Apr 23

I Ate the World’s Largest Cheeto Over the World’s Most Expensive Keyboard

Posted in: keyboard, Today's Chili, top

Here’s something gross: I was given the world’s largest Cheeto. So of course I had to eat it over the Optimus Maximus keyboard. Don’t try this at home.

Because I am the token shameless jackass of the Gizmodo crew, I was the first person that came to mind when Rothman was offered a chance at the “World’s Largest Cheeto.” This one-of-a-kind object is more buoy than snack, with the middle completely unseasoned by cheese and tasting basically exactly like styrofoam.

But I persevered. It was stale and horrible. I will never eat Cheetos again. But hey, who am I to turn down a challenge of this magnitude?

Also, sorry for ruining your keyboard, Art Lebedev. It was in the name of science.

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Apr 22

Can the iPod Shuffle Be Swallowed?

Posted in: Apple, Today's Chili, top, video

Someone asked that question when the tiny shuffle came out, so we tried it. Well, we didn’t, but we found someone who did: The very sweet sword-swallower Heather Holiday, from the Coney Island Circus.

Heather is a professional sword swallower. Someone with no gag reflex—or better said, trained to suppress it while swallowing 36-inch long solid steel swords down her throat. No tricks, no smoke and mirrors. She’s the real deal. I saw her swallow an entire—and very large—soup spoon with my own eyes in a second. She didn’t even blinked. She gobbled it down like I eat maple-syrup-bathed buttermilk pancakes.

Needless to say, she had the right credentials to try our test: Swallow the tiny, 1.8 x 0.7 x 0.3-inch iPod shuffle and then take it out again, after we have listened to a couple of songs thanks to the in-cable remote control—which is a bad idea for regular use, but it’s great to play songs when someone has the iPod down the esophagus.

Unfortunately, as you will see in the video, she wasn’t able to do it for a number of reasons. First, the iPod shuffle is way too light. Apart from controlling your gag reflex, her technique for swallowing swords use the force of gravity to pull them down. She also uses her esophagus muscles to control how fast it gets in her body, but the gravity is what pull downs the sword. With the iPod shuffle—which is only 0.38 ounces or 10.7 grams—this was impossible. The iPod just hanged there and had to be pushed with her hand or a large object—like a spoon—to get into the entry of her throat. However, from there it was not possible to make it go down.

Heather thinks she can do it with more training—or maybe pushing it with something larger—so she took the iPod with her and will be back when she can do it. Until then, here’s the answer to the question: No, you can’t swallow the iPod shuffle, even if it’s small enough to get it in. If the iPod shuffle is sword-swallower proof, it’s certainly child- and moron-proof.

Heather Holiday photo by Roma Steel

[Check Heather Holiday’s page here]

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Apr 15

10 of the Geekiest Music Videos of All Time

Posted in: Today's Chili, top, videos

Music videos are made to appeal to non-geek masses, but some were made by some bigtime nerds—while others are just are unmistakeably nerdy. You already know where we’re going with this, so let’s just move:


I had to kick off this otherwise unordered list with the all-time geekiest song, Mr. Thomas Dolby‘s “She Blinded Me With Science,” a comic video that started the whole ball rolling.

The Beastie Boys, nerdy at heart, do battle with a giant boxy robot over Tokyo. Exactly.

Michael Jackson‘s bizarre stop-motion video from that period after he was huge but before he was really really creepy.

Ah Spike Jonze, you are the prince of Geek Video. May your army of bad dancers never want for recruits.

Speaking of Spike, here’s an overly elaborate video of a smooth song. How’d they do that? ACTING! No, wait, SHOOTING IN REVERSE WITH NO CUTS!

Before he became a Hobbit, Peter Gabriel was a video pioneer, experimenting with a lot of at times kinky stop-motion photography. “Sledgehammer” is the epitome of the style.

There’s stop motion, and then there’s Lego stop motion, which Michel Gondry used to pretty up the White Stripes.

