Turn Your PlayStation Move Into a Sniper Rifle

ps3 move rifle.jpg

The PlayStation Move may be Sony’s attempt to target a younger audience, but that doesn’t mean you can’t turn the thing into a violent weapon of destruction. The folks at CTA are offering up this accessory, which transforms a run of the mill Move controller into a sniper rifle, perfect for games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor. Keep in mind, however, that the include scope is really only there for decoration, however.
Using the thing is pretty simple–just plug in your Move joystick and the thing is good to go. There’s also Nintendo version that works with the Wiimote. 
The gun is hitting stores later this year. It should run you around $40.

Nintendo President Talks Kinect, PlayStation Move

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Earlier today, we had the chance to get some hands-on time with Nintendo’s eagerly-awaited 3DS glasses-free portable gaming system. We also had the opportunity to chat up Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime. 

During our discussion, the executive spoke candidly about the Kinect for Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation Move, two gaming peripherals that took a page out of the Nintendo play book, following the runaway success of the Wii’s motion controllers.

Fils-Aime echoed that familiar Nintendo sentiment, “it’s all about the games.” He added that it’s hard for him to pick a clear winner between the two devices. “That’s tough to say. I think each does particular games uniquely well.”

The Kinect does have a bit of a leg up, however, in his opinion. “I think Dance Central is, by far, the best Kinect game,” Fils-Aime explained. “For Move, I think it would be hard for me to identify ‘what is their best content.’ I think it’s all about the same.”

Check out a quick video clip of Fils-Aime, after the jump.

Wiimote: More than Meets the Eye

This article was written on April 17, 2008 by CyberNet.

The Wii has become rather notorious for the specialized controllers that it uses to draw people into the game being played. It’s very much possible that you’ve been using the controllers for quite some time without actually knowing what they are capable of doing.

Don’t worry, Johnny Lee is here to open your naive eyes. He has a page setup on his site that is merely for the Wii projects that he has undergone, which there are currently three of. For most of the projects you don’t even need a Wii console… just the Wiimote and a computer will do. To top it all off he not only provides the downloads of the applications but also the source code!

So what has he done that is so great? The video below shows off two projects that he has been very successful at. The first is a budget whiteboard that will cost just barely more than the Wiimote itself. And the second project is a head tracking gadget that could bring a new meaning to 3D games. If you’ve got about 6-minutes to spare I’m sure you’ll find this video thoroughly entertaining:

Pretty cool, huh? It’s really amazing that something as simple as a game controller could have so many different uses.

If you didn’t get enough geekiness from that video you should head on over to Johnny Lee’s site where he has some less formal, but more detailed videos of the projects in action. Let us know if you decide to take it to the next level and actually get one of his projects running yourself. ;)

Ted Conference [via Joystiq]
Thanks to “Change” for the tip!

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Scientists Wield Wiimote To Measure Evaporation

Consumer technology is advancing at such a rate that it is becoming increasingly common for such technology to find its way into various scientific applications. One of the more obvious examples is seen in the benefits high-performance computing has received from consumer graphics cards. We have also seen laptops used to measure earthquakes, and accelerometers such as those found in the Wiimote, iPhone, and other consumer electronics used to measure the flight patterns of the Malayan colugo.

In a recent paper in Water Resources Research, a team reports on the use of the Wiimote to measure evaporation. Natural evaporation rates are an important part of the water cycle; estimates of evaporation are required for weather forecasts, flood forecasts, and water resource planning, among other things.

One of the common means of measuring evaporation is simple enough: you set out a pan of water and measure the change in water level over time. Unfortunately, automated measurement typically requires a pressure transducer to accurately measure the water level, and those costs hundreds of dollars. The use of the Wiimote has the potential to substantially reduce the cost of measurement.

The methodology is simple enough. The Wiimote tracks the four brightest points in a near infrared image. Ordinarily, these four points will be the four Wii IR LEDs used to determine where the Wiimote is pointing. However, by affixing IR reflectors to a float in the water pan, the researchers were able to track the water level. This sounds simple enough, but these pans are often themselves floating in natural water bodies, and the combination of the two is likely to make waves.

To test the sensitivity of their technique to waves, the team used a small wave generator. A low-flow pump was used to change the water level. They found that even with substantial wave activity, they were able to measure changes in the average water level to within one millimeter.

However, they did find a slight bias in their absolute estimate of water level during wave activity. They hypothesize that this is due to a lag in the rates of rise and fall of their float that could be fixed with a modification. Using the Wiimote’s accelerometer to measure motion of the entire pan could also improve accuracy.

While I have to admit that I found this paper a bit mundane for what it was, the idea of using cheap sensors to measure environmental fields is one I find fascinating. For example, I wonder if the XBox 360’s depth-sensing Kinect camera could be used to measure particles such a large snowflakes in a wind field.

A first-order calculation suggests that its depth pixels are a few millimeters across for nearby objects, but it is not clear that the method it uses to calculate depth will work for small, fast-moving objects. Still, a $150 3D Particle Imaging Velocimeter would be a huge win. Environmental problems are prone to high time and space variability, and anything that can lower the cost of measurement has the potential to increase the number of measurements one can make.

The scientific community isn’t alone in getting excited about this tech. Its promise is also consistent with IBM’s recently-released Next 5 in 5 YouTube video: their prediction for the five innovations that will change our lives in the next five years. IBM predicts that simple sensor networks based in cell phones and laptops will be increasingly used to map environmental events. In addition, a large Department of Transportation project called IntelliDrive envisions using embedded sensors in cars to monitor environmental conditions.

Chime in below with your own ideas for scientific usage of consumer technology.

This story was written by Ethan Gutmann and originally published by Ars Technica on Dec. 28.

