The Bullet DVR system is a portable video recorder designed for racing. It records all of your racing action from a first-person point of view and can be played back on a Windows PC. TrackTimer, a provided app, will allow you to log your lap times, jetting, gearing, suspension and fuel consumption. If you’re a struggling serious racer, this could be a great tool to study your driving skills and figure out what you need to improve on. The solid-state video recorder uses mpeg-2/mpeg-4 encoding with a max resolution of 720×480. The DVR is also resistant to shock/vibration and can have up to 8GB of storage via CF card. On a side note, does anyone out there race a Mini Cooper S? If so, how is it?
Physics professor K.T. Tsen announced last week that he successfully destroyed common viruses using pluses from an infared laser without harming the surrounding cells. Tsen’s primary focus is to use the technique against HIV, though he states the future of the laser may very well be in treating disease, not viruses. So, how does it work?
The laser produces a vibration that shatters the protein coat of microorganisms without causing residual damage to the surrounding human cells. Currently, we use ultraviolet lasers that use heat to fry cells, which can lead to mutations, so this is a very different approach to dealing with viruses.
What you have people asking is, ‘Are there other ways to tackle medical problems like cancer?’ Cancer treatment today is pretty barbaric. We’re looking for a cleaner, less toxic treatment.
The technology may be used in as soon as 18 months for treating skin cancer and removing moles. According to a laser manufacturing official, the process could be used not only against HIV, but hepatitis, cancer and eye/dental surgeries.
Is anyone else out there tired of the Halo 3 map rotation? Or the fact that you have to play shoddy sniper almost every other match? Well, it seems Bungie is working on fixing the problem and releasing some new maps within the next couple of weeks. The first new map is called OK Corral, which will provide catwalks, alley ways and hiding spots for players to have long-range sniper battles on. Other maps include Jodrell Bank, Vandelay and Purple Reign. Vandelay is supposedly the simplest map ever created by Bungie, giving players great creative control when playing in Forge mode. There’s no pricing information available yet, so stay tuned.
To say the least, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is different than any of the previous installments in the series. It doesn’t take place during a World War, the story doesn’t necessary tell a good vs. evil tale and most of the fire fights take place in the Middle East. So, does COD4 standout in the world of FPS giants like BioShock and Halo? Yes, it does. The game received a 10/10 rating from XBOX Magazine, 9.0 on GameSpot, 9.5 on 1UP and 9.4 on IGN. The list goes on- I have yet to read a bad review. Apparently the one big complaint is surrounding the games single-player campaign, which is said to be too short. My friend and I started last night on Veteran and died over 10 times in the 3rd level. Problem solved. Turning up the difficulty= longer single-player campaign. Plus, it makes the game that much more intense. Hit the links to read the full review.
Lenevo today introduced new ThinkStation brand workstations into the PC market. The two new models include the S10 and higher-end D10 workstations. The S10 will offer Intel Core 2/Core 2 Extreme processors, graphic solutions from NVIDIA, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and multiple slots, bays and USB ports. The D10 will feature all of the above except with the quad-core Intel Xeon processor. Make sure you don’t keep anything flammable next to that thing. And before you ask, no word on new laptops.
Do you remember the one scene in Gears of War where you’re driving away from a gigantic locust instead of shooting at it? You’re thinking, “What the hell? Are they seriously not going to let me blow this dude up?” Well the wait to kill the Brumak is over. Microsoft Game Studios announced Gears of War will be coming to the PC this week. I checked the EB Games site and it’s got the release date set to 11/6. Along with the induction of a new boss battle the new version gives you five new campaign chapters, all the downloadable content from the Xbox 360 version and a map editor powered by the Unreal engine. The new Gears also features higher resolutions and DirectX10 support.
There hasn’t been too much information since last July about the HTC Omni, but rumors have definitely been circulating. The latest and greatest rumor flying around is the HTC Omni might be the Google OS Demo unit titled, “Dream.” Why the speculation? There are some glaring similarities between the two devices. According to Google, the “Dream” will feature a touch-sensitive rectangular screen, a swivel screen w/ full keyboard underneath and will be 3 inches wide and 5 inches long. The end of the handset will also be beveled so it is “nestles in the palm.” Does the HTC Omni feature all of the above? Yes-so it’s not a bad rumor, just the first in a line of many to come.
I am in love with this Radiohead 4GB limited edition USB stick. Not only does it look rad, it features all 7 Parlophone albums and includes all of the album artwork. The live album is also included in the bundle and all audio files are WAV so you don’t have to worry about the quality. It’s exclusive to the Radiohead store and going for a massive $166. Yikes! You can also check out a limited edition 7 album box set for a much more reasonable $83 if you’re turned off buy the USB sticks hefty price tag.
