Are they actually made of rocks? I’m not sure, but the description sure implies that that is the case: “Each luminous stone is crafted and finished by hand to make it appear like a real stone as found in nature! The only difference is that this stone emits a wonderful soft ambient light.” And it looks like a radioactive sperm cell with its cable exposed.

Their prices are rock sculpture-ish as well – Nova68 is selling the ambient rock lights for $295 (USD) to $635 depending on the size of the rock; light bulb not included. I really am intrigued by these lamps; it’s a shame we don’t have more images or videos of them. I mean, at those prices these can’t be just papier-mache or plastic cases can they?

[via Fancy]

These solid stone speakers were designed by Vince Alessi. Each speaker starts out as a big block of Indiana limestone. The speaker-housing has been cut from a single piece of rock, and each one tips the scales at around 40 pounds. There are three models available, the Bastion, Comet and Luxs.

Prices vary between $995 and $1950 (USD) per pair over at Audiomasons. You can also order custom speakers carved from marble, granite, travertine or basalt if limestone isn’t your thing.

[via Born Rich via DVice]

If you like the more natural air guitar playing, but you still want to actually hear real music too, the Air Pick might be just the ticket. This fat plastic guitar pick is many times thicker than a real pick, but shaped the same way. When you strum your air guitar holding the Air Pick, each stroke you make results in a note being played from a real song.

There are three different Air Picks and they have tunes from bands like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and others. Specific songs you will be able to play are some of the most popular old-school rock tracks around like Jumping Jack Flash, Satisfaction, Born to be Wild, Smoke on the Water, and Sweet Home Alabama. They will hit stores this summer in the UK and there is no word on availability elsewhere.

[via Pocket-Lint]

To maintain its stealthiness, manufacturer KJB Security didn’t even point out where the pinhole is on this thing. It also should have a USB port somewhere, to transfer videos to a computer. I think they lost the real artificial rock and just placed a picture of an actual rock. Which shows you how good the artificial rock is at blending in. Anyway, the Xtremelife rock comes with a remote control, RCA video cables, and a 2GB SD card, but the camera itself supports up to 32GB. To give you an idea of how much memory you might need, it will take 1GB to store a 40 minute video at 720×480 resolution.

You can order the Xtremelife artificial rock camera at Smarthome for $649 (USD). If you’re getting this, may I suggest that you take a picture of the rock or that you mark it in some small way to distinguish it. Ezio Auditore could take lessons about blending in from this thing.

[via Automated Home]

It’s important to note that the rocks are an optional feature in maps, theoretically to give newbies more time to explore and test the game, or perhaps as an added challenge for veterans. So keep your cool, hardcore Starcraft fan. The rocks are optional.

The reactions of Ars commenters to the new add-on are varied; one said that the rocks caused a lot of matches to devolve into air versus air battles. Others said that the feature isn’t new at all, citing some maps in StarCraft 1 that had minerals blocking the paths. Still others cited rival RTS Total Annihilation, which not only had destructible walls that served the same function but also gave players a “No Rush” option; i.e. units are confined to their spawn points for a limited amount of time right after the battle starts.

I don’t really like RTS games, so all I know is that if this makes it to the final version of the game, “destructible rock” will be the perfect nickname for players who suck, like me: we only last the first few minutes, and are nothing but cannon fodder.

[via Ars Technica]

It even comes with a magnetic pick for some strumming action, and an awesome mini amplifier that has “Think Geek” written on it using the same font that Marshall uses on its amps. Aside from controlling the volume, the amp also has a tone knob.

Ready to go beyond randomly waggling your fingers when you’re rocking out to your favorite song? Then get the Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt at ThinkGeek for just $30 (USD). Requires 4 AAA batteries, not included.

