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dSolar panels for Mindstorms bring green power to your Lego creations
When society collapses and the national energy infrastructure goes to pot, at least you'll still be able to run your fantastical Lego Mindstorms NXT creations. That's right: the fine folks at Dexter Industries are offering panels, batteries, and all the geegaws necessary to power your projects the old fashioned way: with the sun. The basic dSolar 2W System ($90) features a 9 volt solar panel with enough juice to power the NXt and a single motor in direct sunlight (about 250 mA). There is also a four watt system available for $100, as well as capacitor banks, parallel connectors for multiple panels, and more. Hit up the source link to get started -- but not before you check out the video after the break.
OQO founder lists prototype handheld PCs on eBay
This is definitely one for hardcore fans only: company founder Jory Bell has listed two of the very first prototype OQO computers on eBay. Sadly, they may or may not be bootable (you'd have to break out the soldering gun to figure that one out), but both will definitely look great in the self-styled "Museum of Legacy Computer Hardware, discontinued AD&D Modules, and Heavy Metal T-Shirts" you have going in your parents basement. What will the lucky winner receive for his hard-earned dough? The Brazil PC dates back to 2000 or 2001, and is missing many of the things (batteries, CF card) that actually lets it function. Fun, huh? The other prototype, ATTO, apparently held the Guinness World Record at one time for smallest PC. It includes a capacitive touchscreen display, firewire, an integrated antenna for WiFi and Bluetooth, and more. Feel like going nuts? You've got about a week to bid as of this writing, with the lot currently going for just over $4. [Thanks, Picasso]
Body tracking Tetris game lights up the streets of Madrid (video)
Part public art project, part video game, Lummo Blocks has taken over the Plaza de Las Letras. Basically Tetris writ large, two players shuffle horizontally in front of the billboard-sized display: one controls the trajectory of the game piece, while the other rotates it into place. The goal of the designers, MediaLab Prado, is to "creat[e] an interaction between the passersby and the public space of the plaza." Works for us! Madrid: we are officially jealous. Video after the break.
Giant touchscreen vending machine at CEATEC stares us down, offers us a frosty beverage
So we tracked down one of those crazy new touchscreen- and camera-enabled vending machines being deployed across Japan's mass transit stations at CEATEC today; one of their claims to fame is that they're WiMAX-enabled in order to receive ads and other high-bandwidth content, so local WiMAX provider UQ installed one of the units in its booth as a showcase of the kinds of wild and crazy things you can do with ludicrous speed. As much as we hate to admit it, we're pretty sure we'd be consuming more overpriced juice, soda, tea, coffee, and water if we had one of these near our homes -- seriously, how can you resist those cute rectangular eyes staring at you, slowly stealing your soul while asking you to "come by?" Of course, the scary part about that is that the machine really can see you -- it's got a camera right above the display that detects your presence, makes some snap judgments about you based on largely accurate stereotypes, and recommends certain beverages (though you're still free to choose whatever you like). The machine supports Suica payments -- a popular NFC system in these parts -- using either a Suica card or your appropriately-enabled phone, which makes blowing hundreds of yen on cans of Georgia Vintage coffee frighteningly simple. Follow the break for some video of the machine in action... or if you're planning a trip to Japan in the next couple years, expect to see these around town in some of the high-traffic train stations. %Gallery-104494%
Engadget's Darren Murph nabs Guinness World Record for most blog posts ever written!
We always knew Darren Murph had oodles of talent and was extremely prolific -- but now the man has got the paper to seriously prove it. Our own Mr. Murph was just awarded the Guinness World Record for most posts ever by a blogger. Not only is this a first for Darren, it's a first for Guinness as well, creating a new category for the group. Darren joined Engadget in July of 2006 (his first post is here), and almost four years to the day (when these numbers were submitted to Guinness) he'd arrived at 17,212 individual posts (since surpassed, of course). That's single posts on Engadget, Engadget HD, and Engadget Mobile, not duplicated work. We obviously couldn't be more proud of Darren and the work he's done (and continues to do) here, and we think this is an amazing feat for one writer. Of course, this is the guy who did 59 posts in a single day at CES 2008. Seriously. To put it in perspective, his current word count is at 3,389,148. That's War and Peace about six times over. We asked Darren if he had anything to say, and he gave a nod to Ryan Block (our former editor-in-chief) for giving him the chance to start here (and "not killing me when I passed him early on"). Darren also told us that he intends to defend the title for the rest of his natural life. So would-be competitors, you'd better get started... right... now.
