It was certainly on the cards. The destructive folks behind the smashing of the iPod and the Xbox 360, are back with SmashmyPS3.
Why? Well, it’s just a smashing ‘thang’ funded by people who hate certain technologies and companies. People donate some cash and the desired product is purchased and destroyed in public on Day One, in front of adoring fans. There is no evidence whatsoever that Microsoft or any of its employees sent these loons money for this one.
Still, far more upsetting than a guy wielding a sledgehammer in public is the coat and hat on the guy picking up the PS3 for destruction. Now that’s scary.
Still, it all seems pointless to me. What's your take?
Valid social/cultural statement or a load of old bollocks?-Martin Lynch
It looks like a coffee maker and you’d be correct, it is a coffee maker. However, I wouldn’t bother my ass writing about just any coffee maker. This one is even more useful - or ridiculous - than normal because it uses technology from Microsoft to predict the weather. Oh dear.
The Melitta Smart Mill & Brew, costing a mere £110, boasts Microsoft's Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) which can be used to hook up to MSN Direct and provide you with weather forecasts since you never know when that hurricane in Essex will strike.
Since most coffee makers and kettles are in a kitchen surrounded by windows, what’s the point of coffee maker weather forecasts? Dumb.-Martin Lynch
What you say? A new phone in the Nokia N series? Yes, indeed. This is the N97. It is either a very beautiful phone, or a pretty good Photoshop job. Rumor has it that the N97 will have a 3-inch display, 5-megapixel camera with 20x zoom, miniSD expandability and 20GB of internal memory. I don't know, those initial specs seem pretty farfetched. We'll keep you posted. – Travis Hudson
Don't get too reliant on that GPS receiver, Magellan, since companies are now starting to release devices that locally block GPS signals. Detectnu's device not only block GPS signals within a 50-meter (164-foot) radius, but also GSM cellphone signals in a 20-meter (65-foot) radius. Another such device—the RJ-G1575 GPS jammer from Radixon Hadrian—blocks GPS signals in a 50-kilometer (31-mile) radius. Now, I can completely understand cellphone jammers (hint: people have no concept of tact in New York City and love to yap about God knows what quite loudly), but blocking GPS? What good does that do, other than give mischief makers a rise?
Ok, so Radixon Hadarian claims that the device can be used to thwart GPS-aided terrorist attacks. Yes, and I'm Jack Bauer. Let's leave the crime fighting to the professionals and not to gadget geeks. – Nicholas Deleon
Ramos, Chinese DAP maker extraordinaire, has released three DAPs ready to take on the rough and tough world of the portable media player market. You know how I know Ramos is ready for the DAP market? They neglected to mention any of the specs about these players in the press release. Which must mean they all have 800GB hard drives and support every media codec known to man. In all reality it looks like the Q15 is more of a video-playing PMP, while the Q10 and Q12 are just MP3 player and the Q10 may support video. – Travis Hudson
A team of Hungarian engineers have created the ultimate fire extinguisher. They've removed the gun turrets from an old Russian tank, replaced them with 2 turbines from a MiG-21 fighter jet, and injected the whole thing with gallons of water. The result is the first ever jet-powered fire extinguisher. Though it'd be difficult to get the tank to confined spots, the turbines' speed and power could potentially help firefighters with oil-fires, which typically take days to extinguish.
Hit the jump for a video of the world's biggest Super Soaker in action.
You know those late night infomercials where they cut a pair of shoes in half for no real reason? This is kinda like that, but just about a billion times cooler (estimating, of course). Blendtec is hawking a blender that they claim can blend pretty much anything under the sun like, "40 pens!" Their Web site has a whole bunch of "Will It Blend?" videos of wacky things being blended, so if you've got a few minutes to kill (because you're without a PS3) and want to laugh at complete and utter nonsense, have at it. – Nicholas Deleon
ColorWare, the company most well known for giving Apple products a little color, is expanding their territory by teaming with T-Mobile for customized Sidekick 3's. There will be 28 different colors available for new Sidekick 3 owners.
Don't fret, pre-existing SK3 owners, you can still send in your phone to get colorized for a fee of $99. I'm going to be brutally honest, this is pretty damn awesome. Good job, ColorWare. So, uh, can I get a hot pink and brown SK3 now, or what? – Travis Hudson
The Power Zoom Vanity Mirror does just that—zooms. I'm not a nuclear engineer, so I have no idea how it works, but this mirror is capable of zooming up to five times with the push of a button. The mirror itself is five inches in diameter and operates off of AA batteries. If you weren't self conscious about your looks before, this could surely do the trick (for $50). – Travis Hudson
So maybe you can't afford that spankin' new HDTV that was recently announced or perhaps you've already blown your entire life savings on a massive DLP set. Well, here's the next best thing. Just cut a hole in your wall and lodge your DLP/CRT right in. It's not the route we'd take, but if you're low on cash and have a sledgehammer handy, it's definitely the cheapest.