Listen up, folks! Gadgetell has some info that may help you save some cash on some end of the year goodies. Best Buy will be having a two-hour sale on Sunday, November 11 starting at 8:30pm. If you’re one of the many still looking for a Nintendo Wii, this would be a great time to get your hands on one. Each Best Buy is planning on having 30 units in stock ($249ea). There will also be giveaways, gift card and product drawings every hour. I’ve been putting off getting a Canon Rebel for a long while now- I think this may be a good day to finally pick one up. It might also be a good day to pick up an 8800GTX. Damn you, Crysis. Damn you.
Kooaba (pronounced exactly how it sounds- I think), works like a search engine to provide your mobile phone digital information using image/object recognition. Confused? Don’t be. The process is simple: You take a picture using your cell phone’s camera. You upload the picture to Kooaba via MMS, Email or provided client-side application. Kooaba then recognizes the picture and sends you digital information about the photograph. The client-side application (still in beta) is Kooaba’s way of allowing you to do all of this with 1-click. The app will take a picture, transmit it to a server and open a browser window with the results. You can check out a video here. If you’re interested, check out the demo on Kooaba’s site.
Apparently, some of you nerds out there are having a hard time getting laid. Not me. I have many methods of tricking my internet date into having sex with me. Anyways, here’s an article that covers 25 vacation destinations where a nerd can get laid without the trickery and drugs. Christina Laun (a real life female!) covers events like Comic-Con, MacWorld, Dragon Con, Galactricruise and many more. She even goes into detail about why your chances of getting some action are increased at these exotic locations. My personal favorite is Star Trek Vegas Convention. There is absolutely no way you’re getting laid here unless you’re some kind of magician or something. If you somehow pull it off, you should seriously receive some sort of award.
While I was exploring MacWorld 2007 in San Francisco, I finally ventured into a little area where the iPhone slumbered in its own little case. After fighting through the crowd of golems and hobbits to get closer to the phone, I finally got to take some close up shots of the sexiest cell phone I’ve ever seen.
Everything on the iPhone looks top notch, but can anyone say smudge/scratch central? I’m going to assume that there’s some kind of special coating put on the phone that’ll protect it from smudges/scratches, I mean, we are going to be touching the damn screen to use it. I know you want to see more of it, take a bump baby. Read More
OK, so maybe these two little gems weren’t found in ruins, but they might as well have seeing as how Mac case mods as extravagant as this one aren’t seen too often. While I was venturing the Moscone Center North Hall for the MacWorld Expo, I ran across these two bad boys at a MacMod booth. The people working there were selling this “Necromac II” at an auction.
At the time I didn’t see many people around putting down money for the Mac, however, I did start to see people bringing in their own towers and talking to the people at MacMod about doing their own case mods. Will we be seeing more beautiful looking Macs by the end of the week? Cross your fingers! (Plus, I think Mel Gibson owns one of these already…)
Hardman/Kardon’s Drive + Play 2 is a mobile media manager that can be installed into your car. It features a 3.5-inch customizable full-color display, five-button wireless controller, a power adapter that connects to the car’s lighter, digital expansion hub and allows you to fully browse through your Apple iPod or Microsoft Zune.
If you don’t have an Apple iPod or a Microsoft Zune, no biggie. Drive + Play 2 will support any music/flash players also as they are USB-based. The bad part is, Drive + Play 2 will not charge anything but an iPod. The other downside to this product is its suggested retail price, which is a whopping $399. Why would you pay $399 for a media manager when you can pay less and get a whole new CD/DVD deck w/ LCD screen that supports the iPod? Sorry HK, it’s a cool idea, but it’s just not worth biting.
The E-MU 404 AudioPod is a new USB 2.0 Audio/MIDI Interface with 24-bit A/D and D/A converters and XTC mic/line/hi-Z preamps. Not only are you going to get great sound coming out of the 0404 AudioPod, but you’re also going to get a hot signal going to tape without having to worry about clipping the track. The XTC Class-A ultra-low noise preamps will allow you to plug microphones, keyboards, guitars, MIDI controllers and any other MIDI device into your digital workstation/laptop/desktop and the preamplifiers will give you great sound.
If you missed our previous coverage of Apple TV, here’s a second chance to take a look at Apple’s new product that changes the way we can experience our digital media. Apple TV features HDMI, component outputs, built-in 802.11 g/b/n, Ethernet, an Intel CPU, 40GB of space and can support 720p resolution. On top of all that, Apple TV can also wirelessly stream media from up to 5 different computers. Read More
Now that we’ve all taken in the excitement of the new iPhone, it’s time to take a look at other innovative things going on at MacWorld 2007. The ModBook is an after-market mod kit for your Apple MacBook. The hardware mod kit allows you to convert your MacBook into a tablet computer. The ModBook is marketed toward students, professionals and artists who prefer to draw and write directly on screen rather than using a mouse and keyboard. Every move you make with the pen will automatically be recognized by OS X Tiger, giving you ultimate control in apps like Photoshop. Pretty interesting, yeah? You also have the option of turning on a built-in GPS when you purchase a ModBook.
