Trap Sunlight In A Jar October 23, 2006
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So simple, so cool. Forget saving time in a bottle because what you really need to be aiming for is trapping the sun in a jar.
Designer Tobias Wong has come up with The Sun Jar, which houses a small solar panel and low-wattage bulb. Stick on the windowsill and let it soak up all that UV goodness for the day and then, as the sun goes down, watch it glow.
This is so much easier than trapping fairies – I know. Yours and mine, for £20 here.-Martin Lynch
news gadgets technology shopping gifts
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Muggles Invent Invisibility Cloak October 23, 2006
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Harry Potter eat your heart out. UK and US researchers have been beavering away on creating an invisibility cloak so that we too can sneak around the gloomy halls of draughty wizards’ schools.
In fact, as long as you are just 5in tall and the person looking for you is using microwaves, you should be fine. Still, it’s a first step. The mini-cloak uses metamaterials – artificial materials – and a series copper rings. Recent tests showed how the waves could be bent around the object, concealing it’s presence. In an interview with The Times, Prof David Smith said:
“Our cloak allows a concealed volume, plus the cloak, to appear to have properties similar to free space when viewed externally,” Professor David Smith, of Duke University, said. “The cloak deflects microwave beams so they flow around a ‘hidden’ object, making it appear almost as if nothing were there at all. The waves’ movement is similar to river water flowing around a smooth rock.”
Not much will happen soon but in five years time they claim they’ll be able to hide a tank. All you pervs dreaming about sneaking into the girl’s shower room can just forget it, and get back to work.- Martin Lynch
Sony Says ‘No’ To PS3 Imports October 23, 2006
READ MORE Consoles , Gadgets , Games , Home Entertainment , Peripherals , Portable Media
Sony says it will use every legal means at its disposal to prevent the importing of Japanese or US PS3 consoles into the UK.
The decision follows on from Sony winning its legal fight last week against Lik-Sang, an import/export firm dealing in Japanese versions of the PSP. Sony is now warning that it will do the same to any sneaky retailers hoping to cash in on selling non-European versions of the console, after it launches next month.
It would be typical to bash Sony over this but maybe, for once, it’s not such a bad thing since Japanese or US versions of the PS3 will not play older, European PS1 or PS2 titles. It does still mean waiting until March but, if your PS3 mania is out of control and you want to spend a huge premium for an incompatible Japanese/US console, there are bound to be plenty that slip through the Net. –Martin Lynch
news sony technology PS3 games
How Many Pollock Geeks Does it Take To... October 23, 2006
READ MORE PC
...get arrested for growing pot inside a PC? Just one. The police found the mini farm of cannabis growing by means of a lamp and humidity control system. The CPU was underclocked, but hungry for doritos.
Polish Pot Plant PC [Tha Boing]
JR Robotics Gymnastics Robot: Golden October 23, 2006
READ MORE Robots
Even though the JR RB-2000 robot is not actually grasping at the bar, this video is still pretty impressive. Hit it at about 40 seconds to watch the Paul Hamm routine begin. Now if they can just make a figure skating robot, my life will be complete.
Robot Gymnastics [robotdreams]
Top Ten Computer Flops: Gizmodo Not On List! October 23, 2006
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Yeah, believe it or not, computer hardware and software developers mess up sometimes.
A recent list includes flops from major players like IBM, Apple, Microsoft and Xerox. Take the NeXT supercomputer. It was a UNIX supercomputer that cost £3,000 but didn't have any software to actually run the thing. Then there's the Apple 3 that cost £4,000 and wasn't designed with an internal fan. And don't even get us started on the Windows ME.
The most amazing thing is that these companies, for the most part, brushed themselves off and lived to flop another day. Hit the jump for a complete list, and let us know what it's missing. Notice...dot coms aren't even mentioned. They still sting a little too much.
10 Biggest Computer Flops of All Time [via digg]
CAPS LOCK Day: hooray October 23, 2006
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we realize that we are not using all caps for this post, as would be the predictable joke to have offered our dear readers. the joke would have been funny in the way that a cream pie in the face is funny - not "haha funny", but "out of obligation to the clown who broke his nose doing the stunt that wasn't all that funny, funny". for those who would like to celebrate, go ahead, that what our comment area is for. for those who are annoyed by said commenters, don't fret, that is what our banning system is for. happy caps lock day. we think it might be made up, but aren't all holidays?
