Archive for December 2010

Holy crap, I guess I knew that smartphones were ubiquitous, but it looks like now, there will be a case sold that will transform any iPhone into an ECG or EKG (electrocardiograph).

I wanted an eReader really badly until I got my iPad. I like to read in spurts. I will go months where I read a book each week and then I will lose interest and not read for a month or so – and I find trips to the book store to be annoying.

The Mac App Store – Apple’s desktop version of the iOS App Store – won’t be open until January 6, 2011, but the infamous Hackulous community claims that they have already cracked the virtual store’s security.

When you’re watching the big game, or in the middle of a marathon gaming session, you don’t want to have to get up and go get yourself a cold one. Why? Because you’re lazy. Don’t be mistaken, I’m just as lazy as you are.

I’m sure Technabob himself will have more information on ASUS’ new tablet offerings when he goes to CES next week, but for now we’ll just have to be content with these pics, specs and speculation from Tech in Style and Engadget.

Well, 2010 is drawing to a close, and it was another great year for gadgets, games, gizmos and weird science. Lots of exciting things happened with everything from the release of the iPad and iPhone 4 to the Microsoft Kinect to the astronomical growth of Android, to the abysmal (but predictable) disappointment that was 3D TV (and don’t get me started on the 3D movies.) All tolled, we published over 2,400 posts this year, bringing our total since we launched in 2006 up to over 7,000 posts.

ABI Research has unveiled their estimated number of SMS messages that will be sent in 2011. According to the research firm, there will be 7 trillion SMS messages sent during the new year. That is a lot of messages, and I am sure will include billions of spouses and parents that are angry about text overages.

We have had PS3 hacks around for a long time, but typically, they are plugged with new firmware just about as fast as they are published. Sony doesn’t like hacks for its console and likes us to think that any hack is just a way to pirate video games, not to use the console for other purposes.

I really like the looks of the Leica M9 digital camera, but I would never spend that kind of loot on a camera or any sorts. I just not that into taking photos. I typically forget my camera and even when I do have it I want to pay attention to what’s going on more than I want to pay attention to photo ops.

It’s safe to say that smartphones are becoming the center of digital life of most of the people in the US. When you are lost, you simply open Google Maps, and you’re found. When you need to check up on prices, you just open the right app and then you’ve saved some money.

While I thought that the story of TRON: Legacy was execrable, at least the visuals were awesome. And the plot of the movie didn’t stop someone from dressing up their cat in a TRON costume.

After mechanizing Mario’s dinosaur companion, Flickr user Kodykoala drains the life out of Yoshi. That’s one nasty zombie. Kodykoala also answered my only complaint about Mecha Yoshi and added the dinosaur’s trademark tongue, making him a prehistoric version of the Smoker from Left4Dead.

Sometimes convergence isn’t a good idea. You know those little cardboard things that go around your cup of coffee at Starbucks? They’re actually pretty ingenious if you think about it. I mean, not only do they function as a buffer between the hot cup and your hand, but they can be used as a form of advertisement.

Is this how the Doctor crams lots of people inside the TARDIS? These awesome nesting dolls were made by Molly Lewis as a Christmas gift to her boyfriend. I love the cheerful looks of (most of) the Doctors.

I really have no idea what’s going on here, but this hack involves an iPhone 4, and HTC Aria Android OS phone and an old Game Boy. Best I can tell, Goteking’s Game Boy has been hollowed out and the Aria is set up to replace its display.

There have been numerous attempts to create the Android mascot in papercraft form, but the ones I’ve seen have been grossly oversimplified. On the other hand, this one from deviantART contributor nasman1993 is actually a dead-ringer for the real deal – if the little green guy actually existed, and were made out of paper, that is. You can grab a PDF template of this model for you to make your own here.