Designed by students at the Royal College of Art in London, Tongue Sucker is a simple gadget to help people untrained in first-aid administer CPR during emergencies, as well as solving the hygiene problem for people unwilling to get up close and personal with a stranger in order to save his or her life. The idea, which prevents an unconscious patient from blocking their airway with their tongue, is as simple as its name:
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Manhunt 2, which was the first game to be banned in a decade by the BBFC in June, has had its revised edition rejected too.
Rockstar’s controversial hunt & slash, which oozes menace and delights in fantastically gory brutality in its methods of despatch, had been tweaked and resubmitted in August for a second stab at the cherry.
However, the BBFC is having none of it. According to David Cooke, director of the BBFC:
“We recognise that the distributor has made changes to the game, but we do not consider that these go far enough to address our concerns about the original version. The impact of the revisions on the bleakness and callousness of tone, or the essential nature of the gameplay, is clearly insufficient. There has been a reduction in the visual detail in some of the ‘execution kills’, but in others they retain their original visceral and casually sadistic nature.
We did make suggestions for further changes to the game, but the distributor has chosen not to make them, and as a result we have rejected the game on both platforms. The decision on whether or not an appeal goes ahead lies with the distributor.”
Rockstar, which loves a little bit of notoriety, responded to the BBFC’s second smackdown, calling it ‘unacceptable’. In a statement, it said:
"We are continuing to appeal the British Board of Film Classification's decision to deny the edited version of Manhunt 2 an 18-plus certificate and thereby ban its release in the United Kingdom. The changes necessary in order to publish the game in Britain are unacceptable to us and represent a setback for videogames.
The BBFC allows adults the freedom to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in movies and we think adults should be similarly allowed to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in videogames, such as Manhunt 2.”
Is the BBFC ban merited or should adults be left make up their own minds? Have your say.-Martin Lynch
news games PS2 rockstar manhunt 2
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Wee video/music players are the order of the day these days, from any number of the Apple iPods to Creative’s Zen range.
Philips latest offering in this crowded space is the SA9345 Flash-based MP4 player, sporting a 1.8in display with 320 x 240 resolution capable of displaying WMV9 content at up to 348kbps at 30fps. It comes in 2GB and 4GB varieties but if it’s movies on-the-go you’re wanting it for, then plump for the £129 4GB version since the £99 2GB model is really just a waste of time. Not cheap either. At those prices, you’d expect an 8GB branded player for the £129.
The 4GB version is only good for around seven hours of WMV video content. Battery life is nothing to write home about though, delivering a very average 10 hours for audio and just two hours for video. On the music front, the 4GB player can cope with around 1,000 MP3s and 2,000 WMAs, and there’s also an in-built FM tuner.
In its favour, it’s a good looking player in glossy piano-black, with a touch-sensitive display and back-lit touchpads. It measures 9cm long, weighs in at 48g and is shipping now.-Martin Lynch
MP3 music video mobile
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As if the iPhone isn’t already expensive enough [around £899 including the basic phone package], someone has gone and dressed it up in 24ct gold.
UK firm Goldstriker, which has made a name for itself by cladding phones and iPods in gold and diamonds, is planning to offer the same service for the latest bit of Apple gadgetry. There are no details on price and I doubt this service will take off until closer to the iPhone’s European launch on November 10.
Even so, a look at similar items up from grabs, you can expect to pay a £300-400 to have your shiny new iPhone made even shinier. If it’s more gold you need, you can always check out the blingtastic gold-plated MacBook Pro.
Or, if you’re a normal person, you can ignore all of this nonsense.-Martin Lynch
[Goldstriker]
iphone apple mobile phone
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It sounds bizarre, but even the fire extinguisher is getting updated for life in the modern, contemporary and designer-friendly home.
This is HomeHero, an innovative and decidedly good-looking take on the essential home fire extinguisher. As you can see, there’s no rubber hoses and it’s not red, just a neutral white to blend in with your Internet-enabled fridge, off-white marble flooring and glossy, sci-fi cooker.
Good looks aside, this is an award-winning product, having recently scooped a Gold at this summer’s prestigious 2007 Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). It sports a single-grip for easy pointing, considerate rubber feet that won’t mark your counter tops and will last up to 12 years [although the warranty is only good for six].
It goes on sale later this month and you can be sure that it will cost you a helluva lot more than those old bright red bottles.-Martin Lynch
[HomeHero]
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
