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Enough Already Arduino mutes TV's overexposed celebrities, frees you to live again (video)
Are you besieged by celebrities? Sure, you could try turning off the TV, but now there's a more complex, DIY solution: Enough Already, an Arduino box that mutes your television at any mention of certain names -- Lady Gaga, for example. The setup's fairly simple if you're comfortable with hardware hacking; it uses the Video Experimenter Shield to read closed captioning data, then sends the mute command via IR whenever offending words appear. Of course, you can tweak the blacklist however you like, so Pippa Middleton updates will still get through. Follow the tutorial after the break and you'll be able to once more channel-surf in peace, knowing you'll never again have to hear the word "Snooki."
Zynga crowns Lady Gaga as FarmVille's newest cash cow
What better way to market a game that isn't really a game than with an artist who isn't really an artist? Such was the rationale, apparently, behind Zynga's recent decision to partner with Lady Gaga, the freshly anointed face of FarmVille. As of May 17th, FarmVille users will be able to take a much-needed break from wasting their lives and visit GagaVille -- a neighboring but equally fake farm full of unicorns, crystals and terrible life decisions. There, visitors will be able to listen to unreleased tracks from Gaga's forthcoming album, Born This Way, which they can also download for "free," once they've dropped $25 of their parents' hard-earned cash on a Zynga gift card. The campaign will mercifully come to an end on May 26th, but not before Diet Madonna extends her corporate leviathan to every corner of Zynga's gaming universe, including Words With Friends, Mafia Wars and anything else your pre-teen cousin spends far too much time playing. Gaga will win. Zynga will win. The human race, on balance, will lose. If you haven't slit your wrists yet, the PR after the break should do the trick.
Caption Contest: Samsung hires David Beckham as a global brand ambassador
David Beckham is a man that needs no introduction. Indeed, Samsung hopes he'll be the one making the introductions, as it's just signed up the English footballer to act as its global brand ambassador. Mr. Becks will be responsible for disseminating the news that Samsung is one of the major sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics, and we can see he's already received the first tranche of his remuneration in the form of a Galaxy S II. Lucky him. Thomas: "I'm sorry, I got the Spanish version, this one says 'Sii' on it." Vlad: "At 8.49mm, this phone's almost as thin as my wife!" Tim: "I don't know who you are or what this is, but I'm sure Victoria will love it." Amar: "Finally, a Galaxy that won't bench me!" Darren: "Man, this thing crushes my Aura." Richard Lai: "As part of the deal, Samsung will also be announcing the Galaxy S Beckham. OK, it's just a golden dual-core." Myriam: "So you want me to drop-kick this in front of the cameras, right?" Zach Honig: "Maybe in this Galaxy I can win a World Cup."
Homer Simpson comes to the Tom Tom app
The voice of cartoon character Homer Simpson, as performed by actor Dan Castellaneta, is now available as an in-app purchase in Tom Tom's US-based GPS apps for the iPhone. For US$5.99, you too can have Homer say "[Annoyed Grunt]" when you make a wrong turn, or "Woo hoo!" when you reach your destination. Pricey? Maybe so, but considering the apps already cost about $50 (not to mention a subscription charge for other services), you're all-in anyway, right? This isn't that big a deal -- celebrities (and impersonators) have been doing GPS voices for a while now. But Tom Tom says that this is the first time a celebrity's voice has been released for a GPS system via an in-app purchase. And considering that even Tom Tom admits that smartphones are a huge part of the navigation market, this could make for a big change in the way people download and use add-ons like this. Previously, you had to update the GPS unit's firmware, maybe take it out of your car and sync it up with a computer to get a voice like this working. But now, you only have to click a button on an iPhone app, and use your Apple account to pick up the voice for a few bucks. That's much easier, and depending on how Homer does here, navigation companies may have a whole new market for these add-ons.
Sony Ericsson's latest Xperia Play ads are disturbing, yet awesome (video)
Kristen Schaal has eyeballs. Red, fiery eyeballs lusting for the blood of her enemies on the battlefields of the PlayStation Suite. Yes, Sony Ericsson is keeping up the fine tradition of freaking us the hell out with its Xperia Play ads, this latest round starring an innocent-looking lady with a devilish demeanor. Skip past the break for those vids and if you're wondering why Kristen's so psyched about the Play, check out our very latest hands-on with the device -- it's coming to Verizon with stock Android, don't you know! [Thanks, Calvin]
Sirius XM to debut Tiger Blood Radio: all Charlie Sheen, all day long
Charlie Sheen has a pretty impressive track record: in addition to a twenty-five-plus year movie career, he's brought tacky bowling shirts to the forefront of American consciousness, earned a Golden Globe Icon award, and shot his onetime fiance Kelly Preston. Is this enough to warrant an entire radio channel dedicated to the man who describes himself as having a "10,000-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old"? Apparently Sirius XM certainly thinks so. That's right: the company has announced that Tiger Blood Radio will air for twenty-four hours beginning tomorrow at 6:00 am ET on Sirius channel 108 and XM channel 139. "[C]reated in response to the national conversation sparked by the recent events surrounding actor Charlie Sheen," the company said in a statement, the station "will take listeners behind the headlines, exploring the media frenzy/media reaction, as well as the medical, psychological, psychiatric and pop culture and celebrity angles." This definitely sounds like award winning journalism, and not a cynical way to make a few bucks off someone who's clearly spinning out of control -- Adonis DNA or not. PR after the break.
