Google’s homepage goes amazing to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary

Google’s homepage goes amazing to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 11:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s last cassette-blastin’ boom box is precisely how Ruff Ryders roll(‘d)

Sony may not shed a tear for the 3.5-inch floppy disk when it meets its maker in March, but you’d better believe the company’s crafted a retirement plan for the format that propelled it to fame: the compact cassette. To be fair, the CFD-A110 CD / cassette boom box above isn’t actually a new product — it’s a relabeled CFD-A100TV from 2003 minus the nigh-obsolete analog TV band — but if you’re rocking magnetic mix tapes we’re guessing you’ll welcome this blast from the past. For your projected ¥20,000 (about $215) you’ll get a pair of full-range speakers, 14 AM/FM presets, an external microphone port for karaoke and a remote when it launches in Japan this June 21st. What that won’t buy you, however, is an obnoxiously large gilded chain, a beefed up left shoulder for carrying it around, and a time machine needed to actually fit in while using this. Ya heard?

Sony’s last cassette-blastin’ boom box is precisely how Ruff Ryders roll(‘d) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 08:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Impress Watch  |  sourceSony Japan  | Email this | Comments

Caption contest: Windows 7-themed restaurant serves 64-bit grub in Taiwan

We (falsely) assumed that the Windows 7 Whopper would be the last food item ever associated with an operating system, and now we’re quite literally eating our words. As the story goes, a Hot Fried 77 restaurant has opened up over in Taiwan, offering tons of “Windows-themed meals” for NTD $77 (around $3 in Greenbacks), and judging by the cornucopia of images down there in the source, we’re guessing this is no prank. We’re debating whether laughing or crying is the appropriate emotion here.

Josh T.: “While you’re throwing .bak some fries and a burger, you should enjoy a .dll pickle.”
Nilay: “This is not what we meant by Windows 7 Server.”
Chris: “I’m a PC, and putting down a pint of Beast while installing Windows 7 was my idea.”
Richard Lai: “This is the real Windows Genuine Advantage.”
Joe: “We like to believe that Microsoft started with the restaurant and then reverse engineered an OS.”
Richard Lawler: “Obviously, there’s no word for Seagrams in their language.”
Darren: “You haven’t heard? Alcohol consumption by end-user is now listed in Minimum System Requirements.”
Josh F.: “When reading ‘serve it to us on a plate’ in a literal sense goes horribly right.”
Joanna: “Everything I come up with is just wrong.”
Don: “Can you tell me where the XP Cafe is?”
Paul: “Would you like that in 32-bit or 64-bit?”

[Thanks, Chris]

Caption contest: Windows 7-themed restaurant serves 64-bit grub in Taiwan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 12:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceM.I.C Gadget  | Email this | Comments

LinnStrument multitouch music maker gets demoed on video, grasps for investors

Roger Linn. Ever heard of him? He’s only the man behind the modern day drum machine and the original MPC-60, and he’s also the man behind the concept you’re inevitably peering at above. For now, Roger’s calling this beaut the LinnStrument, and there’s quite a back story to go along with it. The design began way back in 2006, with the goal being to create a full-on multitouch instrument with the ability to let one’s finger dictate volume, timbre, pitch and pressure. No doubt, many have tried to concoct something similar, but Roger’s discovery of TouchCo enabled him to create one sans the limitations of imitators. Unfortunately, Amazon quietly scooped up the startup in January of this year (to have this sort of technology available for the Kindle product line), and in turn, shut down TouchCo’s involvement with the outside world. Now, Roger’s being forced to reveal his unfinished work in hopes of attracting investors or unearthing another company that could mimic this sort of awesomeness en masse. Jump on past the break and mash play to get a better idea of what the world’s missing out on, and be sure to tell Jeff Bezos “thanks” the next time you bump into him.

[Thanks, Peter]

Continue reading LinnStrument multitouch music maker gets demoed on video, grasps for investors

LinnStrument multitouch music maker gets demoed on video, grasps for investors originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Create Digital Music  |  sourceRoger Linn Design  | Email this | Comments

Canon produces 40 millionth EOS-series SLR, half of ’em digital

Oh, Canon — you and your milestones. Just under two years ago, you took time out of your busy schedule to gloat about the shipment of your 100 millionth compact camera, and today you’re bragging about the production of your 40 millionth EOS-series SLR camera. In all seriousness, we’re pretty proud of ya. After all, it took a full decade (1987 to 1997) for you to conjure up 10 million EOS film cameras, and six more after that to hit the magical 20 million mark. Once you blew through 30 million in 2007, it took but 28 months to get where you are today. What’s really wild, though, is that half of the milestone is all digital, and given the state of film today, we’re guessing that the delta between the two will only grow larger in the future. You’ve come a long way since the introduction of the EOS-1, but we know you’ve got a few surprises in store yet — how’s about a sub-$1,000 DSLR that shoots native 4K video and has an ISO ceiling of 1,000,000 to celebrate the rapidly approaching 50 million mark?

