Hasta La Gadget!

(Credit: ZMP)

For those who want a shot at the DARPA Grand Challenge but can’t afford the gear, a Japanese company is offering a 1/10-scale robot-powered model car with all the bells and whistles so they can at least get their autonomous feet wet.

It’s still not …

Originally posted at Military Tech

Beware the CarMac.

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy)

It’s not easy doing a show without Wilson G. Tang, but luckily our good friend CarMac steps into the game to help us out! Today, we tackle Cable versus Fios, Adult Twitter clones, and McDonalds’ suspicious new Web site, 365black.com.

CNET reporter Caroline McCarthy fills in for Wilson while he’s off in Rhode Island dining fine at a Red Lobster, but we ain’t complaining because CarMac represents 1 out of 7 total females that listen to The 404. Jeff takes the first quarter of the show to complain about Verizon Fios not running his stick and puck games on television, but after that’s over, we get to more important stories like this a spicy new Twitter offshoot.

Stick around for another Call from the Public courtesy of Sally Henderson and Sean Connery, and stay tuned to the rest of this week’s Wilson-less shows!

EPISODE 410

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Originally posted at The 404

London-based designer Lee Washington has a solution to the problem of earbud cords getting tangled up: He’s made it so they can zip together, like the opposing sides of a zip-lock baggie.

It’s a clever and elegant solution — though it looks like the tradeoff is that it makes one of the two cords a bit stiffer and less flexible than before.

Of course, his solution is moot if you know the proper way to wrap headphone cords so they don’t get tangled.

Lee Washington has a bunch of other business ideas, too, such as paperclips shaped like little men. Cute! No word on if or when his zip-together headphones will be commercially available.

Tangle-proof headphones [YouTube, via Lee Washington]

Apple’s next-generation operating system, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, is due for release Friday.

The company on Monday issued a press release detailing the operating system’s new features and improvements, which include the following:

• A more responsive Finder
• Mail that loads messages up to twice as fast
• Time Machine with an up to 80 percent faster initial backup
• a Dock with Exposé integration
• QuickTime X with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video
• a 64-bit version of Safari 4 that is up to 50 percent faster and resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins.

Also, Snow Leopard will free up to 7GB of hard drive space for upgrading Mac users once installed, according to Apple.

Available for pre-order, the Snow Leopard upgrade costs $30 for current Mac OS X Leopard users, $10 for customers who purchased a Mac after June 8, and $170 for those using older versions of Mac OS X (i.e. Tiger, OS X 10.4).

See our previous coverage of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference for more tidbits on Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

See Also:

• 7 Reasons to Avoid Windows 7
• 7 Good Reasons to Switch to Windows 7
• First Look: Windows 7 Shapes Up as Microsoft’s Best OS Yet …
• Snow Leopard
• Apple’s Snow Leopard Will Triangulate a Mac’s Location
• Onion Peels Back Covers, Compares Snow Leopard and Windows 7 …

Press Release [Apple]

Do you love classic soft vinyl figures from Japan? M1GO is basically the only company staying true to the retro form while giving them a modern edge, especially with color. If you’re in Tokyo you can get a look at what M1GO’s up to with their limited exhibition at BEAMS TOKYO CULTuART.

The opening reception was last Saturday, but until September 8th you can visit CULTuART in Harajuku to check out M1GO and everything else CULTuART has to offer.