We all know that musicians have an easier time picking up the ladies than mere mortals. Something about being artistic, talented people that have the confidence to put themselves out there on stage rather than curmudgeony shut-ins who only express strong opinions when behind the protective wall of a keyboard, I don't know. In any case, this guitar-activated vibrator will only enhance their reputation as sexual dynamos. Simply plug the guitar into the contraption, and then whenever it's strummed the vibrator vibrates. I'm sure many ladies would agree that it's the only way Dave Matthew's catalog is made bearable. -Adam Frucci
Korean scientists have developed a liver enzyme checker that analyzes a blood sample then connects to the base of a mobile phone. Once connected, it relays the test results to a server at a hospital or doctor's office. There's no word on when this technology will be released to the public, but the Korean Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology has apparently filed a patent on it, so it must be close. That's good news for anyone on a first name basis with Sir Osis of Liver, if you know what I mean. -Wilson Rothman
There’s a budget HD DVD player coming at the end of the month via the QVC shopping channel and now it’s been revealed that buyers will get 7 free high-def movies thrown in too.
I covered the news on the arrival of the Venturer SHD7001 standalone player last month here but now the makers are hoping to boost potential demand by throwing in an extra five flicks, courtesy of the European HD DVD Promotional Group. This is good for no other reason than the two in the box are Troy and The Hulk. The redeemable coupon is good until the end of January and postage & packing for the movies will be free.
The SHD7001 goes on sale on Dec 29, and no, they still won’t tell us the price. It’s $100 in the US so it had better be no more than £100 here, although £75 would make it fly off the shelves - something the HD DVD camp could do with desperately right now.
"We're committed to ensuring that the HD DVD is the best value format for consumers and as such, we're delighted to be able to offer an amazing five disc free campaign to the Venturer HD DVD player promotion on QVC. With this new initiative, we're giving people who love movies another incredibly affordable way to experience the amazing sound, picture and exciting interactive features of HD DVD while helping them get their HD DVD movie collections off to a flying start with a fantastic line-up of titles," said a spokesperson of the European HD DVD Promotional Group.
As I recall from my original piece I suggested readers might be better off checking out Toshiba’s cheap HD DVD player - the £200 EP30, also with 7 free flicks. Maybe someone at QVC noticed that the Venturer deal needed sweetening.-Martin Lynch
Ramon ‘Morpheon’ Stokes, the genius modder behind the insane God Of War PSP, has turned his talents to creating a Rockstar-themed Wii.
After all of his well-deserved media coverage for various modded consoles, Rockstar Games came knocking asking if it could have a tricked out Wii and he hasn’t failed them. OK, it’s not as extreme as the GoW PSP or the Legend of Zelda Wii and the cracking Metroid Wii but it’s still sweet.
The Rockstar Wii is finished in a glossy car-like clear coating, a laser cut and hand-polished Rockstar emblem, custom colour matched paint, colour matched controls and numerous LED mods that Ramon says were calibrated not to be “too bright nor too dim”. Ramon delivered his piece this week.
“The company just received it today and the early reports are they are really happy with it and we couldn't be more happy about that :)”
The God Of War PSP sold for charity recently for £860 on eBay to Ready At Dawn, the company behind the forthcoming God Of War: Chains Of Olympus game for the PSP.
While a tricked out Wii would be the best Christmas gift for any obsessed gamer, most people would settle for being able to get their hands on any Wii at all. Jump for a few more shots.-Martin Lynch
I know it’s cold in Canada but sometimes you wonder if the drop in temperature freezes the odd brain cell or two.
A Canadian mobile phone user said he was ‘shocked’ to receive a whopping $85,000 (£41,000) bill from Bell Mobility for his phone, especially since he had the $10 per month unlimited mobile browser plan. I’m beginning to suspect that the $10 ‘unlimited’ browser plan was not quite as unlimited as he first thought.
Turns out he was using the phone as a modem on his computer for downloading high-def movies, music and the rest. Bell has since cut the bill down to a more manageable $3,243 but the 22-old oil worker, Piotr Staniaszek, told CBC News that he intends to fight it.
“The thing is, they've cut my phone off for being like $100 over. Here, I'm $85,000 over and nobody bothered to give me a call and tell me what was going on.”
Fight the power, Piotr! We’ve all faced less than transparent mobile offers from mobile operators at one stage or another. Next time though, read the fine print. -Martin Lynch
The problem with many hybrid cars is that the batteries used are just too damn big and slow to recharge to make them a viable purchase for a wider audience. Let’s not even talk about the cost.
Toshiba has just unveiled a battery though that might change all of that. The Super Charge ion Battery (SCiB) is based on lithium-ion technology but is a third of the size and weight of the batteries currently used in hybrid cars and, if that’s not enough, it can be recharged to 90% capacity in under 5 minutes. Now that’s impressive.
Toshiba says the batteries will also last for 10 years. The company is planning mass production of the new batteries next March and, while hybrid cars are the first target market, the company held out hope that this technology will make it into consumer products at a later date.
Just think, a laptop, a phone and all of your other gadgets charged in less than 5 minutes. We can but dream.-Martin Lynch
Korean scientists have developed a liver enzyme checker that analyzes a blood sample then connects to the base of a mobile phone. Once connected, it relays the test results to a server at a hospital or doctor's office. There's no word on when this technology will be released to the public, but the Korean Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology has apparently filed a patent on it, so it must be close. That's good news for anyone on a first name basis with Sir Osis of Liver, if you know what I mean. -Wilson Rothman
I know it’s cold in Canada but sometimes you wonder if the drop in temperature freezes the odd brain cell or two. 
The problem with many hybrid cars is that the batteries used are just too damn big and slow to recharge to make them a viable purchase for a wider audience. Let’s not even talk about the cost. 
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
