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DISH offers Interactive TV mosaic for Olympics overload
One look over our 2008 Beijing Olympics guide will tell you that there's just too much content to absorb; even just the NBC coverage is enough to induce HD OD. But DISH customers might be able to drink more comfortably from the fire hose thanks to Ensequence, which is bringing the Interactive TV mosaic to the games. As seen at the U.S. Open, this will montage feeds from six NBCU channels into a single screen. Viewers can then soak all six channels in at once or zoom in on a single channel. Even this six-fold reduction might not be enough, so various news and digest services will also be made available on DISH channel 100 -- especially appealing is the compiled highlights of the day's events. DirecTV has shown that it can play the multi-screen game, too, so don't be surprised to see it there as well. [Image courtesy ChinaDaily]
Creative's 2GB / 4GB ZEN Mozaic DAP now available
Creative got a bit more creative with the ZEN Mosaic's name since we spotted it in Singapore last month, but the freshly rechristened ZEN Mozaic is now available (and in stock, just to be exceptionally clear) in the US of A for your purchasing pleasure. For those seeking a brief refresher, here goes: there's a 1.8-inch display (160 x 128 resolution), up to 36 hours of audio playback / 5 hours of video playback, support for MP3 / WAV / WMA / JPEG / BMP files, a 5-band custom equalizer, calender / contacts / task list and USB 2.0 connectivity. The oddly designed DAP can be procured in both 2GB and 4GB flavors (but only in black, at least for now), with the former going for $59.99 and the latter $79.99.[Thanks, Oscar]
Creative announces Zen Mosaic, looks like bad Mondrian
Creative's got yet another on the way: the Zen Mosaic, which will have a 1.8-inch display, 2, 4, or 8GB capacities, FM tuner, speakers, MP3 / WMA / WAV / Audible codec support, and 32 hours of battery life. They're apparently starting in Singapore and working their way over, but they shouldn't top $200 when they're eventually announced for the US.[Thanks, Rube]Read - Announced details on the player [Via EpiZenter]Read - First hands-on
DISH presenting ESPN's coverage of U.S. Open through Interactive TV mosaic
Earlier this year, DirecTV showed up everyone else with its interactive, multi-screen coverage of the Masters. Now, however, DISH Network is stepping up to the tee by planning to offer ESPN's coverage of the U.S. Open in a similar fashion. From June 12 through 13, DISH subscribers will be able to view a multiple-screen showcase (dubbed Interactive TV) that will create a mosaic with ESPN's primary feed, a feed focusing on Tiger and Phil, an "Up Close" channel and a number of other specific feeds that hardcore golf lovers will surely be fascinated with. Your turn, DirecTV.[Image courtesy of ESPN]Update: Ah, so DirecTV is doing the same! Thanks m.e.
Well, now the secret's totally ruined
Did you know that there are some rogue Moblins in Hyrule, just hanging out inside sealed caves waiting to give some dude rupees? This bizarre fixation with enclosure and charity is supposed to be a secret to everybody, but now Etsy's slothbot has let the cat out of the bag Moblin out of the cave. Way to go, slothbot.In other crafting news, Kotaku reader Aaron revealed not so much of a secret as a new discovery: that a Mario mosaic table is probably the best thing ever and it is now probably impossible for the world to continue existing without one. Check after the break for the most exciting table picture ever.
Today's most obsessive-compulsively awesome video: Wii Photo Channel mosaics
Does anyone even use the Wii's Photo Channel anymore? We suspect that many, like ourselves, thought the Photo Channel was a neat addition for about 15 minutes, after which the kitsch factor wore off and the channel was promptly relegated to the back pages of the Wii menu, to make room for copious Virtual Console purchases.Well, apparently one person enjoys the Photo Channel, if for no other reason than zooming in and out on giant, time-consuming mosaics. Blogger Random J found footage of one user's mind-numbing labors. Watch, as hundreds of photos of cute anime girls transform into one giant cute anime girl! Be amazed, as Mario and a goomba appear... out of around 500 pictures of cute anime girls! Hold on, I'm sensing a pattern. Check it out for yourself after the break.
Massive videogame mosaics
Dutch artist Arno Coenen has taken his love of art and crossed it with a healthy gaming obsession to create some of the most impressive mosaics we've ever seen. It makes St Mark's Basilica look a tad drab, if you ask us. The mosaics depict retro gaming scenes with characters ranging from Donkey Kong to Lara Croft.The work was commissioned for a primary school in Amsterdam, officially making it one of the coolest schools in the world. Coenen was also commissioned to create Virtual Fairytale 2.0 for a school in Utrecht, transforming the entire square to a collage of retro gamescapes.[Via TechEBlog]%Gallery-3885%
It'sa me, Mario! ... And you're out of milk.
We don't have a whole lot that we can add to this Mario mosaic made of fridge magnets. We know that it was lovingly crafted from about 1,500 half-inch "Fridgets" and that it took a presumably very dedicated Annie Rush around 12 hours to construct. We also learn from her site that she wants to tackle some other 8-bit games, as well as Van Gogh's Starry Night ... and, we hope, Alex Kidd in Van Gogh's Starry Night. Some other shots of the project can be seen here, on her Flickr site.Oh, one more thing: We know that if Annie Rush's possibly non-existent children bring home any crayon drawings or spelling tests they are particularly proud of, they will promptly be told to go straight to hell.
MLB.TV Mosaic: baseball nirvana
Today is one of the best days of the year: the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, spring is in the air. It's Opening Day! Major League Baseball has really been on the forefront of delivering content on the web, and this year looks to be the best yet. MLB.TV started testing their stand-alone Mosaic player last year, and it looks like they've updated it significantly for the 2007 season (it just became available for download last night). Mosaic is a very cool application that lets MLB.TV premium subscribers watch six (!) baseball games simultaneously (the above screenshot is rather boring since there were only two games last night). You can then click on any of the game to bring up a larger size window focusing on that game alone (as below). This year MLB.TV is doubling the bit-rate of their streams to 700kbps so I would expect the video quality to improve significantly over the last few years.The biggest downside to Mosaic is that it's a resource hog. This is unsurprising when you discover that it is in part a Java application that depends on Flip4Mac for the video (all the streams are Windows Media based). In addition, location based blackout restrictions apply to the home markets of teams (based on the billing address of your credit card). Nonetheless, for the big baseball fan (and particular fantasy baseball player) Mosaic is close to nirvana, especially for those of us who no longer live in our favorite team's home market. The Mosaic player is included with a premium subscription to MLB.TV which is $119.95 per year. They have also have a regular subscription for $89.95 that will allow you to watch one game at a time in a browser window as well as an audio-only Gameday Audio subscription for $14.95.Oh yeah, Go 'Stros!
Iconic mosaic - literally - of Steve Jobs
Rising up the ranks of my "those with too much time" list, a creative Flickr user by the name of "tsevis" has created an iconic mosaic of Steve Jobs using all sorts of different icons, ranging from product boxes to your favorite pics from the IconFactory. He does a pretty good job of capturing his Steveness in my opinion, and the rest of his Flickr set is equally creative.Kudos, tsevis. Now where's some mosaic love for Ive?[via digg]
