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Switched On: Giving fax the axe
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.Today's smartphones handle voice conversations, short texts, email, instant messages, and tweets from around the globe. They are moving toward real-time translation of languages -- and if the batteries malfunction, they can even send smoke signals. But if there is one staple of communication that has seemed immune from "app-ification," it is the fax machine. This dial-up dinosaur has proven so resilient that it seems certain that the mutant cockroaches surviving humanity may find some use for 14,400 bits per second document transmissions. However, a recently launched $3 app for the iPhone may be the harbinger of the demise of the fax, or at least for one of its most common rationales.
Pleo returns to CES with big promises, bigger Pleo
Pleo (and its new maker Jetta) isn't exactly out in force at CES 2010, but the company is here with some promises about a new and improved second generation Pleo and, perhaps more importantly, a giant version of the current Pleo. Unfortunately, it's not for sale, and Jetta apparently doesn't have any plans to change that in the future, so your Kota triceratops won't be getting a buddy anytime soon. Jetta also isn't offering anything much in the way of actual details about the next generation Pleo, but it is promising that it'll be more than just a simple revision. In the meantime, feel free to take a wild trip through the world of Pleo in the gallery below. %Gallery-82114%
There's a game that exists which has Nazi Dinosaurs in it
Okay -- Time Gentlemen, Please featured a number of Hitler-Heiling prehistoric lizards, so we guess there's now two games out there which feature Nazi Dinosaurs. Still, the more recent title to boast the hybrid, a Half-Life 2 mod titled Dino D-Day, actually allows you to go toe to talon with with these fanged, scaly members of the Third Reich. You can check out an overwhelmingly patriotic trailer for the mod over on ModDB -- or, if you're in the mood to massacre some Nazi Dinos right now, the mod is also available to download. (To be fair, the dinosaurs featured in Dino D-Day are unable to speak, so it's difficult to know whether they harbor the disturbing political and social beliefs of the Nazi party. However, they're affiliated with them in combat, so we've got no reservations about punching them repeatedly in their stupid dinosaur faces.)
Found Footage: New & improved TankedCam, now with even more iPhone
Remember Pete's FishCam? Just before Christmas of 2008, we did a short post about Pete Raumann's web app that he developed that allowed him to watch his fish tank, turn the light on and off, and even open and close a treasure chest in the tank.Pete's now presenting the newly renamed TankedCam to the world, and you get to be in control! While he still won't let you feed his fish (he doesn't want them floating upside down in the tank), you can now get in on the fun of watching and annoying the tank population by heading to either http://www.tankedcam.com or the iPhone / iPod touch-friendly http://m.tankedcam.com. In his latest hit video, Pete uses an iPod touch and the latter link to control the tank that's in the background. I was playing with this last night while watching TV and trust me, the fish tank was much more interesting than the show. Pete has added an air stone that you can turn on and off, a dinosaur tank ornament with a mouth you can open and close, and one cam that you can pan left and right. A tap on your iPhone screen brings you to a stationary upper camera with a scuba diver that you can control in real time, another air stone controller, and a water pump that you can use to add water to the tank.If you think that the latter control is going to let you flood Pete's office from your iPhone, you're wrong -- the system is set up with a level controller so you won't be able to add water beyond a certain level in the tank. This is a fun demonstration of remote control via iPhone, so be sure to give it a try. I've included some screenshots from last night's eerily-lit iPhone fish-bothering session, as well as some shots in the light of day. Enjoy! %Gallery-74443%
A fond look at a blast from the past: the Mac Portable
An email this morning from Harry McCracken at Technologizer.com pointed the way to a trip down memory lane. Harry was letting us know that Technologizer blogger Benj Edwards had written a 20th anniversary teardown post about the first truly mobile Mac -- the Mac Portable. Why is this a trip down memory lane for me in particular? I actually owned one of these beasts for a few years. They were ridiculously expensive at the time -- US$7,300 for a 16 lb. (7.25 kg) monochrome screen machine with 1 MB of RAM, a floppy disk drive, and a 40 MB hard disk -- but since I was a developer at the time I was able to get a substantial discount and bought it for about $4,000. I recall taking my Portable to meetings back in the day, and people were absolutely fascinated by it. Of course, about two years later it would be replaced by the much lighter (5.1 lb. / 2.3 kg) PowerBook 100, which was the first of what we consider to be the truly "laptop" Macs. Definitely take a look at the Technologizer post if you get a chance. Benj does a step-by-step teardown, describes what you're seeing in each photo, and notes what items on the Portable made it such a technological wonder in the late 1980s. I won't spoil things for you, but be sure to look at the last page of the teardown for a comparison Edwards does between the Portable and the iPhone. We've come a long way in just 20 years.