The Charlie Sheen meltdown will be twitterized #Winning #Duh
Put down the search bar and step away from the television. Charlie Sheen's Twitter account has just been certified genuine letting you watch the train wreck at 140 frames per second.
Motorola Xoom lands in Chad Ochocinco's safe hands, is 'pretty awesome'
The Motorola Xoom's release is close, very close. How do we know that? Well, Moto has just handed one to Chad Ochocinco -- one of the NFL's most recklessly loquacious players -- and you don't do that with an unfinished product. For his part, Chad's finding the Honeycomb tablet to be "pretty awesome" and regretfully informs Motorola that it "won't be getting this back." Tracking Chad's tweets reveals that he's just landed in Dallas, site of this year's Super Bowl, where he's received the Android-driven hardware. Something tells us neither he nor Motorola's tablet will spend the next week hiding in the shadows -- look for a lot more screen time for both in the buildup to the big game (and Moto's big halftime ad). One last note? Chad's image above was taken using an iPhone 4. Guess he's holding out for the Atrix 4G. [Thanks, Zizo]
Lady Gaga silences her Twitter account for charity
Sometimes these things write themselves! Digital Life Sacrifice is a charity stunt dreamed up by Alicia Keys with the oh-so-laudable goal of raising much needed cash for the Keep A Child Alive charity. How does this work? Several celebs, including Justin Timberlake, Usher, and the indefatigable Ms. Gaga herself will sign out of Facebook and Twitter on World AIDS Day (December 1) and stay out until they collectively raise one million dollars. Aside from the obvious (why the hell would anybody raise money to get Gaga tweeting again?) the very name Digital Life Sacrifice just begs us to ask the question: do these people even know the meaning of the word sacrifice?
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%
Howard Stern digs his iPad
Oh, my. Yeah, we know...another "celebrity x enjoys his/her iPad post" is hardly riveting reading, but this story is worth a mention. Any long-time Stern fan knows that 1.) He dislikes Apple and 2.) He's adverse to new tech gadgets. Unless he's pimping Sirius/XM hardware, you won't hear much fanboy gadget-gushing from Howard (he famously clings to Lotus Notes for much of his tech-based communication). This week on the show, he talked about the 64GB 3G iPad he received as a gift from Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. Calling it "pretty cool," Howard mentioned reading the New York Times with it and taking screenshots of his wife, Beth O, appearing on a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live via the ABC Player app. This story is less about the celebrity and more about the iPad winning over yet another unlikely customer. Good job, Apple!
Canon brings out Jackie Chan-branded Rebel T2i / 550D for Chinese market
"Eye of Dragon" must be Chinese for "better kit lens, fancier neck strap, a branded photo album, and a leather case." Because that's the totality of substantive changes you'll be getting if you opt for the upgraded Jackie Chan variety of Canon's Rebel T2i. Of course, there's also the knowledge that you'll be one of only 2,010 owners of this exclusive kit, which will set buyers back an unenviable 10,000 Yuan ($1,467). If you ask us, we'd rather just buy the body and add on the EF-S 18-135mm lens ourselves, but then we were always more partial to Bruce Lee anyway.
Interview: Greg Grunberg at the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 celebrity challenge
Lots of the celebrities at last night's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 celebrity benefit tournament didn't know much about gaming, but Greg Grunberg is the exception. Even if he can't dive deep into the differences between next-gen shooters, he at least knows the audience, having appeared on Lost and Alias and controlled minds as Matt Parkman on Heroes. He was at the benefit in West Hollywood promoting the Epilepsy Foundation (his son deals with epileptic seizures, and Grunberg has done some advocacy work on his own as well), and right before he sat down to play BFBC2 alongside Chad Ochocinco and Marshall Faulk, he sat down to chat with us. Read on to hear about what Grunny is doing for Halo: Reach, his favorite iPhone games and why he's so sure there should be one more full season of Heroes.
Interview: Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Senior Producer Patrick Bach
The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 celebrity bracket challenge was a lonely event for us gamers -- while there were lots of TV stars and NFL players around to talk to, we had to really search the club for someone who actually had some insight on the game for us. But there in the back, among the PR organizers and "Athlete Relations" representatives, we found the game's senior producer Patrick Bach (second from right in the picture above). He may never have starred on a network drama or celebrated on the field after a touchdown, but the guy knows how to make first-person shooters, and that's good enough for us. After the break, hear what he thinks of celebrities playing his game, just how ready DICE is for release, and what kinds of secret plans his team has for DLC.