The display screen also features an anti-reflective coating to give you an overall brighter image. Axiotron also states that the LCD has been acid treated to give a smooth, paper-like writing sensation to users. Honestly, the tablet takes a little bit getting used to, but after you play with it for a few minutes, there aren’t many flaws. The biggest problem I had was with trying to tap on the little icons in Photoshop, which isn’t really a big problem. There’s no pricing or release date yet, so stay tuned. More pictures after the jump. Read More
Now that Christmas has come and gone and you’ve landed yourself a PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360 you’re going to need a place to stash your new toys and their accessories. If you’ve got a modern looking/furnished living room you may want to check out this new gaming tower by Atlantic. The 4-tier steel tower can hold up to 3 consoles, 6 controllers and 70 games. It isn’t the sharpest looking gaming tower out there, but for $60, it’s a bargain. I wish something like this could fit in my apartment, but Victorian furniture and steel towers are like vodka and Percocet.
If you’ve been waiting for something different in gaming PCs to come along by the end of the year, you may be in luck. Dell has got a little teaser up for its new Black Ice (whatever it may be) on its newly designed XPS website, and all it says so far is:
Technology like you’ve never seen. Black Ice is coming, exclusively from Dell.
Gizmodo guesses that Black Ice is a liquid cooling solution that will allow Dell to overclock its computers to a whole new level. I’ll have to agree with Giz on this one. Black Ice could very well be a new liquid cooling solution (maybe it’ll hit GPUs and CPUs, something the new Alienware is lacking), and I’m excited to see what it’s all about. You can head over to the XPS site and sign up for a mailing list and Dell well send you information when it decides to give us more information about Black Ice. Until then, stay tuned.
Remember when I said it wouldn’t be a big surprise if those Burger King games for the Xbox 360 sold like crazy? Well, it happened. The games have been out for a little less than a month, but they’ve already hit the 2 million mark, meaning they’ve hit Gears of War status.
Sure they’re cheap and there’s three of them, but c’mon, 2 million copies? I haven’t gotten a chance to play Pocket Bike Racer, Sneak King or Big Bumpin’, so I don’t know if the games are any good or not, but I’m seriously thinking about walking into Burger King and picking one up now. Any recommendations?
Ben Heck is at it again, and this time he’s decided to go old school (I mean, really old school) and put together an Atari 2600 portable. The Nintendo DS-esque handheld lets you play those old Atari games that most of us have grown to love. Sure, maybe I wasn’t alive when Atari was big, but that doesn’t mean I can’t love it now, does it? Of course you’re gonna have to go and dig through some big boxes in the attic to find those cartridges you hid from your wife/mom so she wouldn’t sell them at the next garage sale, but that’s not such a big deal. It’s about that time of the year to brush up on your Frogger skills anyway. More pics after the jump, plus Nintendo DS-Lite comparison! Read More
The Joytech PowerStation for the Nintendo’s Wii provides you with two rechargeable battery packs (finally!) for your Wiimotes. The PowerStation also acts like a dock, allowing you to store your Wiimotes and charge them at the same time in a provided cradle. Each PowerStation can house two Wiimotes and connects to your Wii via USB. The docking station also has handles sticking out on each end giving you storage space for your Nunchunks.
The Joytech PowerStation has a release date of Jan. 26, will be going for $39. Seeing as how this is probably the best accessory for the Wii so far, I’d probably preorder it when available because this peripheral is going to be in very high demand. The Wiimotes are hard enough to store to begin with (unless you just throw them in a box with all your other controllers), throw in a docking station, Nunchuck holders, a cheap price and you’ve got a great Wii accessory.
We’ve yet to see anything representing the drum kit demo shown at E3 this year hit the Nintendo Wii yet, but if you’re yearning to play drums using the Wiimote, check out this new mod. Bob Somers has put together a PC app that lets you play an electronic drum kit using the Wiimote (though, he kind of sucks at it.) An interesting thing I noticed while watching the video is that there are also keys on the keyboard mapped to the electronic drums (the same way a MIDI controller is in Reason.)
This makes me question whether or not you could record Wiimote hits into some kind of recording software. It would be much easier (and intuitive) to use the Wiimote to record real time drum samples. The only thing that’s missing is the Nunchuck, which would make playing the drums a bit easier, and much more realistic.
If you’ve got a Microsoft Zune and have a few minutes, get over to your PC, plug in your Zune, log onto to Zune marketplace and grab the new 1.2 firmware update. Microsoft hasn’t let out any details of what the update does, but it did give the following statement:
This required update will help enhance stability and performance. For devices being upgraded from Zune firmware version 1.0, this update includes the enhancements provided in Zune firmware version 1.1.
- Microsoft
The firmware update definitely makes your Zune run a lot smoother. The usual lag that came up while you browsed pictures and video is virtually gone, letting you browse pictures/video without waiting around for anything to load. Your music library will also load up quicker, and your album artwork/track info will display without the usual lag. Good news, yes?
Kutaragi Promises More Expensive PS3 [last boss]
