Mary Poppins Turned Into She-Devil: It's All In The Editing December 06, 2006

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If you ever wondered how important video and film editing is, this trailer will show you exactly how a bin full of innocuous footage can be skillfully turned into a frightening and powerful sequence. Just add talent. – Charlie White

Mary Poppins re-cut into Horror film [The Disney Blog, via boingboing]

The Alternative Fire DVD For City Folk December 06, 2006

Read more DVRs , Home Entertainment , TV

Few things top a real fire when winter draws in but since most of us live in big, smoke-free cities, the closest wel get to flames are the burned out of husks of cars nicked by our neighbourhood joyriders.

So, if you know someone trapped in the city this Christmas, you can send them The Alternative Fireplace DVD. I kid you not. Just slot this baby in your DVD player and press ‘play’. Choose from seven different fires on your TV - Log Fires, Coal Fires, Electric Fires (??) Coal embers etc – all complete with authentic sound.

That said, what the hell is a Gas Fire doing in there and can anyone tell me why this DVD has a Age Rating of 12+?

This oddity can be yours £15 in a few weeks.-Martin Lynch

news technology DVD TV Christmas

Sony Battery Woes Blamed On Lack of Crisis Management December 06, 2006

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Remember all the hubbub with the Sony battery recalls? It wasn't because Sony was making crappy batteries. Oh no. All those bad cells came from a lack of crisis management. Or so Sony President Ryoji Chubachi would have you believe.

Chubachi says Sony's decades-old reputation for superior technical prowess is still intact, and says they were trying to "meet demands for a larger battery capacity" and somehow things just got out of hand. Oh yeah, we know exactly what he means. One time, we didn't have backup laptops for blogging, and we cost our company 51.2 billion yen (443 million dollars). We're totally there with you. – Jason Chen

Sony chief traces battery overheating to lack of crisis management [Japan Today]

Buffalo Mouse Uses Scroll-Wheel Design December 06, 2006

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Alert the lawyers! This latest mouse from Buffalo carries one hell of a familiar design. This mouse has a wheel pad used for scrolling and clicking. Other than that, it is a pretty average optical mouse. Get a good look now, it will probably be gone soon if some certain lawyers have anything to say about it. (Not really, I highly doubt this violates any kind of patents, but it is fun to make the Apple lawyers seem highly anal-retentive dicks about these things.) – Travis Hudson

The Buffalo iPod mouse [Akihabara]

Gun Hidden in a Knife: It's Two, Two, Two Kills In One December 06, 2006

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Just what we need: more weapons and even better, increasingly innovative ways to murder and maim each other. With this G.R.A.D. .22-caliber gun disguised as a knife, you can pull the trigger on the handle, filling someone with five holes and then cut them up into little pieces, or vice-versa. Check out the video of this lean, mean killing machine:

Major PS3 Firmware Update Coming March '07 December 06, 2006

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Despite all Sony's talk about how the PlayStation 3 is supposed to be a media hub, there's been very little to show for it. We have standard trailers and movie playback, but even the Xbox 360 can do that. But come March '07, to coincide with the Europe launch, the PS3 is going to get a major firmware update.

SCE's VP of Technology says there could be a utility to download third-party operating systems direction from the PS3. In addition, there are even more gaming features planned to be added with the update. Perhaps more PSP + PS3 integration? What we'd like is to just be able to play DivX and XviD files off a burned DVD directly from the PS3's interface. Too much to ask? – Jason Chen

Sony to ship major PS3 firmware update next March [Reg Hardware]

“The Quenttin” Watch: Dumb Name, Stunning Timepiece December 06, 2006

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I’m not sure I’d buy a watch called ‘The Quenttin’. It’s about as exciting as buying one called ‘The Brian’ or ‘The Nigel’. Still, it is far better looking that any Quenttin has a right to be and would, literally, set you back the cost of your home.

Built by Jacobs & Co, the darlings of celebs and taste-free rappers, The Quenttin is a beautiful looking piece of machinery. And, because it costs so much, you get to see all that miniature wizardry at work.

The case comes in 18K white gold, rose gold or even magnesium and are limited to 99 of the white gold and just 18 each for the rose gold and magnesium editions. Platinum versions can be requested by those for whom the value of money has long ago lost all meaning.

Jump now for some great photos and the full specs. –Martin Lynch

[Watchismo]

Mobile Phones Will Not Give You Cancer December 06, 2006

Read more Gadgets , Mobile phones , Peripherals , Portable Media , Smartphones

This has been a hot potato for some time and, still is. I’ve always wanted to be able to blame phones – and not cigarettes, poor genes and a scummy lifestyle – for any cancer down the line but, sadly, they are no longer a scapegoat – well, at least according to this week’s research. That said, a survey with 420,000 subjects is not to be sniffed at.

The Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, examined data from people using phones for as long as 10 years – more than 56,000 in this case. At the end of the day, they found zero evidence that using mobile phones resulted in a higher rate of nasty diseases, including eye, brain, or salivary gland tumours or leukaemia.

Even so, no one is advocating strapping your mobile to the side of your head and they warn against giving mobiles to kids [as in the above photo]. –Martin Lynch

[Danish Institute of Cancer Epidemiology]

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