pax 2008
USB Pumpkin
Ditch your old paper business cards for a dot matrix one
How not to hide from CCTV cameras
Papercraft CCTV camera

I know you were all wondering what this moment looked like. The jealous, huddled masses were sitting outside while we flimsily credentialed press got to lick the first public playables of Spore, Mirror’s Edge, and so on up and down. Frankly I expected a little more violence. Not that it would have made for a better convention, but it certainly would be quite a video.

They told us to stop filming but we’re naughty and we’re putting it up anyway. It’s a public convention and this is a public build that most people have already seen the demo of anyway, right? No harm, no foul. This is the same demo they showed me at E3 (same build, even) and the demo videos are good, but we thought you might want a little idiotic commentary to help wash down the postapocalyptic angst.

I think it’s actually more accurate to say that I failed to Zerg my opponent correctly.

The game looks great, it controls just like the original to be honest, and the graphics are smooth and very detailed. I have this feeling that my old Protoss tactics are going to be of little use in this updated game. Although you’ll be happy to learn that many of your favorite units and buildings are still around and function more or less the same.

Updated with better video. You like that sound? The Blizzard booth is kitty corner from the Rock Band 2 stage, and you know they aren’t going to turn it down.

As mentioned earlier, Bungie had one level from their upcoming “Mythic” map pack on display at PAX 08. Called “Assembly”, it’s a very Midship-esque Covenant themed map. I gave it a quick run through earlier today, trying to get as much of the level on video as possible while attempting to avoid firefights — not an easy task. Beside the sneak peak, Bungie had little else to say about the map pack.

$7.00 on Brando. For this we’re killing the environment.

I wouldn’t imagine any engineer or mad scientist would ditch his/her HP or TI to do calculations on their iPhone, but I could be wrong. What do you think? Check out what the PCalc has to offer first then voice your opinions.

* Two layouts – a simple vertical one for everyday tasks, then rotate the calculator for full power when needed.
* An RPN mode with one button access to the stack.
* Hexadecimal, octal and binary modes, complete with a variety of bitwise operators.
* All the extensive unit conversions and constants from the desktop PCalc.
* A simulated paper tape to keep track of your calculations.
* Multiple undo and redo. Just flick the LCD to the right and left to reveal the past and future.
* Stylish, consistent user interface.
* Shake to clear! Two shakes to clear, three shakes to clear all.

We’re here in my hometown covering the hell out of PAX.

This was the waiting room, which was later full to capacity. These poor souls all had to wait while Greg and I checked out Starcraft 2, Mirror’s Edge, Fallout 3, Rock Band 2, and about a billion other awesome games that are playable there. We’ll have videos coming up as soon as they are encoded and uploaded, so stay tuned!

I’ve contemplated ditching my business cards for some time, but every convention I attend and every PR flack requires me to donate one dead tree to them. A friend recently told me he had ditched business cards altogether a while back and immediately directs people to connect with him on linkedin, which is a great idea. But, I really want a kickass looking business card that won’t get lost in the shuffle. I think I found what I’ve been looking for over at Instructables. The video only gives the final product and if you’re steady with a soldering iron then read on, good buddy.
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Yesterday’s list was incomplete and/or inaccurate. Today, MS released the full achievement list to IGN. The full list and a few other goodies from the horse’s mouth aka Cliffy B. after the jump. I can’t f*cking wait for this game! BODIES AS SHIELDS!!!
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Have a great holiday weekend y’all.
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God is dead. $28 on Brando.

Large, international tradeshows can showcase the absolute bleeding edge of technology. Sometimes though, said tech was developed with the unknown help of another company, so obviously, this can come to a breaking point at these tradeshows. According to The Register, German Custom agents have been busy this year at IFA. 

A spokesman for German Customs told us: “We’ve raided 69 companies today. We have seized equipment including flat-screen TVs, CD players, set-top boxes and MP3 players.”

Above, these agents are investigating claims that MSI infringement from patent firm Sisvel. And, yes, pics show that these ladies and gents are in fact armed because we all know, us nerds can get a little territorial over our gadgets.

via Reg

From the standard fare of receivers to gaming headsets, Dolby has invaded IFA this year. Harman Kardon is going to launch the first receiver with Dolby’s touted Volume technology that ensures constant volume across all content media. Then there is the Plantronics GameCom 777 headset aimed at gamers with surround sound. PCs are getting a sound upgrade as well with Dolby Home Theater and Dolby Sound Round. Finally, thank goodness, Dolby is taking their experience on the go with Dolby Mobile. Apparently, they feel that they can make that tiny speaker sound so much better. 

Dolby has been around for a while and the label is on just about everything AV, but does it really sway your purchasing decision on outside devices. If product A has Dolby certs on the front bezel that product B doesn’t, which one are you more likely to buy? I totally buy Dolby supported receivers but I really don’t know if seeing their logo on my cell phone will move me to buy one verse another. 

PR

Indiana Jones or Superman prop; classy or just plain tacky? I can’t decide but I’ve to give the boys over at Harman Kardon for suck a clever name: GLA-55. ‘Cause it’s made out of glass. Get it? 

Anyway, getting down to the details. Only two to three thousand are going to be made and priced at £500. Within the crystal speakers lay a 56 watt per speaker digital amplifier, DSP equalization all traveling out to a 3.5mm output. So yes, sadly, these bookshelves will be found on your desk, tied down to your computer or iPod. H/K announced these speakers at IFA, so naturally, there isn’t any mention of a US launch just yet. What does it matter, you’re not going to get ‘em anyways ’cause they would clash with your drinking bird so badly. 

via ShinyShiny

There’s been a lot of lip service paid about hiding from CCTV cameras using LEDs and IR lamps. Well, randolfo on Instructables just showed us that none of those solutions work and, in fact, will make you stand out even more.

Towards this end, I lined the hood of a hoodie with 10 high-intensity IR LEDs all the while documenting the project to share with others. In fact, I was super-excited to share this project with others when I was done with it. So, modeling my project after those that came before me, I inserted the LEDs, wired them up, plugged it in and took a picture of myself with a camera modified to view IR light. When I flipped the camera around to look at the picture, the first thing I noticed was that it hadn’t worked. Instead of creating a halo of light in place of my head, I looked like I was wearing a sweatshirt lined with Christmas lights.

Sweatshirt lined with Christmas lights != safety from improper search and seizure.

Live from the floor of PAX 08: Bungie is demoing a new Halo 3 map called Assembly; the picture above shows the title “Halo 3 Mythic,” which the Bungie guy said was just a placeholder name for the map pack. He said he “doesn’t know how it’s going to manifest itself to the public,” whatever that means.

More on this as we get it.

According to the AndroidGuys, T-Mobile is shooting to make the G1 the best selling device of the year with only 2-3 months left in the year. The numbers are looking a little like this:
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ROM — James ROM.

I know this kind of thing gets done every once in a while, but that doesn’t change the fact that these are lava-hot. The colors are tasteful (although the white balance in the photo was irreparably messed up, silver and black are classic), and the design is understated. If someone looks closely, you get credit for geekiness and stylishness. How often does that happen?

And now here’s #2 Megaton. Check out #3 The Wasteland after the jump.
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