Rock Band 2 to include exclusive Guns n’ Roses track

16 07 2008

The unveiling of Rock Band 2′s track list yesterday has garnered a lot of excitement, mainly because there are so many great songs set to be included with the game. But what might be the biggest news about the game is that it’s going to feature the first new song from Guns N’ Roses in 14 years.

The song, “Shackler’s Revenge,” is from the over-a-decade-in-development GNR album Chinese Democracy. Though the album itself has been delayed numerous times over the years, the track’s upcoming appearance in Rock Band 2 has led to speculation—stop me if you’ve heard this one before—that the record will be released sometime in the fall.

The fact that Guns N’ Roses is using a video game to premiere its new music says a lot for how games like Rock Band have changed the music industry: Not only do these titles provide licensing fees, but downloadable tracks for these games are even more profitable than services like iTunes. When one factors in the millions of copies of Rock Band and all the Guitar Hero games that have been sold, that adds up to a lot of cash flowing toward record companies and musicians.

[more]



Make a penguin do your bidding: a review of the Tux Droid

16 07 2008

Falling in love with flightless fowl

Tux Droid
Developer: Kysoh
Platform: Linux
Price: $99

Linus Torvalds, the creator of the open-source Linux kernel, was once mauled by a very small penguin while on a trip in Australia. The experience had a lasting impact on him and later inspired him to make a penguin the official Linux mascot. Developer Larry Ewing created the first graphical rendering of the Linux penguin, which countless Linux users around the world know today as Tux.

An electronics company called Kysoh aims to bring the Linux mascot to life with a unique programmable toy. The Kysoh Tux Droid is a robot that wirelessly connects to a Linux computer (no Windows or Mac OS X support yet) and performs actions in response to preprogrammed events. It can flap its wings, turn around in circles, blink, detect light levels, record audio, and even speak. The Tux Droid also comes with an IR remote that can be used to make it do your bidding… until the grim day when it achieves complete autonomy and throws off the shackles of human subjugation, conspiring with the devious Roomba collective in an insidious plot to overthrow humanity.

Tux swims out of the box

The Tux Droid comes with a USB cable, an IR remote, a white firmware update cable, a power adapter, a concise instruction manual, and a 2.4 Ghz wireless dongle shaped like a fish that plugs into a standard USB port on the host computer and facilitates communication between the computer and the robot.

After extricating it from the packaging, a close examination reveals that soft fuzz covers most of its exterior, except for the plastic beak, feet, and eyes; it’s approximately eight inches tall and rests steadily on three wheels that come out of the bottom. The build quality is pretty solid, but I don’t think it would survive a fall from a high shelf onto a hard floor. The overall appearance is good—it is an unmistakable likeness of Ewing’s original Tux rendering, and in person, any Linux enthusiast would recognize it as Tux at a glance.

[more]



MX-1 Copters from Silverlit

15 07 2008

MX-1 R/C Copter

Named as the smallest R/C copter in the world, the MX-1 available from ThinkGeek with the pricing set at about $50. It can fly smoothly but you can also dock the copter to recharge the battery.

Important Note:
The MX-1 is a 2 channel copter so it is always moving forward slowly. You control up/down and right/left turns. Due to the dynamics of the helicopter right turns are wider than left turns. If you want the MX-1 to move forward faster you can add a bit of weight to the front of the nose. Of course careful use of the trim buttons at the beginning of each flight is pretty much a necessity. Practice up on your flying skills if you hope to challenge the expert pilots at the ThinkGeek world headquarters of doom.

[more]



Blackbox Robot from Vstone

15 07 2008

Vstone Blackox robot

Vstone’ Blackbox robot is reported to hit the real shelves in September. Produced only 30 units, this robot will be priced at 4700€ or equal to $7462. It weighs 2.5kg at 44cm tall.

[more]



Jellyfish Tank

11 07 2008

Jellyfish Tank

It’s time to set a new mood in the office. One that puts you right up there with Jacques Cousteau, or maybe even Captain Nemo. One that enables you to summon the monsters of the deep, almost at will. And one that casts and eerie, almost ethereal glow across your entire workspace.

Unpack your new Jellyfish tank, plug straight in to the mains, and that’s exactly what awaits. This is no ordinary fishtank. No sir. For, powered by the luminescence of LED technology, it unleashes no fewer than three cyber-enhanced jellyfish, each a full three inches long and able to swim, bob and dangle dangerously all day long.

Circling menacingly with tentacles poised for action, they can have a strangely restful impact on the viewer, which, when combined with LED lighting array, gives the whole affair a unique look and feel. You can even adjust the colour theme and enable a discreet but regular change in hue - or pick the one that suits your mood and have the jellyfish perform on your command.

The LED Jellyfish Mood Lamp. It’s weirdly hypnotic. Yet thoroughly distressing and strangely compelling. All in, it’s nautical - but nice.

Includes:

  • 1 x Tank
  • 3 x Jellyfish
  • Full instructions

Specification

  • Dimensions: Height: 25.4cm Width: 18.0cm Depth: 11.4cm
  • Weight: 0.8Kg

[via]



Meccano Special Edition 30’s Vintage Set

11 07 2008

Meccano Special Edition 30's Vintage Set

Hoorah and huzzah! Yes, it’s the 1930s and those clever chaps and chapesses at self-build gurus Meccano have introduced to the market a simply splendid set of rods, girders, nuts, bolts and other such wizard wheezes that one can assemble into no fewer than four different high technology devices…

With fully retro look and feel including a stunning commemorative presentation box, this vintage special edition of the legendary boys’ building kit turns the clock back over 70 years to imagine life as it was in the late Edwardian era. No telly. No web. No Wii. Just a roaring hearth an empty floor, a box of metal… and a world of possibilities. Oh yes. It will set the pulse racing, and perhaps even bring a lump to the throat. Golly.