Medea Vodka (and its radical programmable LED bottle) now ready to party
It may not be your birthday, but it's most definitely the weekend. And if you're looking to have a "good time," there's hardly a better place to look than your local ABC store. We mean... whatever place you can find that sells Medea. Put simply, this vodka maker has decided to wrap its spirits inside of bottles that boast programmable LED displays, and while the company has been kicking the tires for a small while now, we'll have you know that these things are now available for purchase ($39.99 a pop) over the world wide web. Programming information is down there at the source link, and if you've been searching for the perfect complement to your LED rims, look no further. Man, if only Brennan Huff and Dale Doback would've had access to this while shooting their first and only music video...
Scientists discover planet capable of supporting life, Richard Branson calls dibs on it
A team of planet hunters from UC Santa Cruz (not to be confused with Dog The Bounty Hunter) have found a planet three times the size of our own that might support life. Scientists have been using the HIRES spectrometer on the Keck I Telescope to keep an eye on the Gliese 581 red dwarf star in the constellation Libra for about 11 years now, and among its many virtues have learned that the planet Gliese 581g has the potential for life. Indeed, it is being billed as "the first potentially habitable exoplanet," meaning that it's in "the zone" where it's neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water. Although it's rather Earth-like in some respects, there are some stunning differences: for instance, the planet doesn't spin on its axis, so one side is always dark (and probably 25 degrees below zero) while the other side is probably rather pleasant, or "shirt-sleeve weather," as one of the discoverers, Steven Vogt, put it. Indeed, he goes on to estimate that "chances for life on this planet are 100 percent." Those are pretty good odds! There's no word on when Virgin Galactic will be offering vacation packages to this hit destination, or even when it will be feasible to make the 20 light year voyage. Artist's rendition after the break.
Canon's X Mark I Mouse excites and exhilarates like few gadgets can (video)
If there's one thing you don't expect to find at Photokina, it's a mouse. If there's another, it's a calculator. In some strange twist of fate, we found both in Canon's press lounge, and we couldn't possibly be more elated. The X Mark I Mouse captured our attention early last month, and we've been searching up and down to get our hands on one ever since. Nestled gently between legions of camcorders and a few dozen printers was the gem we'd be searching for, and we didn't hesitate to clear the area for a brief hands-on. Both models were surprisingly large, which simultaneously made the calculator buttons easy to press and the mouse as a whole difficult to grasp. The harsh, sharp edges were no friend of Mr. Ergonomic, but we'd probably forgive it if that $63 MSRP fell to a more reasonable level. Be sure to thank a lack of sleep and all of the companies pouring out news at the show for the delirium that's after the break. %Gallery-103100%
Engadget's celebrity iPhone app showdown
It all began on a lark, really. When we realized that Jersey Shore's very own Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino had an iPhone app (and he had the temerity to charge $5 for it), we started thinking: Which other celebs have apps? How bad can they get? And who would win in an app store shoot-out between Kim Kardashian, Shaq, and Justin Bieber? The answer, as they say, will shock you. Journey past the break for Engadget's guide to the best and the worst (well, actually, just the worst) of the celebrity iPhone apps. %Gallery-103158%
TUAW's Daily App: Awesome Solitaire
Awesome Solitaire is (surprise!) an awesome solitaire game. The usual card game is so simple by now that presentation is everything, and Awesome Solitaire has presentation in spades. If you play in Awesome mode, the graphics are flashy, you get rewarded with points for combos, and the animation looks smooth and professional. Heck, the background is even animated with the accelerometer. My one argument is that there's no sound on the app at all -- as flashy and smooth as the graphics are, you'd think there would be some sparkling sounds to accompany them. But then again, I often turn the sounds on my phone down (especially in public), so the lack of sound on a pick up and play game like this doesn't hurt too much. This is the absolute coolest version of solitaire you will ever play on your iPhone. There aren't a lot of actual game options (there are lots of other versions if you want a little variety), but if you just want to sit back and move solitaire cards around, this is the way to do it. Oh, and one more thing: the app is free through the weekend. You really have no excuses at all -- go on over to the App Store and download this one.
