Archive for May 2014

Long before we were using our joysticks to play Space Invaders and Galaga, they were using joysticks in the space program. In 1971, Apollo 15 became the fourth manned mission to land on the moon. Mission commander Dave Scott had to manually guide the Falcon lunar landing module back on course after it veered away from the intended landing site.

These boots are made from snakeskin. Not only that, but they also have actual cobra heads on the tips. They’re the perfect shoes for Cobra Commander or for an Indiana Jones villain. This is probably the one thing that would make Indy soil himself and run off into the night, never to return again.

Last year we featured Dexter Industries’ Bookreader, a device mostly made of LEGO and a Raspberry Pi that can read text from a Nexus 7 tablet. It seems like the contraption was a hit, but people kept telling the company to make one that can read actual books on its own.

Parrot has been making automated flying drones for a while. The first of them was the AR.Drone. While at least one person has hacked their AR.Drone to be controlled using an Oculus Rift, Parrot has unveiled that it’s next drone – dubbed the Bebop – will offer optional Oculus Rift support.

If you have lots of leftovers around your house that you want to save, be it plates of food or fruit you didn’t finish, you are provably adept at using foil or plastic wrap to keep it fresh.

A group of kids under the name Hedron Design have come up with a better deck box. Instead of an upright box with a lid that opens upward, Hedron’s DECA houses cards in a horizontal position and has a lid that opens diagonally.

The crazy stuff you can buy in Japan never ceases to amaze me – and the sheer amount of it that is Hello Kitty themed is even more staggering. Now, you too can embrace your love for all things Hello Kitty with some uncomfortable and freaky looking contact lenses!

You may have seen videos of people being floored by the virtual roller coaster demo for the Oculus Rift. Edmond O’Driscoll and Jonathan Forder recently took the experience to another level by recreating a roller coaster ride for the Rift, and then watching that recreation while riding the actual roller coaster.

If you’ve never played Octodad or its sequel Dadliest Catch,you owe it to yourself to try this quirky game in which you play an anthropomorphic octopus who’s attempting to live his life as a normal human being.

LEGO enthusiast Chris McVeigh aka PowerPig is known for his miniature LEGO models of old electronics and computers, particularly Apple’s early products. His latest creation is a model of the Apple II.

We’ve featured a sneaky book-shaped pillow before, but it’s quite expensive for what it does. On the other hand, no one’s going to mistake ThinkGeek’s Olde Book Pillow Classics for actual books, but they’re more affordable.

Rumors of the appearance and dimensions of the upcoming iPhones have been circulating for months, prompting this hilarious application for 3D printing. A couple of folks have created 3D files based on the rumors, so Apple fans can print mockups of the iPhone 6… and do who knows what with them.

Simpsons fans will instantly recognize this great green car. It appeared in the show in season two when Homer discovered he had a half-brother named Herb who was the CEO of Powell Motors. Herb gave Homer a job at the company and let him design the car of his dreams.

When my kids were small enough that they had to be in car seats or boosters, we never went anywhere that we didn’t have our car or a seat for them. I never really thought about what you do when traveling with small kids that need a car seat and your only transportation is a taxi or car you hire.

As computers become smaller, thinner and more mobile, casemodding seems to be a dying art. That’s too bad. I was hoping that more people trick out their smartphones, tablets and AIO PCs, but that doesn’t seem to be the case (pun intended.)

Alain Wildgen converts scenes from old video games to 3D artworks by hand. For each game, Alain looks for a good screenshot online and prints that on paper. He then adds depth to the scene by cutting the print into several pieces and using foam rubber to raise some of the pieces above the others.