Daisy
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Daisy is a tiny $29 computer for building custom musical instruments
Coding your own musical instruments just got a lot more convenient. Music tech company Electrosmith has launched the Daisy, an open source microcomputer packed with everything you need to code your own pedals, synth, modules and instruments -- and it's the size of a stick of gum.
Apple is making it easier to recycle iPhones in the US
With Earth Day just around the corner, Apple announced it's quadrupling the number of locations US customers can send their iPhones for recycling. The company's recycling robot, Daisy, will now disassemble select iPhones returned to Best Buy stores in the US, KPN retailers in the Netherlands, as well as those recycled at any Apple Store or online through the Apple Trade In program.
Apple unveils its newest recycling robot ahead of Earth Day
Looks like Liam, Apple's phone-dismembering robot, now has a little sister. Just ahead of Earth Day, the Cupertino-based company revealed the newest member of its robo-recycling team: Daisy.
Platinum gets conceptual with Bayonetta's Nintendo costumes
You can channel Nintendo's heroines (and Hyrule's hero) while unleashing crazy combos in Bayonetta 2, but it's worth taking a break from witchcraft to see how the collaboration came together in the first place. As Platinum Games detailed in a recent blog post, Bayonetta's first borrowed garb was the result of director Hideki Kamiya asking Platinum's Yong-Hee Cho to draw Bayonetta in a Princess Peach outfit. The above image and the full gallery below shows some of Cho's conceptual interpretations, but Kamiya pushed to keep the dress closer to Peach's original style. After tying Bayonetta's hair up, adding a Mario charm and some forearm flair, Kamiya and Cho were pleased with the results. Kamiya's direction similarly led to the Samus costume resembling the bounty hunter's initial venture on the NES, but the development of Bayonetta's tunic is interesting: After Kamiya approved Cho's traditional take on Link's classic attire, Cho turned the designs in to Nintendo for approval. They were returned with a suggestion that Cho open the tunic's top a little more. Bayonetta's Nintendo-themed wardrobe is available in both Bayonetta games on the Wii U, and in the case of Bayonetta 2, Contributing Editor Earnest Cavalli's review remarked that it's a "grand sequel that overshadows the most gleefully over-the-top aspects of its predecessor with entirely new levels of awe-inspiring spectacle." [Image: Platinum Games]
Beats unveils refreshed Studio headphones with 20-hour battery, improved comfort
You haven't forgotten about Dre, have you? His Beats Studio headphones -- the ones that started the whole celebrity-endorsed portable-audio craze in 2008 -- are finally getting a full-on revamp. Well into its post-Monster life, Beats Electronics has addressed the chief complaints of the original. An extension of a modernized silhouette, the new Studio is 13 grams lighter (263g), with improved padding and ergonomics to provide better comfort. Better yet, these over-ear cans pack a headband that won't snap so easily during extreme bends. Updated noise-cancellation tech enables the Studio to automatically adjust depending on your surroundings -- it even intensifies the effect for further noise reduction when the cable (which naturally features an in-line remote and mic) isn't plugged in. The days of needing to carry an extra pack of Duracells are gone too; the Li-Ion battery promises 20 hours of music playback. Meanwhile, five LEDs display juice levels and an automatic power control keeps the cells from draining if you forget to turn 'em off. The company's new DSP, Beats Acoustic Engine (BAE), aims for a voicing of "balance, accuracy and emotion," and the cans apparently leak out less sound to those around you. So, is it more than just a new take on the bass-heavy S-curve that's managed to "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" for five years? You can find out this August for the admission price of $300, in your choice of black, white or red.
Beats is either 'in talks' with Apple over new music-streaming service, or it's just very good at marketing
Excuse us, but we find it hard to swallow some of the hype that swirls around the Beats brand. That sounds harsh, maybe, but it's borne out of experience. Anyway, we do trust Reuters, and that outlet claims to have it on good authority that Beats is "in talks" with Apple over a partnership involving the forthcoming Daisy music-streaming service that was formerly MOG. The word is that Tim Cook attended an "informational" meeting with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine and "expressed interest" in his business model -- whatever that is -- and that Apple's head of Internet products, Eddy Cue, was also present. In news that is very much related, Beats has also revealed that it's managed to generate enough buzz around the $12 million acquisition of MOG to raise a further $60 million in investment to help it to launch the rebranded and hopefully expanded service as a separate entity later this year. It'll be interesting to see how the newcomer plans to tackle the already-entrenched competition, possibly with curated playlists and other MySpace-style ideas, and we're fully prepared to eat our skeptics' hats if it succeeds.
