than the average consumer.
via Engadget.
Amazing Time-Lapse Video Takes Fascinating Look at Very Large Array Radiotelescope
Signal To Noise from Douglas Koke on Vimeo.
Time-lapse footage taken at the Very Large Array (VLA) in Socorro, New Mexico; one of the largest Radio Astronomy Observatories in the world.
Bright Blind
While it’s not being prescribed as a cure for seasonal affective disorder just yet, the Bright Blind is sure to lighten one’s spirit in dark, sad abodes and office spaces worldwide. Made of electroluminescent (EL) sheets, Makoto Hirahara’s Bright Blind simulates a window where none exists. The artificial blind functions in exactly the way you might guess; turn the plastic stick and control the brightness!
via Bright Blind.
The Latest in Terminator Tech
As you can see, the Petman, like the DARPA Dog, can balance itself enough to stay upgright and walking even when someone kicks it. The video shows the robot doing push ups and squats.
spooky and awesome, all at the same time. all it needs is a wireless receiver/transmitter and an automatic rifle, and there we go, Drone soldiers.
via Video: The Latest in Terminator Tech | Defense Tech.
How the World’s Oldest Diamond Monopoly is Trying to Become an IT Juggernaut
The narrative arc of the transformation of De Beers is like something out of a William Gibson novel. The firm has long held a worldwide monopoly on the supply of natural diamonds, and now it’s angling to become the leading supplier of synthetic diamond for use in the computer chips that could make microprocessors 10 to 20 times faster than their current speeds.
It would be good that the monopoly is done for, but what if it just opens up a new one?
via Technology Review.
NASA Announces Technology Demonstration Missions
The Solar Sail demonstration will:
Demonstrate the deployment of a 38m x 38m solar sail in space (quadrupling the area of the largest sail deployed and tested on the ground of 20m x 20m by L’Garde at NASA’s Plumbrook facility in Ohio).
Demonstrate attitude control plus passive stability and trim using beam-tip vanes.
Execute a navigation sequence with mission-capable accuracy.
The Future is Now! Next up: Space Elevator.
via NASA
Landcruiser in Libya with remote control machine gun turret
A BBC News team came across an abandoned Toyota Landcruiser in the Libyian city of Sirte which was outfitted with a remote controlled and fully retractable machine gun turret.
If I were a billionaire dictator, you bet that a remote controlled machine gun car would be on my list of things to have. Too bad it wasn’t even remotely enough to protected him from FREEDOM ™
via The Firearm Blog.
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