Pac-Man reenacted by humans in stop motion masterpiece
What's it with Pac-Man and awesomeness these days? First Google, now this? As the story goes, PAC-MAN is the fifth video performance of the GAME OVER Project, put on by the French-Swiss artist Guillaume Reymond. The video -- which is embedded after the break -- shows a great many human bodies (111 to be exact) working together for over four hours in one of the most smile-inducing stop motion clips we've ever seen. Oh, and make sure your volume's up -- the experience just isn't complete without man made blips and bloops. [Thanks, Matt]
Origin PC's Big O desktop: half gaming PC, half Xbox 360, all muscle
Oh, sure -- we've seen an Xbox 360 enclosure stuffed with x86 innards, but we can't say we've ever seen anything quite like this. Gaming upstart Origin PC has just shattered every preconceived notion about its potential with the Big O, an appropriately titled luxury machine that combines a liquid-cooled gaming PC with a liquid-cooled Xbox 360 Slim. In one box. A pair of base configurations are available (though customizations are limitless), with both of 'em rigged up to run the PC and Xbox concurrently. In other words, these bad boys can actually crunch SETI@home data while you explore the vastness of Halo: Reach. The $7,669 build includes an overclocked 4.0GHz Core i7-930 CPU, Rampage III Extreme mobo, twin NVIDIA GTX480 graphics cards, 6GB of Corsair memory, a 1,500 watt power support, 12x Pioneer Blu-ray burner, two 50GB OCZ SSDs wired up as a boot drive, Windows 7 Home Premium, a liquid-cooled Xbox 360 and bragging rights the size of Texas Alaska. For those still unsatisfied, there's a $16,999 version that's frankly too lust-worthy to spell out here (but is in the gallery below). Hit the source link if you're feeling ambitious, but don't blame us for blowing your kid's college fund in one fell swoop. %Gallery-101543%
Fake Nexus One browsing fake Engadget
Interesting side note -- we understand that Erick Schmidt, Larry Paige, and Serge Brin all own this phone. Oh, and Digiboy777, of course.
Homebrew Cray-1A emulates the iconic supercomputer, to no useful purpose
The Cray-1A first made the scene in 1976, weighing 5.5 tons (including the refrigeration system) and running at 80MHz -- with a whopping 8MB RAM. Who wouldn't want to own one -- or a miniature version of one, for that matter? Chris Fenton would, apparently. Yes, it's that Chris Fenton -- the electrical engineer who once made a $50 laptop out of a PICAXE 18X Microcontroller and 96 bytes of RAM (and some wood). And he's back with a 1/10-scale Cray-1A. And unlike a similar project we've seen in the past, this bad boy runs a custom Cray emulator (too bad there doesn't seem to be any Cray software floating around). Wild, huh? Get the whole scoop (and some pointers if you want to roll your own) after the break.
Metropolis gets twenty-five minutes of lost footage, please don't tell Giorgio Moroder
Metropolis, Fritz Lang's 1927 epic, predated many of our own cinematic obsessions by decades. At over two and a half hours this heady mix of dystopian science fiction and German Expressionism divided critics upon its initial release, even as it is now universally praised. Indeed, as a result of its length (not to mention the squeamishness of American distributors) the thing has been variously edited (cannibalized) over the years, to the point where it was doubtful that we would ever get to see it the way that the director intended. That's why we were psyched when we came across this clip from BBC's Newsnight detailing the discovery of what is presumed to be a copy of the original director's print, which was taken to Argentina by a private collector in 1928, where it sat until discovered in an archive of the Museum of Cinema in Buenos Aires in June, 2008. Wild, huh? Hit the source link to watch the clip.
