Hasta La Gadget!

Nintendo’s Wii Mini has been a bit more elusive than we thought, but we’ve at last snagged the entry-level console ahead of its official release and given it a quick shakedown. While it does what it says on the tin — welcome newcomers and second-system shoppers to the Wii universe — we’ve found that there’s a few important details to consider beyond just the absences of internet access and GameCube support. Read on past the break for our quick look.

Continue reading Nintendo Wii Mini hands-on

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We already knew that the universe had a distinct starting point, and now researchers at MIT have actually seen the very first stars born from that beginning. More »

There’s nothing quite like spending several hundred dollars on some of the most advanced smartphone technology in the world with the iPhone 5, then covering it with wood. That’s exactly what you’re going to be doing with the 10terra wood iPhone 5 case, and in this case, you’ll be working with the Tree design. The folks at 10terra currently have a relatively limited set of wooden cases, made for the two most recent iPhone sizes, the iPad back to the 2, and the Nexus 7, and they’re all made from high-quality bamboo – real bamboo, accept no imitations.

You’ll be working with slightly different sets of tones depending on which unit you get and will, of course, be getting a unique case no matter what as each case is made of real wood. This bamboo is carbonized with the same hardwood floor technique that many modern homes work with, and everything feels no less than top quality from start to finish. Right at the start when you pull the case out of the box you’ll get in the mail, you’ll notice something strange – it comes in two pieces and doesn’t clip on to your device the way essentially all other cases do.

Instead you’ve got some padding int he back and a fit around your device that’s so precise that the case holds it together like magic. There’s also a sort of tongue of wood from one side that goes under the other so there’s an extra bit of hold-together for the whole final product. You can rest easy, also, knowing that your case’s top and bottom pieces will have the grain matching up perfectly, each case being cut from the same single piece at the start.

The 10terra wood iPhone 5 case allows you to access all of your buttons and ports with ease with the single exception being the headphone port at the bottom if you’ve got non-standard headphones plugging in. As you can see at the bottom there’s a longer tunnel you’ll have to get through than you would with many other cases, but if you’ve got a standard set of iPhone EarPods, you’ll have no trouble at all.

This case is going to cost you a cool $36.95 right this minute if you order from 10terra and, again, they’ve got several other models for other devices as well. Every case is hand-finished and has a lovely laser-etched tree design on the back and the brand 10terra on the side of the volume button side of the case – real distinct, real classy.

10terra wood iPhone 5 case Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The wonderful thing about headphones is that you can listen to whatever you want without driving everyone around you completely insane. But sometimes you want to share your tunes with a buddy, or blast your jams at unsuspecting passersby. For just that occasion, the Boomphone Phantom QS 1.0s go from headphones into speakers. More »

Warfare isn’t the only use for drones these days. It turns out that Google is giving the World Wildlife Fund $5 million to put drones in the sky to watch over endangered species in Africa and Asia, mostly to save them from poachers. Plus, the money will also cover software that will be able to map out where poachers strike most.

The World Wildlife Fund has already been flying routes in Nepal with the drones, and they can fly around for up to an hour and use the on-board cameras to detect suspicious behavior. With this extra funding from Google, the organization will be able to extend drone use to Africa and Asia to try and catch poachers going after rhinos, elephants, tigers, etc.

The drones will act as supplements to the park rangers who are already on the hunt for poachers, and the drones will serve as “eyes in the skies” in remote regions. The World Wildlife Fund says that rhinos are highly desired for their horns, and the elephants for their tusks. Tigers are also wanted for everything from their eyes to their reproductive organs.

It turns out that various animal parts are prized possessions among some societies as having mysterious powers, and the demand for them for medical purposes is on the rise, so the rewards for poachers have grown so dramatically that rhinos risk being extinct within a few years unless poaching is stopped. Google’s contribution may just help in that effort.

[via BBC News]

Google funds drones to watch over endangered species in Africa and Asia is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.