I may be too old to consider Power Rangers nostalgia, but there’s definitely fun to be had with the Bag Raiders (Adrian says he wants more Zords).

Weird Al speaks nerd. So many gems to choose from, but “White & Nerdy” really sums it up.

Saving the best for last, here’s the otherwise extra-classy Dire Straits cheesing it up bigtime—with real (primitive) computer animation!

If you can’t get those MTV embeds, here’s Weird Al and Dire Straits on YouTube, sadly not available for embedding.

And if you’ve got your own favorite geek videos, embed them below. That’s what enhanced comments are all about!

Listening Test: It’s music tech week at Gizmodo.

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Apr 01

PRODUCT video review BAD: Norton security 360 software CD

Posted in: Today's Chili, top, video

Dear Friend , This video review was specially selected to be sent to you ! Software security but not always Top 10. Do we put Norton 360 in front of Investors daily? Monitor video above.

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Mar 27

The Beautiful, Scary Robots of Shigeo Hirose

Posted in: feature, Robots, Today's Chili, top, video


There are plenty of robot builders, but none bring as much elegance to engineering as Shigeo Hirose. His creatures are Star Wars, Iron Giant and Dean Kamen rolled into one cybernetic maki.

Truth is, I’d never heard of Shigeo Hirose or the Hirose-Fukushima Robotics Lab at Tokyo Tech until I read Wired for War—author PW Singer, featured in our interview here, sings the praises of the robot master, possibly the world’s foremost.

As you can see in the montage and the rundown, below, the dude has been building stuff for years, and things he designed 30 years ago, still seem startling compared to the commercial robotics we’ve grown used to. Swimming snakes, tiny velociraptors, and giant hands that close around women’s waists—this guy seems to know that the real fuel of robotic development is a careful combination of humor and fear.

Make sure you watch all three minutes of the video—the last 30 seconds feature a rollerskating robot that quite frankly blew my mind. Here’s a rundown of the featured models, in the order in which they appear in the video:

Active Code Mechanism R5 (2005) – This swimming snake scared the hell out of me. I used to be afraid of sharks, now sharks should be afraid of ACM.

Elastor (????) – What’s cool about this slinky with a claw is that it can easily reach things a human arm can’t. That and it looks like the prototype for the Lost In Space robot. Danger!

Genbu (1995) – This “articulated multi-wheeled mobile robot” is one of many robots Hirose has designed that can navigate over debris. What makes this one special is it’s shiny silver spiky look—like it’s also a lot of fun at S&M parties.

Soft Gripper II (1978) – We have all seen this in movies: The robot hand reaches out and grabs someone, King Kong style, around the waste. But when you see it demonstrated in real life, with a giggling woman, it’s frankly chilling. Where’s the rest of your gargantuan killer robot, Hirose? Wait, don’t answer that.

VmaxCarrier (2000) – This “holonomic omni-directional vehicle” at first reminded me of Eddie Murphy’s Billy Ray Valentine, panhandling the beginning of Trading Places. Then I glimpsed the underside of this lightweight device—with its four omni-discs, each with eight motorized wheels (for a total of 32 wheels)—and realized this was no movie prop.

Titrus III (????) – I think the lack of a page describing this robot confirms that Hirose only did it to show that he could. The shuffling little dinobot may be more cute than practical, but damn if I don’t want six of them.

SMC Rover (1997) – This planetary exploration robot can send its wheeled legs off on autonomous missions, owing to motors and batteries housed in the wheels themselves. It’s brilliant and whimsical, but it also reminds me of John Carpenter’s The Thing for some reason.

TAQT Carrier (1991) – This mechanical wheelchair is no match for Dean Kamen’s pre-Segway one, but it was built many years earlier, and has a rounded styling that reminds me of Star Wars, like it could be found on Tatooine.

Soryu V (1997) – One set of treads, and a robot can fall on its back as it climbs vertical terrain. Two or three, as in this case, and it’s suddenly more adaptable. Here, to prove the point, Hirose shows it on grass and snow.

