Hasta La Gadget!

One of my favorite things is new automotive tech. I especially loved those systems that could detect an accident and call an ambulance for you. Remember the commercials? “Mr. Jones, we have detected you have been involved in a front end collision, we are alerting the authorities, help is on the way.” I love that. Heck, I love anything that makes me feel safer.

So it should come as no surprise I’m in love with ICEdot’s new Crash Sensor System. Thats right, you can have emergency back-up even while you’re out riding your bike. Available as a small aftermarket item to be installed on a helmet, the “dot” system will be able to detect and measure, force and impact.

The sensor works something like this, if you fall, or get hit by a car, the device recognizes the impact and quickly sends an alarm to your Smartphone at which time a countdown clock is initiated, should you fail to stop the countdown clock, your emergency contacts are immediately called and GPS coordinates of where you wiped out are sent to them as well. Very nice.

While the device was originally made for specifically for the cycling industry, it has the ability to be useful in almost any situation where you might ordinarily wear a helmet, think skiing, rock climbing, skateboarding or even some motorsports… I just like that help will be coming even if I’m not able to ask for it! The system itself looks like it will run about 200 bucks and it may have an associated monthly charge. Look for it next year but in the meantime, visit ice dot.org to sign up for more information when it becomes available.

[ ICEdot Crash Sensor – Help is on the Way copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

BioWare co-founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka collectively announced their retirement today from the studio they founded nearly 20 years ago, as well as from their positions at parent company Electronic Arts. Each is leaving the game industry altogether, with Muzyka heading into philanthropy, and Zeschuk into the world of craft brewing.

Muzyka reflected on his years in game development and management in a blog post. “It’s not often that you can truly say you were able to pursue and achieve your dream job; I know how lucky I am to be able to say that now, in my early 40s,” he said. Zeschuk was similarly reflective. “Building BioWare over the years with Ray and the many other people involved was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’ll cherish it always,” he wrote. The two former doctors founded Bioware in 1995, and developed iconic titles like Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and most recently, Star Wars: The Old Republic (an MMO). BioWare was purchased by Electronic Arts in 2007, and its name has since spread to a variety of EA’s other studios.

Filed under: Gaming, Alt

BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk retire, to exit the game industry originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We already know that Nintendo isn’t planning to offer standalone Wii U GamePads at launch here in the US, because the company isn’t expecting to have games that support multiple GamePads available until sometime next year. That’s fair enough, but that raises a pretty significant question for some gamers: what happens if the GamePad that comes packed with your Wii U gets damaged? Will you just be out of luck until Nintendo decides to start offering standalone GamePads? Thankfully, the answer to that question is “no,” as Nintendo will be offering replacement GamePads for the more clumsy gamers out there.

However, while Nintendo will replace your damaged GamePad, it’s going to cost you some cold hard cash. A Nintendo spokesperson told Polygon that replacements will be offered “for a fee,” but didn’t elaborate on what the fee will be. Don’t expect it to be cheap though, because standalone GamePads will be available in Japan with a price tag of ¥13,400. That translates to roughly $172, so be prepared to open your wallet.

Of course, it seems unlikely that Nintendo will charge full price to replace your GamePad, but it could. Even if it doesn’t, the cost to replace a broken tablet controller has a good chance of crossing the $100 mark, so it’s safe to say that you should treat your GamePad gently unless you want to pay a significant fee to get a new one. We should be getting some more solid details about the replacement process and this elusive fee once we get closer to the Wii U’s November 18th launch date, so keep an eye out for those.

Even though the Wii U won’t have any games that support dual GamePads when it launches here in the US, it still has a pretty excellent launch library lined up. Within the Wii U’s launch window, Nintendo expects titles like Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Darksiders 2 to ship for the console. Nintendo will also be adding some games of its own to the mix, with titles like New Super Mario Bros. U launching alongside the console and the long-awaited Pikmin 3 coming sometime early next year. The are certainly a lot of cool Wii U games on the way, but to be honest, we’re just excited that Pikmin 3 will finally get the see the light of day.

Wii U replacement GamePads will be offered at launch is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google’s ecosystem of music and movies has been growing at a fast pace, but today Google announced another deal to bring over 600 movies and TV shows to the Google Play Store and YouTube. Google and 20th Century Fox have been in discussions since July and are finally bringing their content to Android.

The fact that we’ll soon be able to rent and enjoy Family Guy right from our Android tablets has me plenty excited. Not only that but we’ll also be getting movies weeks before they hit on DVD all available on Android smartphones and tablets. Today the news was released over on Google’s official blog.

Prometheus, the awesome movie we’re huge fans of here is actually available right this minute to rent or purchase from Google Play. You can even get it on HD by clicking here. It’s still 3 weeks away from being available on DVD — well done Google! Twentieth Century Fox plans to offer this early access to multiple new movies in the future so if you’re not a fan of Prometheus, maybe their upcoming film Taken 2 will be what you’re looking for.

Google already has Paramount pictures on board and are slowly getting all six major movie studios to sign on too. Twentieth Century Fox is offering tons of TV shows on Google Play as well. While I’m not a fan of Glee they’ll also be offering Family Guy, Modern Family and more for those interested. While this is currently only available to the US and parts of Australia Google plans to further their reach as soon as possible.

[via AndroidCommunity]

Twentieth Century Fox inks deal to bring over 600 titles to Google Play is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google released the latest edition of its mobile operating system, Android, called ‘Jelly Bean’ about two months ago. Since then, Jelly Bean has been reaching out to more and more Android devices. While Gingerbread still holds the greatest share in the Android market, Jelly Bean is fast expanding its reach.

This is manifest in a new research released by the ad network Chitika. The statistics divulged as a result of this research are based on the mobile ad impressions gathered from its network. According to this research, the overall share of Jelly Bean was a mere 0.87% by the end of July. However, this nearly doubled to 1.47% within the next one month. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean factory image for Nexus S and Nexus S 4G released, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy S3 arrives this October, says Samsung Denmark,