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Flow my tears, the newly-built robotic head of Philip K. Dick said
Yes, this is definitely a post (and video!) about a hand-built, robotic head of author Philip K. Dick, who died in 1982, leaving the world a trove of literature which could be turned into films like Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and A Scanner Darkly. Sadly, he did not leave a robotic head of himself. It may surprise you to find out that this is actually not even the first robotic head of Philip K. Dick, it's apparently the second. This newly-built robo-PKD is meant to replace one that was famously lost in 2006, and was built by Hanson Robotics and Dutch public broadcasters VPRO. The video after the break is creepy and amazing, but it's nothing compared to the VALIS Trilogy.
Virtual pipe organist is the Phantom of his own living room
If any instrument deserves to be geeked over, it is the pipe organ. Over the course of its almost 2,000 years of development, it has evolved from the rudimentary Greek water organ to the extremely complex device featured in cathedrals and concert halls all over the world. And this is all well and good, but what is an aspiring (or accomplished) organist to do when he wants to practice yet doesn't have access to the Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois in Paris? Well, he might go ahead and build his own -- at least that's what an Engadget reader named Rob Stefanussen did. The heart of the thing is a Mac Pro running Hauptwerk's Virtual Organ, and while the software is pretty impressive itself, what caught our attention was the baroque MIDI controller he built to play the thing. Featuring four keyboards, a pedalboard, pistons, and expression shoes, this thing plays like the real deal. And not to be undone in the sound department, he threw in six speakers and a sub-woofer, routing different sets of pipes to the different speakers to let the sound mix in the air for that authentic pipe organ sound. Wild, no? How would you like to hear it in action? Check out the video after the break to see (and hear) it for yourself.
Razer Switchblade preview: 3G, Intel Oak Trail, almost definitely going on sale
Whoa, Nelly! We just made a beeline to Razer's booth here on the CES show floor, and were presented with a fairly technical talk surrounding the newly launched Switchblade. While officially deemed a concept, we came away with a serious impression that Razer's not investing loads of time and money on this just for kicks. In other words, we'd cautiously expect to see this thing on sale at some point next year -- but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. We spent a good half-hour toying with this Windows 7-based mini netbook, and we came away seriously impressed by what's happening here. Head on past the break for more of our impressions. %Gallery-113039%
Razer Switchblade: 7-inch pocket gaming concept blows our minds six ways from Sunday
The most beautiful thing to come out of CES 2011? The show ain't over yet, but we're unafraid to say that Razer's Switchblade is the device to beat. Before you go getting your hopes up, we have to (regretfully) point out that this here gaming handheld is but a concept, but considering that Toshiba's Libretto W105 made it to store shelves (if but for a moment), we're hoping and praying that the Switchblade can also find its way to a production line. Little is known about the device itself, but Razer has imagined it using a pair of 7-inch multitouch displays as well as a layer of tactile, dynamic keys on the lower screen. Much like the Optimus Maximus of yesteryear, this keyboard would enable gamers to place different screens underneath depending on title, and even within a game, you could imagine the keys shifting to account for different POVs, levels, scenarios, etc. Internally, the concept is based around an Intel Atom processor, but there's no word on what kind of GPU would work alongside of it. Sadly, Razer's unwilling to talk pie-in-the-sky details when it comes to price and release, but if four million comments show up below begging and pleading for the company to take this commercial... Update: Just to be clear, the keyboard on the bottom is a full-on LCD , but covered with physical keys. In contrast, the W105 had a flat touchpanel on the bottom. Update 2: Check out our in-depth preview from the CES 2011 show floor! %Gallery-112395%
762 horsepower amphibious HydroCar listed on eBay for $777,000
Well, this is something you don't see every day, that's for sure. We've seen plenty of outlandish items for sale on eBay, but this one might just take the cake. A hand-built, amphibious HydroCar packing 762 horsepower is currently listed on eBay for a mere $777,000 -- that's the 'Buy it Now' price, anyway. Crafted by Rick Dobbertin, the 32-foot long steel HydroCar moves from land to water and back again, for all your amphibious vehicle needs. At the time of this writing, Dobbertin has seemingly already rejected 11 offers, so if you're in the market for a vehicle of this kind -- and let's be honest, who isn't? -- you're going to want to hit up the source link fast. Video after the break.
Toy smartphone jailbreak: top tech trend for 2011?
Not since we ran into Benign Girl at the Dollar General have we been so taken with a toy cellphone. Yours now for a mere 99 cents, Smart Phone (creative name!), proves what we suspected all along: in Shenzhen, even children's playthings are jailbroken. But please be careful, as this thing is only recommended for users over the age of four. Get a closer look after the break. [Thanks, Josh]
iPhone-controlled beer cannon is the robot friend of our dreams (video)
If your morning's been running low on a little thing called awesomeness, hurry past the break and gorge yourself on the stuff in the embedded videos. For the more patient among you, we'll set the scene. A young chap by the name of Ryan has repurposed an old mini-fridge from his college days into a beer-firing drone, which can accept instructions on beer brand, temperature, and destination, before launching it at the target with a force of 50psi. An embedded webcam assists the iPhone user in aiming the throws, while it's also said to record every toss and tweet it out for posterity as well. If this thing could slice bread, we'd probably offer to marry it.