Roller-Walker (1994) – It’s a rollerskating robot. A rollerskating robot. It’s like Xanadu meets Short Circuit. Somebody call Steve Guttenberg, Olivia Newton-John and Jeff Lynne, pronto.

More fun with Shigeo Hirose:

• BBC gallery of his “robot menagerie,” including the wall climbing “Ninja” not included in the video.

• Hirose-Fukushima Robotics Lab, website in English

• Wired for War book on Amazon and author site

Video montage expertly assembled and edited by our own Mike Byhoff; “Music for a Found Harmonium” and other yodels, airs and preludes by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra available for MP3 download at Amazon.com.

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Mar 25

We Discover the Dark Side of the New iPod Shuffle

Posted in: Apple, Humor, ipod, Today's Chili, top


The new iPod Shuffle might seem innocent enough, but after having to listen to your music selection hour after hour, even it reaches its breaking point.

We teamed up with our friends over at UCBComedy.com to create this, our first original comedic video. It was written by myself and Mark Wilson, directed by Will Hines, edited by Nate Dern, and stars me.

Let us know what you think! Unless you don’t like it, in which case keep your opinions to your damn self. We’re sensitive. [UCBComedy]

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Mar 10

What If the iPhone Got Invented in 1990?

Posted in: Today's Chili, top, video

Yesterday you saw the iPhone prototype with secret messages, but here you have it in full video action. It’s ultra fast, but it looks like if it was designed in the 90s. By Jean-Luc Picard.

I like how the matte screen looks. And definitely, I love how fast this thing is. The Interface icons are fugly, but the combination of colors and the rounded buttons remind me of the computer consoles in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Not bad at all. Actually, someone should try something like that for real: A total ST:TNG makeover of the iPhone interface. [eBay via Nowhere Else]

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Feb 17

Android G2 Hands On: Close to Perfection

Posted in: Android, feature, hands-on, HTC, mwc, mwc09, smartphone, Today's Chili, top, video, vodafone

HTC and Google are getting closer to perfection with the new Android G2, the HTC Magic. Nice finish, great form factor. Check out our video, including the obligatory comparison with Apple’s iPhone, and hands-on impressions:

The bad news first: Apart from my gripes about the user interface—which are still there—there is one but. A big BUT, bigger than Ramona’s, the planetary lady with accidental moustache who serves the bocadillos down at one of the fair’s restaurants: The software keyboard. On this first touch, the keyboard felt cramped, probably a result of the screen size, which is smaller than the iPhone’s—which is the obvious soft keyboard reference, since it was the first one to implement a finger-touch software keyboard.

In addition to that, there’s an additional user interface problem, this time having to do with perception: Instead of popping up above your finger—like in the iPhone so you can clearly see what you pressed—the keys appear on the sides. They flash quickly as you press them, and I found it extremely distracting. They said that they put them on the sides not to obstruct the view, but knowing the over-the-key implementation in the iPhone’s software keyboard, it doesn’t make much sense. Furthermore, when you are typing with one finger only—like I often do—you will be obstructing the view of the flashing key with your finger. The reason: When you type on the right side of the keyboard, the flashing keys appear on the left. When you click on the right, they pop out on the left.

Other than this, the rest is great. There’s a new Google Mail feature to delete or classify mail in bulk, as well as a faster camera, which now can take video—which obviously means you can play back video as well. The rest of the interface and features is what you already have in the Android G1. However, what really steals the show here is the hardware itself.

HTC has got a very smooth phone, which feels great on your hands and in your pants’ pockets. While it’s sightly thicker than the iPhone, the narrower, rounded body, and weight makes it feel the same size. For sure, a lot less bulky than the G1, which looks like a brick next to this. And as you have seen in the shots, the final HTC Magic is quite pretty. Have no doubt: This thing alone will make many consumers put up with the less-than-ideal software keyboard.

