Growing, growing, grown!
(Credit: Amazon)
If you watch nature documentaries, you’ll often see scenes of flowers blooming or plants growing in quick time. Of course, that footage was accelerated, but don’t you wish you could film your garden with the same results?
While the Brinno Garden Watch Cam …
Blockbuster and Samsung are teaming up to allow access to Blockbuster content via select Samsung HDTVs, home theater systems and Blu-ray players.
Blockbuster subscribers will be able to manage their queues and get ratings, trailers, and other information about each movie directly on the TV, Samsung said. Users can also rent or buy movies using the feature. Samsung will also sell Blu-ray players with the integrated Blockbuster OnDemand service at retails outlets and via blockbuster.com.
Both offerings will be available in the fall of 2009.
Customers with select 2009 Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems, Samsung LCD and Plasma HDTVs Series 650 and above, and Samsung LED HDTVs Series 7000 and above, will be able to access the Blockbuster OnDemand offering for free by conducting a firmware upgrade.
In March, Blockbuster partnered with TiVO to offer Blockbuster on-demand content via TiVo DVR boxes.
Slightly less far along on the road to bug armageddon is Pentagon contractor OpCoast, which is working on some full on “cyborg crickets” that behave like the real thing but have the added benefit of being able to form a mobile communications network in an emergency situation. That network, the company says, could eventually consist of hundreds or thousands of the crickets which, like real crickets, would communicate with each other through wing beats, and even be able to vary their “call tone” when they detect the presence of chemical or biological agents, or potentially even the scent of a person trapped in rubble.
Read – AFP, “Japanese scientists aim to create robot-insects”
Read – PhysOrg, “Cyborg Crickets Could Form Mobile Communications Network, Save Human Lives”
[Via reddit]
Filed under: Robots, Networking, Science
Researchers create robo-moth, dream of a cyborg cricket-filled future originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
For this week’s Photoshop Contest, I asked you to redesign some modern gadgets as if they were created 30 years ago. You did not disappoint. And I don’t know about you guys, but I kind of want that Wii VCR.
First Place — Sanford Gifford
Second Place — Warranty Voider
Third Place — Zune CRT
Google Checkout is the only payment option for Android users.
(Credit: Taylor Wimberly)
Google and T-Mobile held a joint news conference last week to discuss their upcoming promotion for the new Google Android-powered MyTouch 3G phone. While the code names of upcoming Android updates like Eclair and Flan were an obvious focus of the conference, I found the most important revelation to be the expansion of payment methods for Android Market.
Thanks to a coming update, Google Checkout will now support multiple billing systems and T-Mobile customers will be able to charge purchases directly to their monthly bill. Also, while the sign-up process for Google Checkout is not difficult, removing it is one less barrier to a potential purchase.
Google Checkout has been the only payment option since the Android Market first launched paid applications. Despite a few initial download glitches related to credit card authorization, the service has performed relatively well since. Purchases are easily completed in seconds and instant refunds are available during the first 24 hours.
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Originally posted at Android Atlas
It’s only mid-July and already retailers are advertising back-to-school specials. While it’s hard to even think about heading back to class when you’re still enjoying the summer, now’s the best time to save on laptops, printers, hard drives, and more.
NewEgg.com is running an exclusive Back-to-School Presale where you can save up to 70 percent off on computer hardware, electronics, and peripherals. For example, you can get a Saitek keyboard for $36, a 23-inch Acer HDTV for $170, and a Jawbone Bluetooth headset for $60.
Discounted prices and/or promo codes are valid through July 20, 2009, so you’ll want to act quickly.
Find out what NewEgg is offering for the back-to-school season, after the jump.
Check it, big spenders. If you just can’t get enough of that swipe-to-buy action seen prominently at most modern fuel pumps and McDonald’s restaurants, why not bring the action back to your home turf? Available now in the wondrous United States of America, NetSecure’s $99.95 SmartSwipe is a USB-enabled device that literally allows you to swipe your credit card in order to make online purchases. Reportedly, this device “scrambles and encrypts the user’s credit card data before it reaches the user’s computer or internet,” thus making online shopping safe once and for all. If you’re still confused, hop on past the break for a dead-serious infomercial. Trust us, it’s a must-watch.
Continue reading SmartSwipe helps you max out your Diners Club card without leaving the house
Filed under: Peripherals
SmartSwipe helps you max out your Diners Club card without leaving the house originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
While even bigwigs can fudge release numbers from time to time, the word “imminently” just carries a certain aura. Speaking with The Telegraph, executive producer of MSN Peter Bale confessed that Microsoft was “looking at launching a music streaming service imminently.” As in, maybe before the dawn of August. Bale added that it would be “a similar principle to Spotify,” but the outfit is still examining exactly how the business model would work. It’s expected that the service would let users stream tunes for free so long as they listen to ads every half hour or so, but for those with too little time and too many jams, there could be a paid option that strips the plugs. What’s unclear now, however, is exactly how this initiative will tie-in with the company’s Xbox 360 and Zune. There’s no doubt that Microsoft is aiming to make the former an all-encompassing multimedia box, but we’re sure it’d rather not convolute things with Zune Pass all the same.
[Via Joystiq]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio
Microsoft to launch music streaming service “imminently,” could tie-in with Xbox / Zune originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We always try our best to keep a positive mental attitude on The 404, so it makes sense that we’ve chosen The Hold Steady’s latest album, “Stay Positive,” as today’s Audio Draft Pick. We also run through the accidental video game archive, shame the Guinness World Records, and warn our listeners about open manholes, literally.
Today’s “Best Web site you’ve never seen” award goes to Derek Yu’s Accidental Video Game Porn Archive that showcases sexual innuendos found in your favorite video games. It’s an easy way to waste a few hours at work. They’re all hilarious, but this Menage a Kong has got to be one of my favorites, with this Star Fox violation in a close second. I also like that Derek and I share the same last name–this Web site is totally something a Yu would do. Nice job, cuz!
We don’t wag our fingers as much, but we have to scold the Guinness World Records for this record-breaking fail. One of the entries on its Web site awards the “Most Individuals Killed in a Terrorist Act” to the terrorists behind the attack on the World Trade Center towers and even invites viewers to “break this record.”
Instead of immediately taking down the award, Guinness World Records compounded the fail by threatening legal action on the ICanHaz network for posting a screengrab that features the Guinness World Record logo without proper authorization. If that isn’t a case of corporate cowardly B.S., I don’t know what is. Daps to Fail Blog for their hilarious response complete with a Rick Roll at the end!
Jeff’s pick for today’s “Audio Draft,” sponsored by Beck’s Beer in conjunction with Last.FM, is Brooklyn local band The Hold Steady. In our own words, these guys sound like the aural lovechild of Bruce Springsteen, Social Distortion, Joe Strummer, and Billy Joel. The music combines various instruments (banjos, organ, piano, theremin) to produce a jamming rock theme, and then adds gruff vocals with epic storytelling lyrics to complete the circle.
The band’s latest album, “Stay Positive,” keeps the party going with a steady balance of hilarious stories from the road (“Sequestered in Memphis”) and heartbreaking admissions of love lost, but not forgotten (“Lord, I’m Discouraged”). Check out the entire discography and let us know what you think in the comments!
(Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET News and Reviews.)
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Originally posted at The 404
Ever since the mobile version of iTunes allowed podcast downloads, there’s been reason to rejoice – on-the-fly podcast accessibility is better than ever, but it’s still not great for managing subscriptions. For a limited time, Mediafly will be free for download for the iPhone and iPod Touch through …
Originally posted at iPhone Atlas
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