Technabob » living room http://technabob.com/blog Cool Gadgets, Gizmos, Games and Geek Stuff Sun, 27 May 2012 20:00:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Surface Tension Arcane Arcade Table Rocks Your Living Room http://technabob.com/blog/2010/09/07/surface-tension-arcane-arcade-table/ http://technabob.com/blog/2010/09/07/surface-tension-arcane-arcade-table/#comments Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:31:15 +0000 Technabob http://technabob.com/blog/?p=38950 Why go with an ordinary coffee table, when you can get one with a complete media center PC and arcade gaming system built-in?

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surface tensions’ Arcane arcade table not only looks great, it’s got a hidden Shuttle XPC, and an LCD screen (19″ or 26″) under the table’s toughened glass surface. The system loaded up with over 100 licensed games from Taito, Midway and Atari. Of course, it’s compatible with MAME, so you can run all of your personal favorite arcade classics too. The beautiful handmade table is available in walnut or oak and has a hidden drawer which contains high quality arcade controls including Sanwa joysticks and buttons, and a Happ light-up trackball and spinner.

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There’s also a built-in sound system, with stereo 30-watt speakers. They’re also offering an optional Sonos Zoneplayer, so the table can be used as a music playback station from a Sonos base station. Of course, if you’ve got the computer inside the table turned on, you can just use Windows Media Center, iTunes or the music manager of your choice to play tunes or movies.

The Arcane arcade table starts at a rather pricey £3299 (appx. $5061 USD), but you can shave off a little more than $1000 if you BYOPC and software. Full specs are available here.

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2010/09/07/surface-tension-arcane-arcade-table/feed/ 3 Lightpipe is a Pipe-Shaped Light http://technabob.com/blog/2008/06/18/lightpipe-is-a-pipe-shaped-light/ http://technabob.com/blog/2008/06/18/lightpipe-is-a-pipe-shaped-light/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:35:49 +0000 Karen M. http://technabob.com/blog/?p=2579 The Lightpipe is a supercool light that looks like an industrial pipe.

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I love how they’ve photographed it next to “real” pipes, but on the flip side it makes it a bit difficult to imagine what it might look like, say, in one’s own living room. I mean, this would be a lot easier to work with if I was like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance and went home after my welding job every day to unwind by dancing around in my grungy converted factory floor apartment, you know what I’m saying? But I digress. The detailing on this light is terrific and adds to the overall pipey realism.

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You can buy one for €395 (Appx. $612 USD) from DaWanda. Finding an industrial warehouse in which to showcase this unusual light will be completely up to you, though.

]]> http://technabob.com/blog/2008/06/18/lightpipe-is-a-pipe-shaped-light/feed/ 4 Xbox 360 Hits 10 Million Sold, and One More Thing… http://technabob.com/blog/2007/01/05/xbox-360-hits-10-million-sold-and-one-more-thing/ http://technabob.com/blog/2007/01/05/xbox-360-hits-10-million-sold-and-one-more-thing/#comments Sat, 06 Jan 2007 05:05:13 +0000 Technabob http://technabob.com/blog/2007/01/05/xbox-360-hits-10-million-sold-and-one-more-thing/ In the same breath that Microsoft plans to announce that the Xbox 360 has surpassed 10.4 million units sold, they also will reveal that the 360 might just be the living room trojan horse that many thought the system might turn out to be when first announced.

According to this post (UPDATE 1/6/07: this link is no longer active) on The Mercury News, it’s expected that Microsoft will be announcing plans during their upcoming CES keynote speech for the gaming console to act as an IPTV set-top box for high-definition digital television.

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So now that Microsoft has 10 million+ Xbox 360′s in living rooms all over the world, they certainly could be the bait for people to adopt upcoming Microsoft IPTV based television services (such as AT&T’s U-Verse service) by offering a single device that can play high quality games, online community, media downloads and storage, and now, stream live television.

[UPDATE 1/6/07: It appears that the original Mercury News story has since been removed, leading me to believe that this information was, in fact an early leak that wasn't supposed to hit the press until after the CES keynote]

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