Click through for the "behind the scenes" comparison.
I am happy to report this is not a post about that wretched PS3, rather it is a post about a super-fun, awesome USB Aquarium. We've seen them in the past, but this one is a bit better because it is twice as large and well over twice as pretty. The aquariums are available in four different themes: Winter Wonderland, Xmas Paradise, Framed Aquarium and Undersea Volcano (since when can fish live around volcanoes?). If my interpretation is correct, these fake USB fishtanks go for 2,980 Yen, or approximately $25. The best thing of all—it's not a freaking PS3. – Travis Hudson
Let the PS3 eBay entrepreneurship begin! Just a few hours after the PS3's official launch (or hadn't you heard?), systems are appearing on eBay and this one happened to catch our eye. A premium PS3 hailing from Michigan just went for $9,000. That's $9,000 actual dollars, people. Do you know what you could buy with $9,000? Surely, something of greater value than a video game system. To each his own, I guess. – Nicholas Deleon
Japan and South Korea get the coolest toys (I do believe that fact is codified in several international treaties) and this solar powered cellphone is but yet another example of this. Originally likened to a mini Nintendo GameBoy SP by British mag T3, the prototype runs on the energy provided by the sun's magnificent rays. Granted, if you live anywhere where the sun likes to play hide and seek more often than not (such as New York City), you might end up on a certain creek without a certain paddle. A few more pics of this hot jawn are after the jump.
What do you know, a non PS3-related story. What it is is the first photos of the upcoming LG KE260, a slider cellphone that functions on GSM networks. As you can see, it has a different look to it than most other cellphones and college students might recognize the shape as resembling a "clicker." As is often the case, little is known about the cellphone's actual features, how much it'll cost, where it'll come out, etc., so take this opportunity to get familiar with the cellphone's smooth curves and contours. For more of that, jump for joy.
This is what happened at midnight. The mainstream press descends like hyenas on Chris, first man in line. The poor bastard. I estimate he gave over 50 interviews today. I hope it was worth it, dude. While you're servicing the reporters, the #2 guy in line gets to slink away and go play with his PS3. Sony even had a stretch limo give him a ride home. Since when did getting a video game console become like winning the lotto?
Wait a second, wait a second. I know, I didn't fill you in on the last two hours [cue flashback]
We've already reported on the scuffles that have broken out across the country over PS3s, but believe me when I say Sony went all out with security at NY's launch event. While the SF crowd was chilling to their indie rock, the hardcore NY Sony fanboys were marching through metal detectors before being allowed into the PS3 Party Hall. – Louis Ramirez
Heres a gallery to tide you over.
There's a lot going on here. Long Lines. They just backed a tractor trailer full of PS3s out on fourth street, with sirens, police escort, and jumbotron with a countdown til midnight when they'll sell the first PS3 in SF. An elaborate marketing orgamitron. All we're missing are B-list celebs, but SF isn't that kind of town. Here, the PS3 is the celeb. It's enough for the geeks. The band called Angels and Airwaves just went on. (Typical whiny indie shit.)
The PS2 Launch was nothing like this. Someone's trying to make up for all the boo boos they made this year by throwing themselves a party.
Here's a high speed flyby of the 700 diehard fans who are waiting in line for the first PS3's to be sold in SF. The first lines, that I've dubbed VIP Place and Style Row, will probably get whatever version they want, 60 or 20GB consoles. Those further down the chain, in lines I've dubbed Jillian's Camp and Minna's Kitchen, won't be so lucky.
It looks like a coffee maker and you’d be correct, it is a coffee maker. However, I wouldn’t bother my ass writing about just any coffee maker. This one is even more useful - or ridiculous - than normal because it uses technology from Microsoft to predict the weather. Oh dear.
The Power Zoom Vanity Mirror does just that—zooms. I'm not a nuclear engineer, so I have no idea how it works, but this mirror is capable of zooming up to five times with the push of a button. The mirror itself is five inches in diameter and operates off of AA batteries. If you weren't self conscious about your looks before, this could surely do the trick (for $50). 
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