So, what'd you get?
Let's just call it what it is: the best Christmas ever. Why? Well, for starters, it's December 25th. Secondly, it's a Saturday in much of the world. How often does that happen? The technology outfits 'round the globe have managed to deliver a rather insane stack of wares to consider this year -- from terrifically desirable goods to rubbish that we wouldn't wish on our worst enemy's enemies -- and now it's our turn to pry into your business and find out what Santa Claus dumped (or didn't dump) under your tree overnight. Hit us up with your scores in comments below, and be sure to cast your vote as to whether or not the kid on the right is feigning excitement over his newfound laptop. Oh, the kid in the video just past the break -- that's probably useful information. When you're done, check out what people got jazzed about in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Yes, that's a woman with a dog in a Baby Björn throwing prototype Nokias
So here's how the story goes: employees at Nokia facilities in Oulu and Tampere, Finland, were fed up with negotiations being held between their representatives and the company over planned layoffs, and decided to do something about it. But really, why strike or organize a rally when you can just socialize, use a few prototype devices for target practice, and get your Cavalier King Charles spaniel some fresh air at the same time? If this keeps up long enough, these staffers might have second careers as competition-level phone tossers. Hit up the source link for the full video -- but be warned, if you love Nokias, you might find the video graphic, violent, and objectionable. [Thanks, Juuso H.]
Sour's 'Mirror' browser-based music video is absolutely wild
Is Japanese band Sour's "Mirror" music video the single best thing we've ever seen in a browser? It probably is. Load it up in Safari or Chrome and make sure you connect your Facebook, Twitter, and webcam -- we tried it out and it's totally fine. In fact, it's more than fine. It's stunning. Why can't HTML5 and Flash always play this nicely together?
Icon Notebook: textual communication avenue for the Microsoft Word averse
It looks like a document. It's chock-full of documents. But not Microsoft Word documents. Only documents that could dream of one day being scanned in and converted to a Word document. It's the Icon Notebook, brought to you by the brilliant minds at Brigada Creativa, and it's on sale now for €6.95 ($9.34) direct from Spain. Which is a whole lot cheaper than a Word license, no matter the font you're talking in.
Nooka Zub Zayu watch has no hands, a name only Trevor Horn could love
Call us suckers for odd watches if you must, but there is something about Nooka's timepieces that make you take a second look. Keeping with the tradition of goofy "z" names (remember Nooka's Zot and Zoo from a couple years back?), the Zub Zayu is ambidextrous and eschews hands for something called the "time capsule" display. And if that isn't enough, it also goes into sleep mode to conserve juice. We just hope it comes back to life quicker than the iPod nano! Available now for $175.
Syte Shirt redesigns iPad-toting version, introduces smartphone edition
Look, it's not embarrassing. We too are waltzing around the dinner table, iPad Syte Shirt on, with a slideshow of pilgrims and Tofurkys to really "showcase our spirit." But what about the jubilant among us that aren't about to part ways with their hard-earned clams in order to pick up an iPad? Enter the Smartphone Syte Shirt. Like the original, this all-black shirt is handmade in San Diego, but very much unlike the original, this one's designed to hold your iPhone, Droid Incredible or whatever handset you so happen to own. Better still, there's a zippered pouch at the top to prevent theft, and both landscape and portrait orientations are duly supported. The screen protector still accepts finger touches, and it's both dust and water resistant -- you know, in case your jealous bandmates decide to douse you when you refuse to remove it before heading out on stage. Hit the source link to order yours for $39.95. Seriously, do it. No one's watching.
Shapeways glass vase: 3D printing at its finest
Who says pottery will never be trumped? As 3D printing becomes an increasingly viable solution to producing -- well, just about anything -- Shapeways has introduced a glass vase that would look just lovely on your mum's kitchen table. Oh, in case you missed the whole "putting two and two together bit," this is a glass vase created with a 3D printer. Traditionally, 3D printers haven't delved into the world of glass, but it's clear from this that it's not only possible, but a great material to use when looking to craft stupendously detailed gear. The colors you see were added after the fact, so in theory, you could get one in any color you so desire. Too bad a price point isn't readily available...
Portal gun to be auctioned off for Child's Play charity
The Portal gun. If you've been alive over the past year and change, you know exactly what we're talking about. We can safely say our lives were changed after spending a few good minutes with Harrison Krix's handmade replica in 2009, and soon you'll have the golden opportunity to know exactly what we mean. Krix has constructed a new Portal gun, one that's arguably more bodacious than ever, and there's only one way to get it: outbid the Bro Montana next to you on December 7th. A Child's Play Charity event auction will be held on that fateful day in Seattle, and it'll be the one and only opportunity to have the pink slip transferred to you. Of course, monies received from the auction will benefit Child's Play (a gaming industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in a network of over 60 hospitals worldwide), and the bragging rights afforded to the winner will be fairly epic in scope. Head on past the break for a video of what's up for grabs.