Self-Proclaimed Official Site [via akpsblog]
LEGO Flamethrower: Ages 4 and Up October 23, 2006
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This deathtoy is built complete from Lego bricks, except for a "piece of string" and refill bottle of butane. And you thought Legos were just a choking hazard.
When the Gizmodo staff goes postal, this will definitely be our weapon of choice. Hit the jump for 7 seconds of the sweetest video you've ever seen...today...unless you may have seen something better this morning...in which case you've had a pretty good day.
LEGO Flamethrower [techeblog]
1080p Gaming Not What it Seems? October 23, 2006
READ MORE Consoles , Games
There is no doubt that 1080p is the holy grail of high definition, which is exactly why Sony has pursued that benchmark with such enthusiasm. But exactly how hard is 1080p to render for video game consoles? Here are some telling stats straight from senior software design Bruce Dawson:
* 2.25x: that's how many more pixels there are in 1920x1080 compared to 1280x720
* 55.5%: that's how much less time you have to spend on each pixel when rendering 1920x1080 compared to 1280x720--the point being that at higher resolutions you have more pixels, but they necessarily can't look as good
* 1.0x: that's how much harder it is for a game engine to render a game in 1080p as compared to 1080i--the number of pixels is identical so the cost is identical
* 1280x720 with 4x AA will generally look better than 1920x1080 with no anti-aliasing (there are more total samples).
Resolution is no longer the sole indicator of image quality because of technological advancements that improve graphics at the pixel level, like shaders. If the PS3 is a stronger computing platform that can run 1080p well, I'd like to see them scale the resolution down, max the shaders and give me a mind-blowing image I'm actually capable of displaying on my 720p TV.
Clarifying Thoughts [ozymandias]
Excuse Box: No Reason to Tell the Truth October 23, 2006
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The Excuse Box is a keychain that ends annoying phone conversations with tact. How many times have we all been in this situation:
"Hello?"
"Hi hon, you missed Sara's ballet concert, where were you?"
"Oh...late night at the factory."
"But you don't work at the factory...you don't even have a job."
With the £10 Excuse Box, the conversation will go more like this:
"Hello?"
"Hi hon, you missed Jimmy's baseball game, where were you?"
"Oh...late night at the factory."
"But you don't work at the factory...you don't even have a job."
"Yeah, then why do you hear this?" (plays ambient mechanical noises).
"Oh my God! You finally stopped wasting your life!"
"Right! Wait...I don't know if it was wasting my life...I was writing my novel."
"Yeah, and that was going great..."
"Was that sarcasm in your voice?"
"Nooooo. And we certainly didn't read it out loud at my last Mother's Club meeting, mocking the Taiwanese whore who becomes a princess."
"She was never a whore! She was a princess all along! That's the freaking point!"
Product Page [via newlanches]
Chevillotte (Very)Table: Hidden Pool Table October 23, 2006
READ MORE Gadgets , Home Entertainment
The (Very)Table is such a great invention that we don't even mind its annoying use of punctuation. Switching from married life to bachelorhood in a matter of moments, the table works as a hostile takeover desk during the day and a client-entertaining pool table/hooker bed at night.
Crafted from steel and composite materials, then finished with brushed aluminum, it weighs in at a respectable 660lbs. The conversion process takes 8 steps that includes a crank (so you know it's gotta be good). Hit the jump for pictures of the process and the link for a slowly loading video.
Product Page [via mocoloco]
Pumpkin Computer: Just Like Mum Used to Make October 23, 2006
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Here's a festive pumpkin computer to scare away the dorks this Halloween. The pumpkin modification started by hollowing out and drying the squash for the night. The next day, fans were stuck into the eyes with the grills screwed directly into the flesh. A Latitude D410 motherboard was then attached to a clipboard and shoved into the "case". Apparently the pumpkin meat makes for good fitting. This baby rocks a Pentium M 1.6ghz processory, 512 DDR2 RAM, DVDR/RW drive and plenty of seeds.
It's too bad that the pumpkin will eventually rot, but then again, by that time (3 weeks) the computer will be obsolete anyway. ZingHit the jump for more pumpkinpics.
Project Page Thanks David!
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