Pardon the lousy pose; the boy got hit by a meteorite. Give him a break. Anyway. On with his story. As if being struck by a meteorite wasn’t awesome enough, the Telegraph article which reported Gerrit’s experience is titled “14-year-old hit by 30,000 mph space meteorite.” Uhuh. German scientists have confirmed that the rock is indeed a meteorite, but methinks the Telegraph pulled a fast one on readers with that title.

Meteorites do enter Earth’s atmosphere at 5-figure speeds, but unless they weigh thousands of tons, the layers of atmosphere are going to break them down and slow them down to 200-400 mph. Still fast, but not 30,000 mph fast. I’m willing to bet my future firstborn that Gerrit’s meteorite did not hit him at 30,000 mph, because if it did, then at the very least Gerrit would have a hole in his hand.

[via Gizmodo]

Created by Mexico City industrial designer Alberico J. Camacho, the ROCK dons a tiny Nissan logo, and looks something like an oversize bowling ball on wheels. Or maybe the Dark Helmet that Rick Moranis wore in Spaceballs.

Yanko thinks ROCK might be some kind of interactive music player, something like the Sony Rolly. I’d rather dream big. I say it’s the first generation of vehicles for felines. I bet there are electrodes in there that plug directly into your cat’s tiny brain, which let your orange tabby become a yellow cabbie (see what I did there?). Go, Toonces!

Of course, my all my hopes and dreams of kitty traffic jams were shattered when I stumbled onto Alberico’s portfolio over on Coroflot. Turns out the ROCK isn’t a miniature car at all, but a scale model prototype for a concept car that Camacho worked up for Nissan.

Apparently, the car is designed for the Guitar Hero/Rock Band crowd, and comes complete with a trunk that appears to hold nothing but a guitar.

It’s still a pretty cool design, and I like it much better than those squared off “Cube” cars that are rolling off the assembly lines these days. But damn, what will my cat do to get around now?

Just chill these special ice cube rocks in your freezer for about an hour before use. 2 or 3 rocks should keep your drinks nice and chilled. Originating from Sweden, the cubes are cut from a natural stone called Nordic Rock, known for its ability to retain cold (and to occasionally carry a tune). When not in use, you can keep the rocks in the included leather pouch. This also serves as a handy weapon if you feel the need to beat someone over the head.

You can grab a set of 10 rocks from UK gift retailer Mocha for £15.99 (appx. $29 USD). Rock on!

[via roadside scholar]

Guitar Hero: On Tour comes complete with an innovative button controller that plugs into the expansion port on the bottom of the DS Lite (I’m not sure if it works on the DS Phat yet). The game is controlled by turning the DS on its side, pressing the fret buttons and strumming on the DS bottom screen with an included guitar pick stylus. To keep your DS from flying out of your grip while you’re rockin’ out, the controller includes a sturdy guitar grip strap.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Developed for Activision by Vicarious Visions, the pint-sized version of the game comes with about 25 “monster” tracks, and a variety of different gameplay modes. There’s also word that the DS’ microphone comes into play (presumably to activate “Star Power” mode) as well in some whimsical mini games. The game will also support multi-player gaming, with both co-op and competitive modes using the local wireless capabilities of the DS.

Priced at $49.99, including the controller, Guitar Hero: On Tour will ship on June 22, 2008, and can now be pre-ordered on Amazon. So what are you waiting for?

According to the box are, Performance Design Product’s Rock Band Stage Kit is an “Interactive Light and Smoke Stage Show” to accompany your Rock Band jam sessions. Rumor has it that the light show is even synchronized to the music.

GameStop was quick to yank the image of the product, but the listing is still live, showing a 6/23/2008 release date and a retail price of $99.99. If you can’t wait, you can always pick up some cheap nightclub lighting to achieve a similar effect.