Windows 1.0 debuts 25 years ago today (video)
If you were paying attention in 1985 (not that we were -- the only thing we were really paying attention to in 1985 was The A-Team), you might have noted that on November 20, Microsoft announced the debut of its long-awaited Windows operating system. Just imagine! You already had the PC (and the requisite 256KB of RAM, DOS 2.0, and two 5.25-inch floppy disk drives), and all you needed to do was shell out $99 for the ability to run Paint, Windows Writer, and Reversi -- in color! Let's take a moment to consider how far we've come in twenty-five short years... by watching Steve Ballmer do his 'used car salesman' schtick in an early commercial for the OS after the break. At least, we hope he's having a laugh -- otherwise, how would you explain that jacket?
Universal remote arrives within a pillow, makes channel surfing hip again
It's a pillow. And a remote. And if your powers of observation are anywhere near "strong," you've probably deduced by now that you're looking at a universal remote control... albeit one that's wrapped within a pillow. We've seen similar creations come around in concept form, but leave it to the folks at Brookstone to turn this thing into a reality. Purportedly, this unit can be programmed to work with over 500 devices, and there's a power-saving auto shutoff feature that'll definitely be overrode by your incessant squeezing. We wouldn't count on this thing actually working well, but for $29.95 (in addition to the cost of two AAA batteries, of course), we highly doubt you'll find a more fashionable, lovable cube of cotton.
Hundred Year Starship Initiative plans to put people on Mars by 2030, bring them back by... well, never (video)
For a while now, there has been a conversation going on in certain circles (you know, space circles): namely, if the most prohibitive part of a manned flight to Mars would be the return trip, why bother returning at all? And besides the whole "dying alone on a hostile planet 55-million-plus kilometers from your family, friends, and loved ones" thing, we think it's a pretty solid consideration. This is just one of the topics of discussion at a recent Long Now Foundation event in San Francisco, where NASA Ames Research Center Director Pete Worden discussed the Hundred Year Starship Initiative, a project NASA Ames and DARPA are undertaking to fund a mission to the red planet by 2030. Indeed if the space program "is now really aimed at settling other worlds," as Worden said, what better way to encourage a permanent settlement than the promise that there will be no coming back -- unless, of course, they figure out how to return on their own. Of course, it's not like they're being left to die: the astronauts can expect supplies from home while they figure out how to get things up and running. As Arizona State University's Dr. Paul Davies, author of a recent paper in Journal of Cosmology, writes, "It would really be little different from the first white settlers of the North American continent, who left Europe with little expectation of return." Except with much less gravity. See Worden spout off in the video after the break.
700,000 Lite-Brite pegs make stop-motion masterpiece in new music video
It's tough to say if David Crowder Band's newest handmade music video measures up to Dancing Pigeon's own vid from August, but one thing's for sure: you've got to give props for the work involved here. An astounding 700,000 Lite-Brite pegs were used in the creation of their SMS (Shine) video, along with 80 Earthlings putting in 2,000 man-hours of work. It's a rather impressive 3.5 minutes, so head south and mash play if you're looking for a good time. [Thanks, Nick]
Breakfast Topic: What's your most memorable moment of amazement?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. Many of us get jaded playing WoW. We get burned out running the same raid for months on end as we wait for new content. We feel there is no reason to do instances anymore because there is nothing more to be gained -- or with the new expansion on the horizon, we think, "Why bother? I'll replace the gear with quest blues and greens leveling to 85." We spend a lot of time QQing about how there is nothing we need to do or want to do, or how we are bored with the current aspect of the game. However, we have all had our Oh wow, that was awesome! moments -- those moments that bring us back to why we play this game and why we pay 15 bucks a month to keep doing so. I have had my fair share, usually a couple in each of the iterations of the evolving world that is WoW. The first one had to be Ragnaros. At level 60, getting to Ragnaros and watching him just erupt out of the lava pool all gigantic and epic-looking ... He is still one of the most impressive-looking bosses with one of the best deaths in the game; it is kind of a shame you can kill him with just one or two people now. The Burning Crusade's high point to me was Mount Hyjal. I loved the Caverns of Time. I felt it was a great gaming invention to allow you to experience content from the old RTS Warcraft games in a WoW manner; being a part of it was a great idea. Also, Archimonde was a seriously great fight. Wrath has had a couple of memorable moments for me. Ulduar was a huge high point. Yogg+1 or +0 was such a truly difficult and exciting fight. And finally getting to fight Arthas -- that was a very well-designed fight, even in normal mode without the buff when it was actually difficult. What moments in World of Warcraft have left you amazed? All the bugs, server downtimes and trolls be damned -- this made up for all of it. What instant made WoW all worth it for you?
