Paper Jamz Maker Sued by Gibson

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Gibson Guitars last week hit Paper Jamz manufacturer WowWee with a lawsuit. According to the suit, the company copied Gibson guitar designs in the creation of its Paper Jamz guitar line.

Gibson cites a quote from the WowWee site in the suit,

The designs of each Paper Jamz guitar are similar to a classic that is highly sought after. For example, the Rock Style 6 guitar in Series 1 of Paper Jamz is made to resemble a Gibson SG while the Rock Style 1 is made to look like the famous Gibson Les Paul. You can choose from your favorite styles of guitar, with the styles ranging from the classic Fender Stratocaster the “Gibson Flying V” design.

The suit claims that the sale of such a product create confusion amongst consumers, given the fact that Gibson has licensed its designs for the Rock Band game line, which targets a similar demographic.

The guitar market also named a number of high profile retailers in the suit, including Amazon, K-Mart, and Target.

Two Kinects join forces to create better 3D video, blow our minds (video)

Two Kinects join forces to create better 3D video, blow our minds (video)

Remember when Oliver Kreylos impressed and shocked us by showing that a single Microsoft Kinect could create some remarkably stout 3D video? He’s back at it again, this time blowing minds and demonstrating that two Kinects can be paired and their output meshed — one basically filling in the gaps of the other. He found that the two do create some interference, the dotted IR pattern of one causing some holes and blotches in the other, but when the two are combined they basically help each other out and the results are quite impressive. As you can see in the video after the break, Oliver is able to rotate the camera perspective and basically film himself from a new camera angle that exists somewhere in between the position of the two Kinects, and do-so in real-time. Sure, the quality leaves a lot to be desired, but still. Wow.

[Thanks, Mohammad]

Continue reading Two Kinects join forces to create better 3D video, blow our minds (video)

Two Kinects join forces to create better 3D video, blow our minds (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Best Drinking Apps [Appbattle]

Don’t get me wrong: people were perfectly good at getting drunk well before the telephone was even a dream. But with a few apps, your smartphone can turn you into a champion bartender, drinker, or both. More »

Bicycle lock climbs poles, encourages would-be thieves to look elsewhere (video)

Had your morning cup of Haterade? Get ready to have it flushed out. A team of bicyclists / engineers have assembled what might be the best thing to happen to the bicycle since Lance Armstrong, with the (currently unnamed) pole-climbing bike lock created for Germany’s own Conrad. There’s no word on if (or when) this fancy contraption will go on sale, but we know at least one Dutch inhabitant that’ll be parting ways with as many Euros as necessary in order to take one home. In short, this device straps around a nearby light pole and then carries your bike high into the air (and thus, faraway from the hands of thieves) via a remote control. The only problems? For one, it’s huge, and should prove worrisome to carry around. Secondly, you’ll be in a whole heap of trouble should some other prankster decide to hike his / her bike up the same pole beneath yours. Anywho, the video after the break is definitely worth a watch.

Continue reading Bicycle lock climbs poles, encourages would-be thieves to look elsewhere (video)

Bicycle lock climbs poles, encourages would-be thieves to look elsewhere (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Gizmag  |  sourceSFGate  | Email this | Comments

Tiny Robot Travels 300 Miles in Two Weeks

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What did you do over the last fortnight? Stuff yourself with food? Buy some stuff at a mall? Panasonic’s tiny Mr. Evolta robot mascot walked 317 miles. Now I’m not saying that Mr. Evolta is better than you, but let’s face it, he probably is.

The little green and white ‘bot traveled from Tokyo to Kyoto along Japan’s ancient Tokaido high road, carrying 12 AA batteries in a wagon behind him. Some humanoid Panasonic employees followed along side him, offering up infrared signals to help him along his way.

Mr. Evolta peaked out at a top speed of 2-3 mph, but managed to finish the route ahead of schedule, rolling past crowds of enthusiastic onlookers along the way. Check out a (Japanese) video of the adorable little publicity stunt, after the jump.