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Continue reading Canon produces 40 millionth EOS-series SLR, half of ’em digital

Canon produces 40 millionth EOS-series SLR, half of ’em digital originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 00:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Droid solves Lego-encased Rubik’s Cube in 24 mind-melting seconds (video)

Oh sure, you’ve seen your disgustingly hairy cousin solve a Rubik’s Cube in 3 minutes and 13.4 seconds, and we’ve seen quite a few sophisticated robots do it in far less time. But in the latest episode of “Yes, Droid Really Does,” we’ve got Motorola’s darling solving a Lego-encased Cube in just over 24 seconds. Let’s recap: a Droid, a Mindstorms NXT monstrosity, a Rubik’s Cube and faux techno. Is there any chance you aren’t clicking through to watch this video?

Update: Whoops — had the wrong image in there somehow. Fixed now!

Update II: Drats — the video owner removed the clip. We’ll keep it embedded should it return.

Continue reading Motorola Droid solves Lego-encased Rubik’s Cube in 24 mind-melting seconds (video)

Motorola Droid solves Lego-encased Rubik’s Cube in 24 mind-melting seconds (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 May 2010 23:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashgear  |  sourceYouTube (ARMflix)  | Email this | Comments

Shocker: CEA’s spending report finds Americans buying more technology

Guess what kiddos? That recession that harshed your mellow all last year is officially over and done with… according to the Consumer Electronics Association, anyway. Based on a new report put out today by the CEA (you know, that organization that sets up CES each year?), the average US household spent $1,380 on consumer electronics over the past dozen months, which represents an increase of $151 from last year. The report also found that the average household spent 12 percent more on CE devices over the past year, and individual consumer spending shot up 10 percent year-over-year. Other tidbits included: ladies spent more on CE wares than the did last year (but still trail the guys overall), and the average home reported owning 25 consumer electronic products, up from 23 in 2009. We’re also told that 86 percent of all US households own at least one computer, making it the third most owned CE product behind TVs and DVD players. Oh, and as for those pesky netbooks? 12 percent of US households own one of those, while 58 percent own “laptops” of some sort. Head on past the break for the full skinny — we hope you’re in the mood for good news, ’cause that’s all you’re getting.

[Image courtesy of TooMuchNick / WireImage]

Continue reading Shocker: CEA’s spending report finds Americans buying more technology

Shocker: CEA’s spending report finds Americans buying more technology originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBoy’s FixPix iPhone game is basically the greatest thing ever made

Okay, so this isn’t out yet, but it’s hard to deny that the eBoy-designed Delicious Toys-developed game FixPix is probably the best idea anyone has ever had since the wheel or sliced bread. Maybe that’s a little hyperbolic, but as you know, we are huge fans of eBoy and their mind-boggling pixel art. Now the design collective’s cityscapes and fantastical scenes have been turned into an iPhone app where you can piece the 3D milieus back together by tilting your phone this way and that. As we said, the title isn’t available, but there’s an awesome demo site where you can play around with the concept, and it’s likely FixPix could see Apple approval any day now. We can barely contain ourselves. Check out a video of the game in action after the break.

Continue reading eBoy’s FixPix iPhone game is basically the greatest thing ever made

eBoy’s FixPix iPhone game is basically the greatest thing ever made originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Fast Company  |  sourceFixPix demo  | Email this | Comments

Keepin’ it real fake: GiPhone F98 is the KIRFiest next gen iPhone KIRF to ever KIRF

It’s been nearly a month since a China Grabber employee drunkenly left his experimental prototype next gen GiPhone at a Sushi Bar in Shenzhen, where it was found and sold to Shanzai.com for several thousand Yuan — and the gadget world hasn’t been the same since. The GiPhone F98 features, as all of these KIRFs do, dual SIM cards, an FM Radio, an “iPhone style” UI, WiFi, Bluetooth, and compatibility with 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 1900MHz GSM. And it’s one of the thickest phones we’ve seen in a long time! (See for yourself after the break.) Available now for $150, if you dare.

[Thanks, Jessica]

Continue reading Keepin’ it real fake: GiPhone F98 is the KIRFiest next gen iPhone KIRF to ever KIRF

Keepin’ it real fake: GiPhone F98 is the KIRFiest next gen iPhone KIRF to ever KIRF originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crapgadget: countdown to extinction, home edition

Feast your eyes upon the bloated list of horrific wares we’ve dug up from the dregs of the ‘net for you this fine, delicious afternoon. Most of these “gadgets” are of the home-making variety, so will you waste your money on the R2-D2 vacuum, telling yourself that it’ll motivate you to do that spring cleaning before fall arrives? Or will you lay down a bit of cash for the “toilet sound blocker” which spares you the intense, buzz-killing embarrassment of allowing other people in the vicinity to hear you flushing the toilet? Will you instead reach into your wallet to make the USB seat cooler your own (you know, since seats are so very hot)? No? Well, there’s some other, even less interesting crap available too. Enjoy. Oh, and be sure to check out the Chicken Burger USB hub. It’s the breast.

Read – R2-D2 vacuum
Read – Toilet Sound Blocker
Read – USB seat cooler
Read – Soccer ball headphones
Read – Windshield mount
Read – Chicken Burger USB hub

Crapgadget: countdown to extinction, home edition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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