Wallpaper* limited edition bikes fold into a briefcase, look great doing it
The intersection of bicycling and gadgetry is often littered with odd-looking contraptions that only the bravest geek would be caught dead on. That's why we were pleased as punch to see the International, designed by Kinfolk and Coat, making the rounds. The one speed racing bike looks great, and it can be quickly broken down and thrown into a (albeit large) briefcase for that part of your journey that involves public transpo. While we're at it, the City (after the break) also fits into its own carrying bag, although it does have the more traditional "folding bike" thing goin' on. Both are available from Wallpaper*, for £2,450 ($3,815) and £1,255 ($1,955) respectively.
John Mellencamp calls the internet the most dangerous invention since the atomic bomb
Oh, the old folks. Funny, the way they insist on inserting their feet into their mouths about technology, isn't it? Well, John Mellencamp -- the 'salt of the earth'-type rocker who had plenty of hits which we remember but which you certainly may not -- has said that the internet is the most dangerous invention since the atomic bomb, and that it's destroying rock n' roll. Well, that sure is over the top, but the man makes a few decent points if you ask us -- MP3 players have gotten us used to listening to bad, low bit-rate versions of music -- but, then again, we're not sure that the internet can really be blamed for "destroying the music business." During a public seminar at the Grammy Museum Mellencamp delivered plenty of eyebrow-raising remarks, adding that the internet, while okay for personal communications, has been destructive to both the music and movie industries, and that he believes that in the future, nobody will barely remember who The Beatles or The Rolling Stones are because of the destruction of the legacy' of rock n' roll. We weep at the thought, John.
Mercedes SLS AMG and Isle of Man take center stage in 'world's fastest 3D car film'
Frankly, you could've stopped at "Mercedes SLS AMG" and "Isle of Man," but toss in ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard, a litany of 3D cameras, helicopters and a closed section of the Mountain Road... and well, you've got magic in the making. The crew here set out to create the "world's fastest 3D film," and honestly, we aren't in any position to doubt 'em. We're also guessing that this 4 minute and 2 second masterpiece will be looped in Benz dealerships around the world, and for good reason. Word has it that the clip will be shown on Sky 3D across the pond, but there's no telling when it'll grace three-dee screens in North America and beyond. While we wait, feast your senses on the 2D version just beyond the break.
Canon's X Mark I Mouse triples as calculator, numeric keypad, fame attractor
We know, we know -- you're practically married to your existing Razer or Logitech, but it looks like you may want to phone your lawyer and get the separation papers flowing. Canon -- of all companies -- has just introduced its latest critter, and it may very well be the most spectacular mousing device in the history of mousing devices. The unquestionably magical X Mark I Mouse is a wireless laser mouse underneath, but it also doubles as a fully functional calculator and a numeric keypad to boot. Bluetooth 2.0 is responsible for the connections, and the 1,200dpi sensor should please all but the most particular of users. It'll also play nice with both OS X and Windows platforms, leaving us with an inexplicable need to handle one prior to the scheduled November launch date. Oh, the price? A paltry £39.99 / €48.99 / $63, but really, you'd pay anything those blokes asked to have one of your own.
Be the first to show up at the Engadget Show with Lucky Charms and Peter Molyneux will put you in Fable III! (We've got winners!)
Hey, Peter Molyneux is here at the Engadget Show, and his Fable III demo assistant Dimitri mentioned that he's looking for a box of Lucky Charms, since he can't get it in England. That prompted Peter to make an insane crowd-sourcing offer: the first person to bring a box of Lucky Charms to the Engadget Show will become a character in Fable III. Insane, right? What's more, everyone else who brings a box will get a free signed copy of the game, which is some seriously serious cereal. The show starts in 30 minutes -- we'll see you soon! Updated: See that lucky guy and girl right up there?! Yep, they're going to be characters in Fable III. Congrats, Monica and Jay -- we'll see you in the game.
