Hasta La Gadget!

You can already own 3D replicas of your Minecraft avatar thanks to 3D printing. But if you want a cheaper and faster way, you can use Minecraft Papercraft Studio – an iOS app made by UK developer 57Digital – and the cutting edge technology known as “folding” to turn flat paper into blocky models.

The app is essentially a Minecrafted take on Foldify. It lets you browse thousands of Minecraft skins or import your own by entering your Minecraft.net username. You can then customize your chosen model by adding a cape or a stand or changing its size.

When you print the model, you’ll see that the parts are clearly labeled and that the paper also comes with instructions.

Seems like a very kid-friendly app. You can download Minecraft Papercraft Studiocraft Studio from the iTunes App Store for $2.99 (USD). Sadly you’ll have to buy 57Digital’s other app if you want to make your own Minecraft models. Then again you can just create new models in Minecraft itself.

[via Polygon]

When Halo creator Bungie managed to steal away from Microsoft back in 2007, Master Chief’s forefathers were afforded a few years to go dark and head down on a brand new gaming universe. Today, Bungie and its new benefactor, Activision, revealed that new franchise as “Destiny,” an online-required persistent world first-person shooter. Even though the game’s not due out this year, Bungie says it’s headed to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with no mention of next-gen.

The online requirement extends to both single-player and multiplayer campaigns — your character’s achievements remain persistent, and your avatar will seamlessly populate friends’ games (rather than futzing with menus and the like), allowing for on-the-fly pairings. Bungie’s shying away from outright referring to Destiny as an MMO, a la World of Warcraft. “[The] amount of players you see is design controlled. It’s not about stuffing as many people in there as possible,” Bungie COO Pete Parsons told our sister site, Joystiq. Of course, with next-gen sounding online connectivity, Bungie’s silence on next-gen consoles is little more than a temporary vow — Destiny seems a lock for (at very least) Sony and Microsoft’s next consoles, if not also the PC (Wii U’s looking unlikely).

Hard details on Destiny are a bit scarce at the moment — when it launches, if it’s part of a series, how exactly the game will work — but we’ve dropped concept art below and a debut video just beyond the break. The video goes into a bit more detail on the universe, and briefly touches on the smartphone tie-in that Destiny will have (think Halo Waypoint), but for a more exhaustive approach to Destiny‘s debut, Joystiq‘s got you covered.

Update: In Activision’s official PR, Destiny is listed as heading to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and, “other future console platforms.”

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD

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By Daniel Lovering

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Feb 17 (Reuters) – Thousands of items that belonged to a longtime aide of President John F. Kennedy were headed for the auction block on Sunday in the 50th anniversary year of his assassination.

The late president’s Air Force One bomber jacket, letters, photographs and other items had been tucked away in drawers and file cabinets at the home of David Powers, who died in 1998, said Dan Meader, auction appraiser at John McInnis Auctioneers. They were discovered in recent years by relatives as they prepared the Arlington, Massachusetts, residence for sale, he said.

Powers was close to the president throughout his political career, from 1946 until his assassination in 1963. He remained close to the Kennedy family and became curator of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston before retiring in 1994.

The auction will include personal effects that Powers kept throughout his lifetime and reflect his years of shared history with Kennedy and his family. Among them are dozens of letters from former first lady Jackie Kennedy and books inscribed by the president.

“The amazing thing about this whole thing is that it shows the personal connection,” Meader said. “This is stuff that’s true, it’s pure, it’s right from the family home … right from the president’s best friend.”

Also among the items to be sold was a schedule kept by Powers that documented in minute detail his last two days with Kennedy in San Antonio and Dallas, Texas, before the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination.

Powers traveled with Kennedy, riding in motorcades, monitoring the reaction of crowds and informing the president of what his constituents wanted, Meader said.

“He was basically the eyes and ears of the American public,” he said. “Dave was the pulse of the nation.”

Kennedy’s Air Force One leather bomber jacket was expected to fetch $20,000 to $40,000 or more. A pen he used to sign an interdiction order during the Cuban missile crisis will also be up for auction.

The entire collection was expected to sell for as much as $800,000, Buyers from around the world were expected to bid throughout the day on Sunday, Meader said.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Maureen Bavdek)

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By Jess Wisloski, DNAinfo Weekend Editor

HARLEM — It has been five months since her son, 22-year-old Noel Polanco was killed in an unorthodox traffic stop in Queens, but Cecilia Reyes still struggled through tears Saturday to speak about the ordeal.

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Over the years, Mophie has become synonymous with extending the iPhone’s battery life. The outfit’s range of battery-filled iPhone cases has garnered rave reviews across the industry, and even I religiously used one on an iPhone 3G. In more recent days, the company has cautiously expanded into a few new areas — namely, building battery cases for non-Apple phones, and creating the contraption shown above. The Mophie Outride is an action-cam case that’s designed to be strapped onto helmets, automobile hoods and any other place where your average X Games wannabe would look to capture extreme sports footage.

But, unlike the myriad rivals on the market today, the Outride doesn’t actually include a camera. Instead, you’re supposed to strap your iPhone 4 or 4S into it (an iPhone 5 model has yet to be announced), allowing the smartphone you already own to handle the bulk of the work. At first blush, it sounded like an ideal solution to me. After all, I’m generally in favor of convergence and consolidation, and as an avid traveler, having one less thing to carry (in this case, a dedicated camera) is a godsend. In practice, however, the Outride did little outside of convincing me that GoPro exists for a reason.

Filed under: Peripherals, Mobile

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Source: Mophie