technabob » channel

art lebedev’s pultius remote is ridiculous

technabob — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:15:17 +0000

So what do you get when you put your remote control in the taffy-pulling machine from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? This crazy design from Russia’s Art Lebedev Studios was an attempt to include as many channels as possible on a single remote, without a need to press multiple buttons.

The Pultius TV remote control has 99 individual channel buttons along with 3 buttons for adding 100, 200 or 300 to the number. This design provides direct access to 399 unique channels with just two button presses. While the idea sounds useful on paper, the 20-inch long remote “baton” is just plain goofy. With services like DirecTV having channel numbers that go well into the 800s, the remote would need even more buttons. On the other hand, you’ll never lose this remote under the couch cushion.

This is just the sort of whimsy you’d expect from the guy who brought us the $1600 semi-vaporware light up keyboard.

[via Engadget]

fake wii channel: wii bday

technabob — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 17:56:10 +0000

Wondering what Nintendo might fill up all of those available channel slots with on the Wii? Artist-designer Paul Pape has come up with this interesting vision for a new channel, the Wii Bday Channel.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The fake channel is actually a 30th birthday greeting that Pape created for a friend of his (who happens to be a fan of The Doors, hence the music.) He even went so far to develop a fake case and DVD to package it in.

It’s really a pretty amazing emulation of the design and interface styling of the Wii. Two thumbs way up, Paul!

[via The Last Boss]

get the final wii opera browser for free

technabob — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:51:44 +0000

Nintendo today released the final version of the Opera web browser for the Wii. Even though the browser was expected to cost a few bucks, Nintendo is giving it away for free for a limited time.

The latest version features a variety of improvements, including:

Startup time decreased by 5 seconds
Improved zooming and new scrolling interface
An improved zoomed font leaves text crisp at all levels
Quicker access to “favorites”
An ability to auto-hide the toolbar
Search button on the toolbar
Buttons that will instantly type common preset URL text, such as “www” or “.com”
Improved website compatibility
Built-in search via Yahoo! or Google
Ability to view page security information
Option to delete cookies
New cursor animations and operation sounds
Built-in support manual
Parental Control support
Display cursors from multiple Wii remotes (only Player 1 can click)
Optional Internet content filter provided by Astaro (coming soon)

As long as you download the latest version from the Wii Shop Channel before July 2007, you’ll save yourself the 500 Wii Points (5 bucks).

[via videogamesblogger]

wii gets news channel today

technabob — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:39:37 +0000

One of the great things about all of the current-gen gaming consoles is the ability to add new content and features through online downloads. Nintendo today released the News Channel on the Nintendo Wii.

The News Channel features live feeds from the Associated Press. Articles can be viewed by category or geographic locale. Stories can be navigated using a slick 3d globe interface, similar to the one in the Wii’s Weather Channel.

The News Channel is just the latest update for the Wii, with earlier releases including Weather and Internet Channels (featuring the Opera web browser.) Nintendo is expected to continue to roll out additional channels in the future.

[photos via Flickr]