Beats Electronics announces project Daisy music service, appoints new CEO
Beats snapped up music service MOG back in summer for a tidy sum of $14 million. Since then it's been unclear on what it intended to do with it. Today we learn that Dre and Iovine have appointed former Topspin boss Ian Rogers as CEO, specifically with the task of taking what was MOG, and developing it into a new project that the firm has dubbed "Daisy." In a conference, the team assured that they will use everything Beats has (we assume that's its brand strength and marketing ability) to push Daisy through to what is, to be fair, a very busy market space. Trent Reznor is also involved in the project, acting as a connection between the artist and the consumer. Rogers will reportedly remain involved with Topspin in an executive chairman capacity. Interestingly the firm says it will be focusing on mobile first, with iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 all getting some love. No details on the business model, though it's been suggested that a $10 per month subscription service could be on the cards. MOG is still staying as MOG for now, but any new branding and product direction will be sure to be outlined soon. Full press release after the break.
Trent Reznor teases Beats-backed streaming music service, wants a personal touch
Dr. Dre isn't the only musician to collaborate with Beats on projects deeper than one-off headphone models. Nine Inch Nails and How To Destroy Angels creator Trent Reznor tells The New Yorker that he and Beats are developing a streaming music service, codenamed Daisy, that should go beyond just automatically suggesting related songs like with Pandora. Alongside algorithm-based picks, Daisy should introduce "intelligent curation" from humans to make musical connections that wouldn't otherwise take place. We'll know more when the service goes live early next year; we're presuming the recommendations will involve more than just another spin of The Downward Spiral. [Image credit: Nine Inch Nails and Rob Sheridan, Flickr]
Chrome OS coming to ARM?
Many moons ago, Google made it quite clear we wouldn't be seeing its browser-based OS on any tablets or phones, but it never said Chrome OS wouldn't run on devices powered by similar silicon. In fact, the issues tracker at the Chromium OS project shows that work's being done to get Chrome OS compatible with ARM architecture, and in particular a Samsung Exynos 5250 chip. That Sammy silicon appears to be inside a new bit of hardware, codenamed "Daisy," but deeper digging failed to provide further details about the mystery device. While it certainly seems like Google's working on a new ARM-powered gadget, it's important to note that the Chromium project functions largely via user contributions, so the work might not be directed by Mountain View. You don't have to take our word for it, though. Head on down to the source link to see the evidence first hand, and feel free to form your own opinion.
It's-a Mario World: Mushroom Matriarchy
This week we knew we wanted to talk about females in the Mario universe, but we couldn't decide on an angle. "Mario's Love Life"? Too scandalous. "Damsels in Distress"? Anti-feminist. It seems almost offensive to feature a gallery with such a generalized premise as female characters (as opposed to something as specific as Rare Koopa Kids and Underrated Mini-Bosses Golfing at E3). But then we realized, maybe the mere fact that there are hardly enough major female characters to populate a gallery substantiates the need for one. Women are criminally underrepresented in Mario games and in the industry at large, but today we'd like to call attention to some of the lovely ladies shining through an otherwise testosterone-fueled bachelor party.Most female characters in Mario adventure games are ridiculously susceptible to kidnapping and all manner of perilous occasion. Today, though, let's look at them without the cliched rescue plot and inane stereotyping. Here's a gallery of females worth giving all of your lives for. It's-a Mario World is a weekly feature in which the ubiquity of Nintendo's flagship character is celebrated: We'll incessantly ruminate about mustache wax, debate the curious whereabouts of the princess and covet the luminous power stars strewn about the galaxy. Check back here every Friday to find out what strange and wonderful thing has got us tipping our caps.
Intempo reveals kinda sexy Daisy portable internet radio
Last we heard from Intempo, it was busy grasping for business with a slew of ho hum iPod docks, but it's getting '08 started by offering up a slightly (keyword: slightly) more attractive item. The Daisy internet radio can access "thousands" of online and FM stations, and it can reportedly last for around 20 hours before needing a recharge. You'll also find a pretty basic LCD, but outside of that, we wouldn't expect a whole heap of extras. The Daisy is slated to hit production by next April and will land on store shelves with an admittedly steep £149 ($292) price tag shortly thereafter.[Via TechDigest]
Ugliest Luigi ever
Poor Luigi. The lanky plumber already has enough problems dealing with his older brother always stealing the spotlight and Princess Daisy's failure to commit to a serious relationship, but now he has to worry about embarassing photos from 20 years ago resurfacing on the internet. We all have our fair share of unflattering pictures from the 80s, but the images posted for this vintage Super Mario Bros. doll auction are downright embarassing. This 3.5'-tall toy was a promotional item from Nintendo that was never released to the general public. Head past the post break to see what the green guy looked like before he tamed his hair and trimmed his mustache. He really let himself go back then -- look at that hat![Via GameSniped]
How-To: Make your own MP3 player
We got a whiff of MAKE's Daisy a while back, but now we've finally managed to get our hands on one of these open source MP3 player kits. Today we'll whip out our soldering iron and show you how things shake out. The kit isn't dirt cheap at $115 each, but it's completely open source and flexible - making it ideal for a SunDIY afternoon (har), or for that soldering-iron-weilding open source fanatic in your life. Read on!
