Designer Ian Leino’s Code of Arms t-shirt provides a not-so-gentle reminder of the three “R’s” of PC maintenance: “Refresh,” “Reboot,” “Reinstall” set into an awesome coat of arms, complete with monkeys, caffeine and assorted junk food. (Gotta love the “Mountain Dude” and “Free Toes”.)

The only change I would make would be to add a fourth “R” – “Reformat,” but that’s just me. I prefer a clean hard drive before reinstalling an operating system. Computer geeks with a keen sense of style can head on over to shirt.woot and grab the Code of Arms t-shirt for 15 bucks.

Since human beings are so naturally curious, some scientists have implanted several monkeys with implants that have allowed them to “move and feel virtual objects” much like humans can do with just their (well, our) imaginations. These researchers from the Duke University Center for Neuroengineering say they have achieved the “first-ever demonstration of a two-way interaction between a primate brain and a virtual body” using brain-machine-brain interfaces.

Like Jake Sully in Cameron’s Avatar, these primates were able to control simian avatars in a virtual world filled with virtual objects. What was impressive was that they were able to identify what an object was, simply by feeling it out virtually in the virtual world. Now that’s virtual identification.

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Neurobiology professor Miguel Nicolelis, who serves as the leader for the study, describes some practical uses for this technology in the future: “We hope that in the next few years this technology could help to restore a more autonomous life to many patients who are currently locked in without being able to move or experience any tactile sensation of the surrounding world.”

…or we could use it to send monkeys into space to convince some aliens to give up their Unobtanium.

[via io9 via Dvice and Geeks Are Sexy]

Well, it’s either a woman or a really creative and quirky kinda guy. (In short, it could be anyone.)

I think the entire costume is great, all except for the mask that takes the whole Party Animal theme a bit too seriously and literally. It comes with a beverage belt so you can carry all your booze on the go, a shot glass, the shirt, and a pair of checkered shorts. The whole set is available from Amazon for around $40 to $60.

Shoes and booze not included though.

[via Gadgets Matrix]

The Monkey Business project was Created by Jan M. Sieber and Ralph Kistler.  It consists of a monkey  stuffed with a metal skeleton and ten servo-motors. The works are then connected to the Kinect through an Arduino controller. The hack also uses a hidden computer and programming from OpenNI Framework and OSCeleton to make the monkey dance.

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The reason the monkey hangs from the Kinect that is hidden behind that white frame in the photo is so it can move quickly. The video above shows how the project was made and lets you see the monkey in action. I wonder if you can spank it.

[via Hack a Day via PC World]

These robot monkeys feature realistic movements and lifelike creepy expressions, allowing them to interact with freak out children and/or other Tandars. The sensors allow the monkeys to change their mood according to how they are treated. So watch out if you’ve been neglecting the monkey! They’ll come get you at night!

The monkeys can be powered up via a USB port that’s located in their tails. There will be three different models available, male, female, and Mohawk. Each of these will sell for $50 (USD). There will be a bunch of accessories available, including clothes to dress up your monkey properly.

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[via Ubergizmo]

Sure, you’ll look like a complete moron wearing these plush animal USB hand warmer mitts, but your hands don’t have eyes, so they shouldn’t care. The “Happy Lamb” above looks like he’s been poked in the eye, or maybe he’s just having a seizure because he’s been decapitated and you have your hand rammed up his neck. Who knows. At least your hands remain warm. And if you’re not into sheep, you can always get your self a pair of peaceful anesthetised monkey hand warmers.

If you really have cold hands, you could always just turn up the heat, but if you really want to look like an idiot at the same time, you’ll need to pick up a pair of these. They’re available over at gadget4all for $21 (USD) a pair.

Thankfully, this dancing monkey won’t fling poo all over your house, rip your face off, or make you buy Windows ME. Nope, the fantastically named Magic Music Monkey simply plugs into your music player, listening to his own little silver headphones, and jams out to your tunes. That’s it, and he’s damned proud of it.

Let’s watch M³ dance to a few of his favorite tunes…

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How can you resist the hypnotic, head-bobbing movements of the Magic Music Monkey?

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Come to think of it, he kind of looks like me when I’m listening to my iPod.

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Z Gallerie sells the Magic Music Monkey for $29.95 (USD), but they’re currently sold out (boo!). If you’re willing to try a little JPY to USD conversion, you might be able to find one over at Japan’s Flyers99, but then again, your monkey might only dance to J-POP.

Once you’re done assembling, expose the monkey to sunlight and watch it move. Of course if you set it up on a string then it’s going to be more monkey-like, but if your children are used to conventional portable devices, then they’ll probably be amazed that the monkey can move even without batteries.

I wish there was a whole range of little toys and other trinkets that could be powered by the monkey’s solar cell; that way even if your kids get tired of the monkey, they can still re-attach the solar cell to other toys.

You can get the solar-powered toy monkey at Select Solar for £14.19 (appx. $20.42 USD).

[via 7 Gadgets]

This imaginative t-shirt by Akron, Ohio illustrator psychoreindeer reimagines that fateful monkey moment with a gigantic Atari joystick in place of the big black slab. According to reindeer, in addition to the schmancy silkscreened artwork, the t-shirt “comes with two sleeves and a even a hole to stick your head through”. Bonus!

While the apes in the film might not have understood the meaning of the monolith (not to mention most of us who sat through the nearly 3-hour long movie either), the primates on this t-shirt probably spent the rest of the day debating between a round of Pitfall or River Raid once they found the joystick.

I guess we now know why apes have opposable thumbs.

What more can you ask for than mini monkeys that dance along to sounds? I wonder what would happen if you got these guys together in a room with the Happy Monkey FM Radio? I bet they’d have a big old monkey rave, that’s what.

The best part? A pack of three of these little simians is just $3.30 each from DealExtreme.

Featuring the most self-explanatory product name ever, the Happy Monkey FM Radio is the perfect accoutrement for fans of monkeys, FM radio or just generally happy people.

The plastic desktop simians feature bendable rubber arms and a speaker in their jolly round bellies so you can listen to your favorite radio programs via the chimp’s intestinal tract. Now is it just me or do those bright colors and head-mounted antennae make these look just a little bit like those nausea-inducing Teletubbies?

These goofy tabletop companions come in green, yellow, blue and red versions and cost ¥1,900 (appx. $16 USD) from Japan’s e-Good-s.

She’s also got some fun Tetris and Pac-Man items if Space Invaders isn’t your cup of tea. All of MonkeyCraft’s items are handmade and prices range from about $20 for pillows up to $40 for� totebags.