Hasta La Gadget!

I know for a fact that I’m not the only guy who LOVES peeing into public urinals that have a bed of ice cubes at the base. I assume bars and clubs place the ice there to damper any “ricochet” from hitting the floor and to mitigate the sometimes pungent aroma of rented beer. But whatever its purpose, peeing on ice is fun! The cubes melt away into nothingness as soon as they come into contact with the warm stream of urine. It’s exactly like playing Super Breakout. With pee. This is the secret game of men everywhere. Taking this phenomenon to the next logical level, the good people at Sega have created a video game system built for public receptacles that you can play with your urine.

The system includes a screen directly over the urinal that reacts to the liquid it collects. The system can be a benefit for bars and clubs looking to keep any mess off the floor by providing a “reward” for drunken patrons to collect their fluid deposits in the right location. It also gives pee-ers an activity to occupy their mind during the isolated act of urination. And Sega will get a chance to sell advertising space for a very captive audience.

Everybody wins.

(For you ladies who are looking for the men in their lives to be more open about their inner psyches, this is an example of some of the things we keep inside. Think long and hard if this is really what you want to hear more about.)

via PopSci

And you thought your year-end PowerPoint — complete with that snazzy “Ding!” after every slide — was something to admire. The video below is a Google Demo Slam entrant, going up against a Voice Search piece featuring Maria Sharapova. We know precious little about what it took to create, but somehow or another, a trio of animators created a mind-blowing 450 page presentation in just three days, and none of ’em were located in the same space. Thankfully for you, it’s all explained in a blistering one minute, twenty-nine second YouTube clip. Enjoy.

Continue reading Google Docs presentation makes PowerPoint weep, beg for mercy (video)

Google Docs presentation makes PowerPoint weep, beg for mercy (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Case-maker Powis just announced that its iPad Cover, the Powis iCase, is available in two new designs: Tan Pebble Leather and Antique Book. A stylish case, its looks are inspired by those of antique books. It keeps your iPad slim and portable, while delivering sturdy protection. It also functions as a stand offering several flexible positions, and it’s available in over 40 patterns and designs. The cases can also be personalized with a name, inscription, favorite quote, or personal message on the inside cover. Powis can also print company logos.

Listen up last-minute shoppers, because Powis wants your business. It’s offering a buy one, get one 50 percent off deal. This promotion will run through December 21, with shipping options to deliver your case by December 25. Case prices range form $49.95 for a patterned case to $79.95 for a premium leather model.

LG’s set aside quite a big chunk of change — 21 trillion won (about $18 billion) — for investments next year, almost 12 percent higher than its 2010 allowance. And a good chunk of that, 14.2 trillion won, is going to electronics: smartphones, tablets, advanced TVs and components for 3DTVs, according to the Wall Street Journal. (The rest, if you’re curious, is going into medical products, electric vehicle batteries, and an assortment of other businesses.) True, LG’s position in the smartphone market isn’t quite what it wanted — its now-former CEO Nam Yong claimed responsibility and retired in September — but we’d be lying if we said we haven’t been smitten with its Optimus lineup of Android handsets lately, and already we’ve seen some impressive future devices. Now, those tablet investments… figure out an OS yet? Can we make suggestions?

LG commits to major smartphone, tablet, and smart TV investments for New Year’s resolution originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google TV was suppose to be center stage for CES 2011. According to a report by The New York Times, however, we might not be seeing all that much out of the service as the country’s largest consumer electronics show.

Google has reportedly asked Toshiba, LG, and Sharp to hold off on debuting their entries, thanks to poor early reviews of the Google TV software. According to The Times, the request “caught some of the manufacturers off guard.”

Google chalked the news up to “rumors and speculation” and refused to comment on it, saying generically, “Our long-term goal is to collaborate with a broad community of consumer electronics manufacturers to help drive the next-generation TV-watching experience, and we look forward to working with other partners to bring more devices to market in the coming years.”

Units from Sony and Logitech have already hit the market, of course. Samsung will apparently be the one manufacturer to introduce Google TV hardware at CES. Toshiba, for its part, seems to have confirmed that it won’t be introducing complementary hardware for the show.

Said a Toshiba exec, “We will not be announcing a Toshiba TV or Blu-ray player or demonstrating the products at C.E.S. We have an understanding with Google about the future product roadmap and will bring the right product out at the right time frame.”