Prizefight: iPad vs. Galaxy Tab

The two current titans of tablet computers, the Apple iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab, square off in a classic CNET Prizefight.

April 12, 1954: The Most Boring Day in History

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What was the most boring day in history? Is it really possible to designated one? It seems like something is always going on in the world, right? A Cambridge, England computer scientist named William Tunstall-Pedoe believes he has discovered it, using a program called True Knowledge.

Tunstall-Pedoe fed the program 300 million news facts, including people, places, and events. Complex algorithms were crunched, and the computer zeroed in on April 12, 1954 as the most boring day in history.

What manner of earth shattering events occurred on that historic day? A soccer player named Jack Shufflebotham was born–also Turkish academic, Abdullah Atalar [Pictured]. Oh, and an election was held in Belgium. And that, really, is about it. Snoozfest, right?

Says Tunstall-Pedoe,

Nobody significant died that day, no major events apparently occurred and, although a typical day in the 20th century has many notable people being born, for some reason that day had only one who might make that claim – Abdullah Atalar, a Turkish academic.

The irony is, though, that – having done the calculation – the day is interesting for being exceptionally boring. Unless, that is, you are Abdullah Atalar.

Happy boring belated birthday, Abdullah Atalar. 

Sony PSP to gain unlimited music via cloud-based Qriocity service

Just days after Sony’s Qriocity video-on-demand service went live across Europe, in flies this — news that the aforesaid service will be spreading its wings and touching the PSP in short order. Word on the street has it that the next PlayStation Portable update (v6.35) will bring along Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity, described as a “new, cloud-based, digital music service from Sony that will give music lovers access to millions of songs stored and synchronized through the cloud.” Post-update, users will notice a new icon in the PSP’s XrossMediaBar under the ‘Music’ category, and moreover, the Media Go application for managing PSP downloadable content on your PC will be updated “with enhancements to the user interface and advanced photo editing tools.” Sony’s remaining mum on a launch date, but the internet is already abuzz about what this may mean for the impending PlayStation Phone. Will Sony finally have a leg-up over iOS with an ingrained unlimited music client? A boy can dream, can’t he?

Update: Tipster Isaac spotted the screen above and the one after the break on his PSPgo today. Looks like the launch may be sooner than we’d imagined, eh?

Continue reading Sony PSP to gain unlimited music via cloud-based Qriocity service

Sony PSP to gain unlimited music via cloud-based Qriocity service originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Boy Genius Report  |  sourcePlayStation Blog (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Snow White Apple Laptop Decal: Cheap Holiday Gift for a Geek

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Are you the kind of person who always has their face glued to their laptop? Were you too busy reading up on the latest rumors of iPad 2 or Digg’s inevitable decline that you didn’t even realize what time of year it is? Well, snap out of it, geek face! It’s Christmastime! And you better start showing some season’s spirits!

Or else!

Luckily, the fine people at ImageLab3 are here to help you celebrate the holidays (within the parameters of ironic geek chic) with their Snow White Christmas Apple decal for your laptop.

This December, proclaim a tech-infused Noel to the world with the iconic visage of beloved little person wrangler, Snow White as she prepares to chomp down on the iconic Apple trademark while wearing a colorful Santa cap.

A-friggin-dorable!

Afraid to mark your laptop with too much holiday joy? No worries, the decal (15″ MacBook: $14.99; 11″ MacBook Air: $9.99 — plus $2.00 shipping) can be removed easily once the 26th comes around.

Christmas Snow White is the latest seasonal installment of ImageLab’s line of Snow White Apple Decals (available for a variety of Apple products and models) including: regular, geek, emo, and sexy.  

A Cadre of Coffee Gifts for Caffeine Fiends [Gift Guide 2010]

Good coffee is easier to get a hold of than ever, and it’s not so crazy anymore to obsess over every cup. Here’s some gifts for certified coffee dorks, or the coffee curious, ready to ditch Starbucks for something better. More »