Hasta La Gadget!

I know, I know, some of us are still pretty upset that Disney has bought over Lucasfilm, and along with it, the crown jewel that is the eternal cash cow known as the Star Wars franchise. Will we see Mickey Mouse cross over into the Star Wars universe sometime down in Episode 7? I do not think so, but who knows what the future might bring in the realm of cartoons? After all, Space Jam saw the amalgamation of Michael Jordan and the rest of the Looney Tunes cast, didn’t it? This unique AT-AT bunk bed is definitely worth checking out, especially if you are a huge fan of the Star Wars universe.

There is a flight of stairs that leads up to the AT-AT, while it would be ideal to place a couch or sofa under the AT-AT bunk bed, complete with a bookshelf attached to the wall so that you are able to catch up on your Star Wars fan fiction before retiring for the night. Good thing this AT-AT bunk bed is stationary, otherwise a wayward A-Wing might just wrap its legs around with an extremely tough wire, tripping you up. Now that would certainly be a nightmare to sleep on, wouldn’t it?

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[ AT-AT Bunk Bed copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

T-Mobile chief marketing officer Mike Sievert shows off the T-Mobile iPhone 5.

(Credit: Lori Grunin/CNET)

The big cell carriers have had a pretty entrenched way of doing business for a long time. Offer a big phone discount, tie customers in for a two-year contract. T-Mobile made waves this past week by rolling out a no-contract approach to plans. On top of that news, the company announced it was bringing in the iPhone 5.

Suddenly, consumers have the prospect of buying a no-contract iPhone through one of the major carriers. This does come with some caveats. Pricing will be a bit different than we’ve all come to expect. There will be an up-front fee for the phone and ongoing payments until it’s paid off. That means a 16GB iPhone 5 will require a $99 deposit and 24 monthly payments of $20. At $579, that still works out to less than buying an unlocked phone.

This doesn’t mean you can sign up for a T-Mobile iPhone, cancel your contract, and run off totally scot-free. The iPhone 5 will be locked to the T-Mobile network until you eith… [Read more]

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Independent creators keen on motion capture have had affordable solutions like cheaper sensors and Kinect-based implementations for awhile now, but a large space for moving around has usually been required. OptiTrack has come up with an answer to that problem, however, in the form of the PRIME 17W mocap camera that it introduced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The 1.7-megapixel lens has a 70-degree by 51-degree field of view that promises to capture motion in a relatively small space, which also means you need fewer cameras to get a full 360-degree shot. Other features include a global shutter, high-speed 360 FPS capture and low distortion, enabling UAV and sports tracking. At $3,700, it’s still not exactly cheap, but it’s certainly affordable enough for indie engineers and animators with space constraints to get started in the mocap biz.

Filed under: Cameras, Gaming

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Source: OptiTrack

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Microsoft’s move to relax the minimum resolution for Windows 8 devices could trigger a slew of seven-inch Windows 8 tablets.

An update to Microsoft’s Windows Certification Newsletter, uncovered by Ed Bott of CNET sister site ZDNet announced the change in the required resolution for Windows 8 tablets.

To claim Windows 8 certification, a tablet can now offer a minimum resolution of 1,024×768 at a depth of 32 bits. That’s a change from the previous guidelines, which specify a minimum resolution of 1,366×768. Microsoft said it isn’t encouraging device makers to shoot for such a low resolution but noted that “partners exploring designs for certain markets could find greater design flexibility helpful.”

Tablets with screens larger than seven inches typically offer a resolution much higher than 1,024×768. In contrast, smaller tablets naturally tend to use use smaller resolutions. Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire both offer resolutions of 1,280×800, while Apple’s current iPad Mini is stuck at 1,024×768.

Reading between the lines, Microsoft seems to be laying the groundwork for smaller Windows 8 tablets. That’s a smart strategy given the popularity of seven-inch tablets.

Apple’… [Read more]

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Finnish artist Riitta Ikonen and Norwegian photographer Karoline Hjorth decided to explore what happens when fairy tales end happily ever after, revisiting their favorite mythical characters post-retirement.

The result, the intriguing series “Eyes As Big As Plates,” features elderly subjects enveloped in organic, scavenged material, both connecting the human subjects back to the Earth and creating a universal setting for the ethereal images.

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