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super mario musical glow star provides invincibility

filed under: just plain fun | video games

Super Mario Singing Glow Star

Here’s a fun bit of decor for fans of Nintendo’s Super Mario games. It’s a friendly invincibility star from the game, which can play a little tune while it sits on your desk…

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posted: April 25th, 2008 stumble it! 3 comments author: technabob

microsoft mysong generates music from vocals

filed under: future tech

MySong from Microsoft Research

Up until now, singers needed to either play an instrument or the help of a professional accompanist to help them realize their musical ideas. With this new technology coming out of Microsoft Research, vocalists need only sing their ideas into a microphone to automatically generate musical accompaniment…

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posted: March 2nd, 2008 stumble it! 2 comments author: technabob

robothespian masters the classics

filed under: just plain fun | robotics | strange and wonderful

Robothespian

Back in the day, I did my stint designing lighting and sets for community theater companies, so I’ve seen more than my share of wooden acting. But this is the first time I’ve ever seen metal acting.

The RoboThespian is a life-sized robotic puppet, designed with one mission in mind — to entertain…

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posted: January 28th, 2008 stumble it! post a comment author: technabob

playstation 2 white singstar bundle announced

filed under: home entertainment | video games

Sony PS2 SingStar Bundle

Regardless of whether or not the Sony PlayStation 2 is “last-generation,” there’s still plenty of interest out there in the console, thanks to its huge game library and bargain-basement pricing. To reinforce that the PS2 isn’t going anywhere, Sony has just announced this great new bundle…

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posted: August 29th, 2007 stumble it! post a comment author: technabob

mr. hopkinson’s computer: if stephen hawking could sing

filed under: computing | strange and wonderful

Mr. Hopkinson’s Computer

Text-to-speech software meets alternative music with this strangely compelling computer which has been programmed to sing.

Mr. Hopkinson’s Computer sings covers of everything from Radiohead to Portishead to The Stone Roses in his computerized drone…

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posted: August 13th, 2007 stumble it! 1 comment author: technabob

nintendo wii gets voice recognition

filed under: video games

Wii Talking

Soon you’ll be able to speak to your Nintendo Wii. Heck, you’ll be able to sing to it too. Speech recognition middleware maker Fonix today announced the availability of their VoiceIn voice software for the Wii.

The software will enable developers to add voice command capabilities to games with little impact on CPU or memory usage…

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posted: June 25th, 2007 stumble it! 2 comments author: technabob

electronic dog speaks, follows commands, does karaoke

filed under: just plain fun | robotics

Tomy Dacky Healing Partner Dog

Looking for a canine companion, but don’t have the patience for all the shedding and pooping? If you’re willing to learn a little Japanese, these electronic furry friends might fill the bill.

The Tomy Dacky Healing Partner Dog has six internal sensors which can react to human touch and praise…

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posted: June 2nd, 2007 stumble it! 1 comment author: technabob

digital cowboy ca-k7: portable karaoke mp3 player

filed under: gadgets | media players

digital cowboy ca_k7 karaoke

Think you’re the next American Idol? If that’s the case, you might want to pick up one of these MP3 players

The Digital Cowboy CA-K7 media player features the unique ability to remove vocals and a built-in microphone to sing along to your favorite tunes…

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posted: May 25th, 2007 stumble it! 1 comment author: technabob

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