Photo: ginnerobot / Flickr


Wii Laptop mod ditches the disc, gets ultra portable (video)

The famed Ben Heckendorn concocted the first Wii Laptop of note way back in 2007, but ever since, the modding community at large has been toiling away on ways to improve it. ShockSlayer, a member over at Mod Retro, has accomplished just that, with his predictably titled Wii Laptop relying on a 7-inch LCD, an integrated sensor bar, a couple of polycases and inbuilt speakers. There’s hardly anything here that couldn’t be found at your local Radio Shack, save for the SunDriver — that particular product has enabled him to ditch the DVD drive and install a SATA HDD within. From there, he burned his Wii game discs and loaded ’em all inside, making the whole thing extra mobile. Oh, and did we mention that it’s powered by rechargeable batteries? Because it is. Marvel at the completed device in the video after the break.

Continue reading Wii Laptop mod ditches the disc, gets ultra portable (video)

Wii Laptop mod ditches the disc, gets ultra portable (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 17:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sonic the Hedgehog will charge your Wiimote inductively, but he won’t like it

Sonic the Hedgehog will charge your Wiimote inductively, but he won't like it

He may be flashing a peace sign, but you can tell from the look in his eyes that Sonic isn’t exactly thrilled to be doing anything to support Nintendo. This is the cat that made blast processing a reality, whose addiction for gold rings is legendary, and who hasn’t starred in a truly great game since, well, since Sega stopped making hardware, now reduced to this. Look at him, perched atop a mock floating platform, brown and tan checkerboard base with a green top where you can set your Wiimotes for charging without stripping them of their prophylactics. Though the press release makes no mention of this, we were led to believe that this is not actually powered by your AC outlet, instead by the spirits of fuzzy little squirrels and rabbits trapped within, making this $49.99 figurine from Mad Catz all the more nefarious.

Sonic the Hedgehog will charge your Wiimote inductively, but he won’t like it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CoolestGadgets.com  |  sourceMad Catz  | Email this | Comments

Gizmodo’s Gift Guides for Last Minute Shoppers [Gift Guide 2010]

Your tree is looking a little bare around the bottom, and you have, like, one day to complete your Christmas shopping. (Nice one!) Don’t worry, we’ve got your back with gifts for every possible* personality type. More »

Nintendo Wii Is Greenest Console

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If you’re thinking of picking up a gaming console for the holidays, one of the deciding factors may be just how much energy the device consumes. And according to a recent report, the Nintendo Wii is much more energy efficient when compared to its competition.

The machines were tested by playing Madden football. While the PlayStation 3 consumed 84.8 watts of energy and the Xbox 360 87.9 watts, the Wii drew just 13.7 watts. Spread out over the course of a year, this would mean that a heavy Wii user would use 29 kilowatt hours of energy on annual basis, while the PS3 would consume 179 and the 360 184. That puts the PS3 and 360 at about the same level as a TV set or a washing machine.

Via the New York Times

February Console Stats Still Put Nintendo WAY on Top

This article was written on March 17, 2008 by CyberNet.

xbox ps3 wii stats Have you been wondering how the consoles have been stacking up against each other lately? Don’t worry, you stataholics will be getting your fix in this article. Below you’ll find the top selling hardware/consoles, and then also the top 10 games for the month of February 2008.

So how did the hardware fare against each other? It looks like the PS3 has outsold the Xbox 360 for the second month in a row. You also have to take into consideration that there is an Xbox 360 shortage going on until the Spring. I recently went around looking for a store that had them in stock, and was surprised to see that they were actually hard to find. That could be why the Xbox came up 25,000 units short of the PS3, or people might just be more willing to purchase the PS3 since Blu-ray has won the HD format war.

  1. Nintendo DS: 587,600 units
  2. Nintendo Wii: 432,000 units
  3. Playstation 2: 351,800 units
  4. Playstation 3: 280,800 units
  5. Xbox 360: 254,600 units
  6. Playstation Portable: 243,100 units

And as for the games Guitar Hero, Call of Duty 4, and Devil May Cry sucked up over half of the top ten spots:

  1. [Xbox 360] Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – 296,200 units
  2. [Xbox 360] Devil May Cry 4 – 295,200 units
  3. [Wii] Wii Play with Remote – 289,700 units
  4. [PS3] Devil May Cry 4 – 233,500 units
  5. [Wii] Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – 222,900 units
  6. [Wii] Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games – 205,600 units
  7. [Xbox 360] Lost Odyssey – 203,600 units
  8. [Xbox 360] Turok – 197,700 units
  9. [PS2] Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – 183,800 units
  10. [Xbox 360] Rock Band – 161,800 units

[via Gametap]

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The Pricey Way to Get “Fit” with the Wii…

This article was written on May 23, 2008 by CyberNet.

Sixteen months after the Nintendo Wii launched in the United States, and people are still having a hard time getting their hands on it. Sure it’s gotten a little easier, but you still won’t see a Wii sitting on the shelves at the store for very long. Because of this, the popular console (which retails for $249) is still selling for a premium on sites like eBay. Following in its footsteps is the Wii Fit which launched in the U.S. a few days ago. It retails for $89 yet it’s selling on eBay for a premium as well because stores are sold-out.

I decided to go to eBay to look at the completed listings for both the Wii Console and Wii Fit and what I found was if you want both and you can’t find them in the stores, you could easily end up spending $500 for what would normally cost about $340. The Wii Fit looks like it is selling for around $155 on average on eBay while the Wii Console itself still sells for about $350 on average (sometimes less, sometimes more).

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+

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= Expensive way to get “fit!”

With gas and food prices continuing to climb, and the Wii and the Wii Fit hard to come by unless you want to pay a premium, it looks like consumers might just be better off investing in a good pair of running shoes!

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