Celebrity Eclipse 'iLounge' described as an 'Apple store at sea'
Ah, yes. The open sea, fine dining, relaxation, and an Apple-certified employee available to troubleshoot your iMovie problems. That's the case on the new Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship at least, which is set to make its maiden voyage this April complete with a "Celebrity iLounge" on board. Described as a "hip, modern lounge," the iLounge includes an internet cafe equipped with 26 workstations, a second retail space where guests can try out and buy various Apple products and accessories (yes, Celebrity is now an Authorized Apple Reseller), and a third "enrichment center" that will offer classes on the iLife suite of programs and other general topics. Of course, it's not a real Apple Store at sea. Floating cubes can be a bit tippy.
Semi-stars fight it out in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 charity event
Imagine you told us that Dr. Chad Ocho Cinco (Hon.) and Olivia Munn intended to throw a Battlefield: Bad Company 2 party and invite all their pseudo-celebrity pals to play for charity. If you asked us to dream up a guest list, we doubt we would be physically capable of coming up with a more ill-suited and uninspiring crew than the one that will actually be in Hollywood tonight for the Battlefield Celebrity Bracket Challenge. We understand Hal Sparks and Perez Hilton are there, that's just the law, but the rest of the NFL players and 90210 and CSI:NY stars that fill out the list so strain and pervert the word "celebrity" that it can now be accurately applied to karaoke DJs and birthday party illusionists. The sole exception here is Heroes star Greg Grunberg, who's a totally decent guy that just seems to have fallen in with the wrong crowd. Bad company indeed, Greg. Bad company indeed.
Massively interviews All Points Bulletin's Chris Collins and EJ Moreland
If you're anywhere as excited as us for All Points Bulletin you'll be happy to know we had the chance to ask Lead Designer EJ Moreland and Community Manager Chris Collins a bevy of questions, which they answered with supreme openness. We've got the scoop on all sorts of topics, from Realtime Worlds' stance on community interaction, whether or not the game will have official forums, content updates post-launch and plenty more. We hope you enjoy reading the interview as much as we did conducting it!
Packard Bell Dot VR46 gets the endorsement of Valentino Rossi, nobody else
Wow. You know a product's reached its tipping point when the only way to freshen it up is to go ultra-glossy and get a celebrity to spill some inspired paint upon it. Valentino Rossi, for those of you who don't know, is a nine-time motorcycle racing champion, which means he's not suffering from impaired vision and therefore lacks a valid excuse for the abomination above. Internal specs aren't yet finalized, not that they really matter, though you'd be safe to look at Acer's current lineup and cherrypick a suitable set of components. If you've been a bad boy or girl today and feel the need to be punished, there are two more snappy snaps of the VR46 after the break. [Thanks, Sal]
Toshiba Natural Selection laptops get celebrity paintjobs, good causes
Alright, we're not too happy with the Natural Selection moniker implying that being a celebrity is somehow a marker of evolutionary prowess, but we'll forgive Toshiba this one time. The Japanese company has recruited a quartet of famous folks to help promote its wares with limited edition laptops painted to their specifications. Aerosmith guitar legend Joe Perry, the no less mythical Rainn Wilson, Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward and his coach Mike... oh wait, that's Omar Epps, have put their own personal stamps on a selection of Toshiba's latest 505 laptop models from the A, P, M, and Qosmio X series. These will be auctioned off on eBay starting this Friday, with all proceeds going to charity. Any more questions before you start the bidding? No? Good. %Gallery-78904%
Jay-Z is a gamer; likes Madden and, uh, you know, stuff like Madden
When celebrities get on board for a game, the inevitable pitfall is the dreaded interview where said celebrity awkwardly tries relating to the "gamer" crowd (trust us, we know all about it.) With DJ Hero dropping this week, celebrity sponsor Jay-Z sat down with MTV News to talk about how much of a gamer he is (hint: not so much) and his support for the cultural awareness opportunities inherent in the recently released turntable title."Immediately, of course, with the success of Guitar Hero, you know, [DJ Hero] piqued my interest, and then on top of that it was something from the hip-hop culture. So, anytime you can, you know, I can expand the genre and introduce it to new audiences and widen it -- you know, the reach of what hip-hop can do -- you know, I'm interested in that," Jay-Z explains in the video interview (embedded after the break).As far as Jay-Z's gaming roots, that's another story altogether. "I was really a gamer," Jay-Z urges. "Like, ask any of the guys. Like, I used to -- Madden and all these type of games," Jay-Z awkwardly cobbles together, "I was, like, really a problem. Like, those were my things -- for awhile." Presumably, until, you know, he got all that other stuff that impresses us, right? It's okay, Mr. Z -- you don't have to impress us with your gaming prowess, too. It's not like we have the numbers of "the guys" to fact check your claims anyway.
