A lot of the mice we feature around these parts could be considered weird, until now. This ... thing ... pushes the boundary of anything normal. A new dish to me—a rice omelet is simple a rice-filled omelette drenched in ketchup. Turn that concept into a mouse cover and you have yourself one hell of a strange and creepy peripheral. A part of me is speechless about this mouse and another part of me just wants to curse everything about this faux omelette mouse. I really just need a vacation. –Travis Hudson
Far Out from the Far East: Rice Omelet Mouse [SCI FI]
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I’ll be careful here since we don’t want to upset what has to be one of Europe’s most sensitive nations. Turkey has banned YouTube, blocking access to the site after a court found that the site hosted video clips insulting the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk.
It’s believed that the clips are just the latest chapter in the long-standing animosity held between Turks and Greeks, with the Net acting as the new battlefield. It is a crime in Turkey to insult Ataturk or ‘Turkishness’ apparently and can land you a prison sentence if you do. Wow, I know where I’m going on holiday.-Martin Lynch
news technology gadgets PC online politics
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It's only a prototype, but researchers in Japan have developed a car seat that can detect when a driver is about to nod off. The idea is to fit the seat with a buzzer, so that when the seat's built-in sensors notice a drop in your pulse, it'll sound an alarm to wake you up. The seat's creators expect to have a consumer version ready in five years. Overall, it's a cool idea, and I can find a lot more uses for this kind of chair than just inside a car. – Louis Ramirez
Smart Car Seat Detects Drowsy Drivers [Pink Tentacle]
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This is horribly irresponsible rumor-mongering, but we over heard this tidbit about the Zune over at GDC. Apparently, if the person was correct and our ears didn't fail us, the next-gen Zune will be available in August. Unfortunately for the first-gen Zune team, the next version will feature gaming, which is supposedly making them feel dejected over working on a product (1st gen) that will be "abandoned".
Couple that with this quote from the Zune Release manager over at Zuneinsider about Microsoft NOT abandoning the Zune, and you have a potentially juicy rumor. – Jason Chen
And Now a Word from the Zune Release Manager [Zune Insider]
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Perhaps requiring your own nuclear reactor to run, the Keian Gaia 1200W is a power supply that not only looks better than most PC, but can also feed everything. And with everything, I mean everything, from dual Quad-core processors (both Intel Core 2 Duo and AMD Socket AM2 processors are supported), to three Quad SLI or CrossFire cards and four PCI-Express cards. It can also drive four USB ports when the PC is off or four computers with its split-combine function.
The Gaia can reach power peaks of 1400W, making sure that your DeLorean never needs an electrical storm. And with a self-contained plug-n-play design, its own integrated 120mm fan and all kinds of electric protections, you can just put it inside your custom PC and start sucking into that grid in a snap. If you find it outside Japan, that is. – Jesus Diaz
Product page (in Japanese) [Keian via Akihabara News]
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If you grew up as a young teen in the 1980s you will have been more than aware of the Commodore 64 PC, a machine that ran office/work applications but which could be hooked up to the TV for playing games. It was massively popular, selling 17 million units between its launch in 1982 to its demise in 1994. And now, from the ashes, Commodore is coming back. Commodore Gaming has announced that a new breed of gaming PCs are on the way.
“25 years ago, Commodore launched the best selling personal computer of the late 20th Century, the C64, and defined the early computer games experience for millions of people worldwide,” said Bala Keilman, CEO for Commodore Gaming. “We are privileged and excited to bring the Commodore brand back to the gaming community and mark a new chapter in its history with this exceptional machine. We're sure that it will deliver what gamers need and want.”
The new PCs will be launched at Cebit later this week and I’ll have more news then. Exciting as it all sounds though, back then there was nothing like the competition there is now. And the Commodore 64 was unique. But, now, a new llife as high-end gaming systems? That not a competitive space at all, is it? And will these machines be anything more than a PC with a Commodore badge? All views welcome.-Martin Lynch
news technology gadgets PC home entertainment games geek
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For those of you that won’t have real pets at home or PCs in the living room, there is an alterative. The Pussy Cat PC is an entrant in Microsoft's IDSA PC Design Competition and combines a working PC, AI and an air freshener – not kidding on that last bit.
It has two modes: PC mode for doing all that PC stuff like surfing for porn and viewing illegal movie torrents and Pussy Cat Mode, where it can wander around the house using AI face-recognition to – as the blurb says – “let it remember who is master.” If it’s anything like a real cat then it will ignore you, just before taking a dump behind the TV.
It can also act as a home security system using video surveillance and thanks to its cute, little glowing paws there’s not much chance of kicking it during the night. Even if you want to. See more wacky design concepts here. The winner will be announced in May.-Martin Lynch
news technology gadgets PC home entertainment design geek
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