Overall, the first feeling is that we got a potential winner here. If they can manage to make the software keyboard better, Apple will definitely have a formidable enemy in the Android G2.

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Feb 17

Android G2: HTC Magic Officially Announced

Posted in: Android, HTC, mwc, mwc09, smartphone, Today's Chili, top, video, vodafone

Vodafone has taken the HTC Magic out of their big red hats in their MWC 2009 press conference. The rumors were true: You can see the fabled Android G2 from every angle after the jump.

For sure, it is lot prettier that T-Mobile’s G1. Here are the specs:

Processor
Qualcomm® MSM7201a™, 528 MHz

Operating System
Android

Memory ROM: 512 MB
RAM: 192 MB

Dimensions 113 x 55 x 13.65 mm ( 4.45 x 2.17 x 0.54 inches)
Weight 118.5 grams ( 4.18 ounces) with battery
Display 3.2-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 320×480 HVGA resolution
Network HSDPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz, Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
(Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)

Device Control Trackball with Enter button

GPS Internal GPS antenna

Connectivity Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)

Camera
3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus

Audio supported formats AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC-LC, MIDI, OGG
Video supported formats MP4, 3GP

Battery Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
Capacity: 1340 mAh

Talk time:
Up to 400 minutes for WCDMA
Up to 450 minutes for GSM

Standby time:
Up to 660 hours for WCDMA
Up to 420 hours for GSM
(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)

Expansion Slot microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
AC Adapter Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 47/63 Hz
DC output: 5V and 1A
Special Features G-sensor
Digital Compass

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Feb 05

I Played Xbox 360 on a 269-Inch TV and You Didn’t

Posted in: gaming, Microsoft, Today's Chili, top, TV, xbox 360

Last week, I got to play Xbox 360 on the world’s largest, highest resolution screen. At 11 feet tall and 120 feet long, it was ridiculous. It made Panasonic’s 150-inch plasma look like a toy.

I was lucky enough to be invited on as a guest on CollegeHumor’s video game show, Bleep Bloop. Apparently, after extensive work, uh, “testing” Panasonic’s 103-inch and 150-inch plasma screens, I’m somewhat of an expert on playing video games on ludicrously large monitors. Badass.

According to the folks at IAC, who house this monstrosity in their headquarters’ lobby, it’s the largest, highest-definition screen in the world. That is to say there are larger screens with lower resolution and smaller screens with higher resolution, but this bad boy has the highest combo of both specs. Yes, it is large.

Unfortunately, due to it being 120 feet long, it has a ridiculous aspect ratio that’s not designed for regular things like TV or video games, instead acting as a strange art space most of the time. Because of this, we could only use one chunk of the screen. I was told, however, that they have the ability to hook up multiple Xboxes at once, possibly linking them together side by side for some sort of epic multiplayer showdown. I want very much to make that dream a reality, but that’s for another day.

Mahoney and I got an opportunity to go behind the wall and check it out, and it’s a crazy setup. It has 21 projectors aimed at 42 mirrors. The projectors are actually aimed away from the screen, bouncing down and back off of two mirrors each to combine to fill up the massive screen.

As for playing on the screen, it was pretty killer. Obviously, playing video games on large screens is really fun. But in all honesty, it gets to a point where you aren’t even really paying attention to the large screen anymore. You know, it’s only a novelty for so long, and then you’re just focusing on not falling off the damned buildings anymore in Mirror’s Edge. I guess you can get used to anything.

What huge screens like this are really great for is split-screen gaming. If we had played Call of Duty 4 on this thing, for example, all four players would have the equivalent of a 134-inch TV to stare at. But really, a screen like this isn’t even an option for anyone other than Barry Diller to use on any type of real basis, but if you ever get an opportunity to spend an afternoon dicking around with one, you won’t want to skip it. Trust me.

Thanks to John Mahoney for taking pictures and to Jeff Rubin and Pat Cassels for having me on Bleep Bloop! [CollegeHumor’s Bleep Bloop]

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