Sep 24
The Ten Coolest Car Keys Ever Made
Posted in: Today's Chili
Forget start buttons! Cars should have proper keys. Or tiny pieces of art you can slide into your pocket. Remember, they’re tools for making your machine come alive.
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Sep 24
Apple Updates iMac Processor, WiFi
Posted in: Today's Chili
Apple announced today an update to its iMac computers, improving performance through faster processors, WiFi, graphics and storage options.
The 21.5 inch and 27 inch models of the iMac both will come equipped with Intel’s faster, Haswell fourth generation quad-core processors. They will also both support the 802.11ac WiFi standard (if you have an 802.11ac base station to connect to, of course) for data transfer speeds boasted as much as three times faster than the previous WiFi generation. Apple has also added in PCIe-based storage to both models to support faster Flash storage and Apple’s Fusion Drive configurations even quicker.
Apple is offering the entry level 21.5 inch model for $1,299 with a 2.7GHz quad-core i5 processor, 8GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive. The 27 inch model is listed starting at $1,799 and comes with the slightly larger 3.2GHz quad-core i5 processor, 8GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive.
Sep 24
To combat piracy, giant screen TVs, surround sound setups, and a wealth of streaming movies available at home, movie theaters have been pulling out all the stops to entice people back to the cinema. 3D failed miserably, but vibrating seats have gained some traction. Unfortunately for theaters, Tremor FX has now created a home version of their force feedback seats, giving people yet another reason to skip going out.
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Sep 24
Nintendo hasn’t done a lot of bundling of its Wii U in the U.S. as we’ve only seen a ZombiU bundle and the new The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD bundle, which was released just this past weekend. Japan on the other hand has seen quite a few Wii U bundles, with two more added to the list. (more…)
New Japanese Wii U Bundle Includes Games, Wiimote And Karaoke Subscription original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Sep 24
Motorcycle riders all like to think that their bike is the biggest and baddest. Sorry folks, but that title belongs to the Regio Design XXL Chopper by Fabio Reggiani. It was shown-off at the Motor Bike Expo 2012 has now officially been declared the biggest motorcycle in the world by Guinness World Records.
This gigantic chopper completed the required ride distance of 100 meters so that it could be certified as the world’s largest functioning motorcycle. It measures about 32 feet long and 16 feet high. Its engine is a 5.7 V8 Chevrolet 280 horsepower, coupled to a three-speed transmission.
The Regio Design XXL Chopper was made in about seven months and beat the previous record held by Monster Cycle built by Gregory Dunham from California. Unfortunately, this motorcycle is impossible to balance on two wheels, so they had to add training wheels.
[via Damn Geeky]
Sep 24
How many of you do take advantage of your smartphone’s camera as the primary digital camera instead of using the DSLR or Micro Four Thirds shooter that you purchased a while back? I suppose important functions would still see you whip out that full sized camera, but most of the time, the smartphone’s camera has advanced to a point where it is capable of taking “good enough” photos for everyday use. Oppo intends to change the way we snap photos using our smartphones, with the launch of their latest flagship device, the Oppo N1.
The Oppo N1 holds the distinction of being the first smartphone from the spanking new N-Lens flagship series that will feature a rotating camera, now how about that? Not only that, there is also a rear touch panel that will work in tandem with the generous touchscreen display, where every single bit of the design has been thought up of in advance to deliver a totally new smartphone experience to the masses.
Arriving in only one color – white, the Oppo N1 will tip the scales at 213 grams with its body that measures 170.7mm x 82.6mm x 9mm, and it will run on Oppo’s special Color OS that is based on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Underneath the hood you will also be able to find a quad-core 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor with an Adreno 320 GPU, sporting 2GB RAM alongside an internal memory capacity of either 16GB or 32GB, depending on your budget. Powering the Oppo N1 would be a rather beefy 3,610 mAh battery, which would come in handy throughout the whole day since it sports a 5.9″ Full HD IPS display at a whopping 377ppi pixel density.
Not only that, it has a 13-megapixel shooter with dual mode LED and f/2.0 aperture, which can rotate at a cool 206-degrees so that you can capture images from angles that you never imagined possible with a regular smartphone camera. Not only that, the camera will securely lock at any angle, and hopefully the mechanism will be able to stand the test of time! Pricing details for the Oppo N1 remain to be confirmed, but we do know that it is slated for a December release.
Press Release
[ Oppo N1 delivers a new mobile photography experience copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Sep 24
A lot of us don’t have much in the way of home automation, but we’d venture to guess that most of us would absolutely love having a smarter residence. Amazon knows this, and it wants to celebrate its Home Automation store by hooking you up with a Nest thermostat. The smart thermostat — which learns your preferred temperatures, turns itself down when you’re not at home and can be controlled via WiFi — is valued at $250 and is just one of a plethora of products that Amazon is featuring to help you control your house easier, near or far. We’ve got three to hand out to lucky readers, so take a chance by entering in the Rafflecopter widget below!
Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile, Alt, Amazon
Sep 24
Remember Bot & Dolly’s awesome Kinetisphere from Google I/O 2012? Today the San Francisco-based design and engineering studio released Box, a film of the first ever synchronized live performance featuring projected 3D computer graphics, robots and actors. Imagine two Kuka industrial robots moving walls around and a projector displaying CG onto them in complete sync. Add a second projector aimed at the floor. Now introduce an actor and capture the entire scene with a 4K camera mounted on a third Kuka robot in sync with the other two. The result is a mind-blowing experience that takes CG into the real world. Flat walls transform in to 3D cubes, objects levitate and teleport — it’s magic.
In fact, it’s even more impressive in person. The company believes that “this methodology has tremendous potential to radically transform theatrical presentations”. We briefly talked with Tarik Abdel-Gawad, Creative & Technical Director and Bradley G Munkowitz, Design Director (of Tron fame) about the technology behind the performance. The project uses two IRIS and one SCOUT robotic motion control platforms (based on Kuka robots) plus two powerful high-resolution projectors. Bot & Dolly’s in-house software, which integrates with Autodesk‘s Maya, is used to synchronize and control the performance. As such, the work serves “as both an artistic statement and technical demonstration.” See the video for yourself after the break.
Filed under: Misc, Robots, Alt
Source: Bot & Dolly
Sep 24
Taken in New Zealand, "Guiding Light to the Stars" won in the Earth and Space category of the Royal Observatory's space photo contest.
(Credit: Mark Gee)
If you’ve ever tried to take photos of the moon, celestial bodies, or even auroras, you know it can be a very tricky job. But trying and failing can give a better appreciation for outstanding space photos such as the winners of the Royal Observatory’s annual contest.
The venerable British institution straddling the prime meridian recently announced honorees in its Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2013, and the results are spectacular.
From a shot of people silhouetted against the moon to a view of the sun’s delicate corona to images of distant stars and nebulae, winning selections were made from more than 1,200 shots taken around the world.
One of the most striking is “Guiding Light to the Stars” by Australia’s Mark Gee, winner in the Earth and Space category.
This year’s best space images (pictures)
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Sep 24
Tron Legacy-Themed Nintendo 64
Posted in: Today's Chili
We sure have been seeing a lot of love for Nintendo’s last video game console to use game cartridges, the Nintendo 64, within the modding community. We recently saw the N64 Book Case Mod, which we felt would be a perfect modification for you if you love reading as much as you love your videos games. Today, we’re seeing another Nintendo 64 mod that pays homage to TRON Legacy. (more…)
Tron Legacy-Themed Nintendo 64 original content from Ubergizmo. 
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