With 166 pieces in red and green metal, including the wheels pulleys and thread needed to create moving models in a traditional 30s design, the kit enables one to construct a working crane, lorry, plane and pulley.

A new generation will thrill to intricacies and complexity of Meccano - and may even learn the finer points of nut-tightening in the process - while die-hard Meccanists can luxuriate in the sheer authenticity of the box; inside and out.

And who knows? With the able assistance of Vintage Meccano, the youth of today may even learn to take their hoodies off, sit up straight, respect their elders, and actually learn to concentrate. Super.

Features:

  • 166 pieces to construct up to different 4 models
  • Instructions and tools included

Specification

  • Dimensions: Height: 23.0cm Width: 36.5cm Depth: 4.0cm
  • Weight: 1.2Kg

[via]



The Original Newtons Cradle

11 07 2008

The Original Newtons Cradle

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. And so say all of us. However, you don’t need a detailed explanation from the Principia Mathematica to activate the legendary Newton’s Cradle - the executive toy to end all executive toys. Just pull one of the outermost balls, gently release, and set a seemingly self-perpetuating cacophony in motion that has captured the imagination of generations. Tick… tick… tick… tick… tick… tick… there’s a certain hypnotic rhythm to its greatness.
This full-scale replica of a modern day classic is not only the ultimate desktop timewaster - and a dashed retro-looking one at that - it’s a fascinating insight into the very Laws of Motion themselves. Take for instance its practical demonstration of momentum conservation energy and pendulum simulation motion. It’s brilliantly visually impactful. And truly fascinating to small - and not so small - boys. The Newton’s Cradle might look like something that Reggie Perrin (or maybe even Heath Robinson) would be proud of. Yet, strangely, it has stood the test of time. It’s timeless, perhaps, because it helps explain some of the basic laws of nature. And now its magical mind powers and universal Newtonian physics can be yours for the price of a brown beer voucher. Go on. Sir Isaac would be proud of you.

Specification

  • Dimensions: Height: 14.0cm Width: 11.5cm Depth: 9.5cm
  • Weight: 0.4Kg

[via]



Porsche Phone - Looks Like a Car

11 07 2008

If you are a Porsche fan, but cannot afford those very expensive and exclusive automobiles, then this phone is a chance for you to have a little “Porsche” with you every day.

We all know that China is famous for “funny” replicas of famous brands and trademarks. Nokla phones, PolyStation game consoles, Adibas sneakers and so on. Also, they often manufacture some strange designed things. This phone is good example of “strange” designing.

This cell phone is made to look like a Porsche car, but looks like a cheap toy. We wouldn’t even be able guess that this is a Porsche if there wasn’t a big Porsche logo on back and “Cayenne” above the display. Does this phone resemble Cayenne? Even if it does, it does so very roughly. Maybe it can be used as a car phone, and then this design can be at place. Of course, if you like to impress your friends, you can do this with this gadget - it doesn’t even look like phone when turned face down.

[via]



Chewbacca Plush Backpack

10 07 2008
Zoom
More Images

WAAAAAAAAARGH!

Without a doubt one of the coolest spacefarers of all times is Han Solo. There was just something about his swagger that made every girl fall in love with him and every guy want to be him (and let’s face it, some guys fell in love with him and some girls wanted to be him). But what really showed off Han’s true character his friendship with a certain fuzzball Chewbacca was always there to help out his best friend Han - and now Chewie’s ready to have your back, too. Literally.

Strap the Chewbacca Plush Backpack to your back and he’ll be carrying your books in style. His arms wrap around you to let you know he’s secure - even his legs will secure around your abdomen, for some extra cuddly fun. Who needs real friends when you have a Chewie on your back? And there are two extra features the Chewbacca Backpack has to offer. First, his bandoleer bag can hold some smaller accessories such as cables, business cards, or Ewok jerky. And second, there can be no bigger thrill than asking someone if they want to pet your Wookiee. Trust us - it’ll get you smiles every time.

[via]



Gigantic Ford GT Nitro Gas RC Car

10 07 2008

Gigantic Ford GT Nitro Gas RC Car

This is probably has to be the biggest Nitro-Gas Powered RC vehicle we’ve ever seen (our second biggest is the Subaru STI). The 1 to 5 Scale Gas-Powered RTR (Ready-To-Run) H5 Ford GT is HUGE! This gynormous scale radio control Ford GT comes complete with an assembled chassis, 3-Channel FM Radio with built-in Fail-Safe mode. It features a 23cc engine, a 450cc fuel tank and a 15kg metal gear ratio. It has 2WD and disc brakes for better stopping power. This amazing monster of a car runs on a mixture of unleaded gasoline and 2-stroke oil (check your owner’s manual for mixing ratio) zero break-in time, the lowest cost per minute of use guaranteed and you can take it to any local small engine repair shop for tuning and repair!
# » Product Features 1 to 5 Scale Nitro Gas RC Car
# 23cc Engine
# Disc Brakes
# 15kg Metal Gear Servo
# 450cc Fuel Tank
# Futaba OEM Controller
# Fully Assembled Chassis
# 3-CH FM Transmitter
# Painted Ford GT Body
# Requires Mixture of Unleaded Gas and Oil (not included)
# Requires 8 x “AA” Batteries for Remote (not included)
# Speed: Approx. 60mph
# Dimension: 38 x 15 x 12 inches

[via]