[via Destructoid]

-Beastie Boys “Sabotage” (Original)
-Black Sabbath “Paranoid” (Cover)
-Blue Oyster Cult “Don’t Fear the Reaper” (Original)
-Bon Jovi “Wanted Dead or Alive” (Original)
-David Bowie “Suffragette City” (Original)
-Deep Purple “Highway Star” (Original)
-Faith No More “Epic” (Original)
-Foo Fighters “Learn to Fly” (Original)
-Garbage “I Think I’m Paranoid” (Original)
-Hole “Celebrity Skin” (Original)
-Jet “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” (Original)
-Metallica “Enter Sandman” (Original)
-Mountain “Mississippi Queen” (Cover)
-Nine Inch Nails “The Hand That Feeds” (Original)
-Nirvana “In Bloom” (Original)
-OK Go! “Here It Goes Again (Original)
-Queens of the Stone Age “Go with the Flow” (Original)
-Radiohead “Creep” (Original)
-Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” (Original)
-Rush “Tom Sawyer” (Cover)
-Smashing Pumpkins “Cherub Rock” (Original)
-Stone Temple Pilots “Vasoline” (Original)
-The Clash “Should I Stay or Should I Go” (Original)
-The Hives “Main Offender” (Original)
-The Pixies “Wave of Mutilation” (Original)
-The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” (Original)
-The Strokes “Reptilla” (Original)
-The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (Original)
-Weezer “Say It Ain’t So” (Original)
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Maps” (Original)

I’m totally stoked that EA didn’t decide to load the game up with a bunch of crappy metal acts. Most of the songs are from the original master recordings, while just a handful are remade cover versions. Personally, I’m most excited by the presence of tunes from the likes of Radiohead, The Strokes, The Hives, The Pixies and Foo Fighters. Although I could do without the cover version of a Rush song that I already can’t stand.

Rock Band is expected to hit stores on November 20th for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A PS2 version is also planned for release in the Spring of 2008.

[via Kotaku]

The Rock Tamashii is a rather cumbersome looking, oversize guitar pick with a built in speaker. As you “strum” the pick rhythmically, the music plays.

Each one comes pre-loaded with a couple of rock numbers that you can jam out to. There are currently four versions of the pick, including such tunes as Aerosmith’s Walk This Way, The Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction, and Green Day’s American Idiot among others.

Rock Tamashii guitar picks are available for pre-order for $15 each from HimeyaShop.

Line 6′s Pocket POD is a handheld device that plugs in between your guitar and your amp, and lets you add a huge number of studio-quality sound effects to your jams. It’s loaded with sonic profiles that simulate the sound of a variety of amps, cabinets, microphones, and even recording studio acoustics. The Pocket POD can also add all sorts of effects like chorus, echo, flanger and tremelo to your melodic stylings.

In addition, the pint-sized effects powerhouse crams in over 300 presets that were programmed by professional musicians from bands like Maroon 5, P.O.D., Dashboard Confessional and 311 to name a few. Plug it into your computer, and you can create your own tone library or download thousands created by guitarists around the world.

All of this power comes packed into a device that’s only about 5″ x 3.5″ x 2″, and runs off of AAA batteries (or a power adapter when you’re not on the move.) You can even plug in your MP3 player for a backing track, and then hook up your headphones so you can have a complete portable jam session. The Pocket POD is available now for about $129.99.

Be sure to check out the video of the Pocket POD in action here.

The Air Guitar Pro starts out looking like the end of a guitar neck, but that’s where the resemblance ends. The rest of the guitar is nowhere to be found.

You play the Air Guitar by holding your fingers on chord buttons on the fretboard, and then strumming in the air. It works its magic by using infrared sensor in the neck of the guitar to detect your hand motions. While the battery-operated Air Guitar does have a built in speaker, you can also connect it to an external amplifier when you want to crank up the volume.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

In addition to jamming out your own chords, the Air Guitar comes preloaded with ten tracks for beginners to play along with. Among the tunes: Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet), Walk This Way (Aerosmith), and Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple) among others.

Importer HimeyaShop is taking pre-orders now for $27 USD, and expects to start shipping them out around July 25.