Gadgets, Gizmos, and Games for Geeks

The Microsoft insiders at ON10.net have posted this video of detailing the features of the new Xbox 360 Wireless Headset. Some interesting revelations are shown in the video. The headset comes with small and medium “ear wraps,” taking into account the fact that everyone’s ears are different (what happened to “large”?).

While using a small amount of hard disk space to cache a portion of game content is a trick long used by the Xbox 360 and pretty much all PC games, it’s been revealed that some PS3 games would be using a very significant portion of the console’s hard drive to speed performance.

Korean electronics manufacturer Maxian has recently unveiled their upcoming D900 portable media player. The player features just about everything you could want in a portable. The 4.3-inch display looks great, and supports up to 800×480 (better than DVD) resolution.

The folks over at Game Revolution have compiled this list of the worst names in the history of video games. With the inclusion of titles such as Sticky Balls, Wild Woody and Irritating Stick, I think there’s a theme emerging here.

Scheduled for release tomorrow (October 31), the Xbox 360 Fall update is expected to add support for 1080p video output for the upcoming HD DVD add-on as well as the ability to stream WMV files from a connected Windows PC or USB storage device.

After you’ve adorned yourself with some Pac-man and Ghost rings, why not round out the look with this classic Atari joystick necklace? The tiny joystick pendant measures just .5 ” x .75″ x .5″ and comes on a 12″ silver tone chain.

If you happen to be the leader of a nation, a celebrity, richer than god or simply paranoid, Mercedes has the automobile for you. The new Mercedes S600 Guard has factory-integrated preventive measures such as military-grade armor which can resist small arms projectiles, shrapnel and explosive charges as well as bulletproof glass.

UK alt band, WeAreWater might sound a bit like Radiohead, but their video looks like something more appropros of a band with a name like Atari Teenage Riot. Their new music video for “Glass”, by Seven/Seven Productions is inspired by a number of classic eighties video games including Space Invaders, Pac Man, Pitfall, Donkey Kong, Pong and more.

It seems strange to me that a device called the “Coleco Sonic” would play classic SEGA games, but that’s just what this little portable system does. Available for pre-order now from Target, the $49.99 Coleco Sonic handheld features 20 classic SEGA titles from the old 8-bit and Game Gear era, including: Sonic Drift 2 Sonic Triple Trouble Alex Kidd in High Tech World Alex Kidd in Miracle World Altered Beast Assault City Astro Warrior Aztec Adventure Bomber Raid Columns Ecco II: The Tides of Time Fantasy Zone Fantasy Zone: The Maze Global Defense Kung Fu Kid The Ninja Penguin Land Quartet Snail Maze Super Columns With the Coleco/SEGA branding weirdness going on, I find it especially ironic that the most comprehensive details can be found in the AtariAge forums.

For the ultimate in geek chic, check out these LCD watches from Nooka. The Nooka Zub Zen 20 series of watches features a brightly colored rubber casing surrounding an deconstructed liquid crystal display of hours, minutes and seconds in bar-graph format.

I’m a big fan of Ben Heck’s amazing console mod projects, and this one is no different. Ben’s latest challenge: turn an Atari Jaguar console into a portable. As usual, the result is quite stunning. He managed to cram the entire system into a box about 1-inch thick with a built-in LCD panel and the ability to run it off of a (somewhat unwieldy) battery pack.

If you’re looking for the ultimate way to wake up your roomie, or just want to give someone a good old-fashioned heart attack, the Sonic Grenade might just fill the bill. To startle your unsuspecting victim, simple pull the pin and lob your grenade in their general direction.

Alienware’s new media center PC, the DHS A has a slick industrial design that would look great in any home entertainment system. The real killer here is that this is more than simply an HTPC. The DHS A is a complete home entertainment system, featuring 1000 watts of on-board amplification as well as high definition video via HDMI outputs.

According to a post at GWN, Microsoft clearly does not sanction the use of the popular Nyko Intercooler on the Xbox 360. The first Microsoft rep stated that the device simply drains too much power from the 360.

The NV-U71T is Sony’s latest entry into the portable GPS navigation arena. The new model is their first to feature a RDS-TMC traffic receiver which provides real-time traffic data and can automatically plot an alternative course around heavy traffic areas.

Designer Nicolas Cheng’s pocket watch /LED alarm clock merges old school and modern design into a single design that’s simply stunning. The clock automatically illuminates when picked up, then turns off when placed back on a surface.