Video: Pleo gets new dance moves, alpha dev kit
We've seen the Pleo get shredded, overtaken by a Wii wand, and generally mocked for its status as a perennially endangered species. With no dignity left to protect, its makers have decided they might as well kick out an SDK, or PDK in this case, to let the great unwashed masses have their way with the originally autonomous bot. Still only in the alpha stage and not yet widely available, the dev kit has already borne fruit in the shape of a shockingly awesome dance video. We've got it for you after the break, but a warning first: prepare to fall in love all over again. [Thanks, Eric]
LEDSAUR Tyrannosaurus Rex desk lamp makes chewing through paperwork less monotonous
We'll be straight with you: it was pretty much love at first sight for us and dinosaur bones, and while we've always harbored a secret desire to someday acquire a real T-Rex fossil for our private collection, the LEDSAUR is probably our best shot at anything even close to that. Besides taking on that famous shape we love, this carnivorous piece of lighting is pretty stylish, with each of its vertebrae represented with an LED. The lamp is made of stainless steel, it's bendable, and it comes with a remote control. It's sadly only available in Japan for the time being, and runs between $115 and $270. [Via CrunchGear]
Canon unveils augmented reality dinosaur show in Japan
Canon's just unveiled its new augmented reality display in Chiba, Japan, and we have to say, we're thinking about heading over there to check it out... and hopefully experience what it's like to be eaten (virtually) by a T-Rex. Featuring 260 dinosaur specimens, the display makes us of a virtual reality viewer -- one for each person roaming round the exhibit -- putting the dinosaurs at a "distance" of about 5 meters. The exhibit will make use of various Canon products, including an inkjet printer, an LCD projector and several different cameras. The dinosaurs will be on display starting July 18th until August 1st, so you probably want to just go ahead and book a flight right now.
Kota the Triceratops unboxing and hands-on
We were pretty stoked about PlaySkool's Kota the Triceratops robotoy, but after an hour or so studying the beast with the help of two diminutive guest reviewers, we're just not all that sold. Sure, Kota turns his head, wags his tail, opens his mouth and plays sounds effects in response to his 11 touch and weight sensors, but he just doesn't do much else. Plus, almost everyone is disappointed to find that the $300 dino doesn't walk -- it was the first question from adults and kids alike. Still, Kota's an adorable little scamp, and while he's not quite the kid-sized Pleo we were hoping for, he's certainly appealing -- here's hoping Kota 2.0 learns how to stomp around a little bit.%Gallery-34669%
Kota the Triceratops ships from the land before time to your home
Playskool's Kota the Triceratops is a robot dinosaur that uses 11 sensors to respond to touch and sound by wiggling its horns, wagging its tail and turning its head. It also plays a few "adventure themed songs." Best of all, it can't stampede or impale anyone; like the animatronic Triceratops in Jurassic Park, Kota can't get up and move around. That won't stop kids from adoring it though. Like Pleo before it, Kota's cuteness overpowers all. Don't believe us? Shipments have begun, so you can buy the cuddly robot and see for yourself. All you need is 300 bucks. Or you could just check out the video beyond the cut.
E308: Dinosaur King unearths a trailer
Our unfaltering love of dinosaurs makes us want to also love any video game having to do with such awesome and mighty creatures, like Dinosaur King. Yet, once again, the juxtaposition of cartoonish graphics with real-world imagery leaves us uneasy. We were really feeling it until the anime sprites showed up out of nowhere. Perhaps we need to actually see the show this is based on to understand the allure. At the same time, thoughts of digging up fossils, having a dinosaur compendium, and fighting dino battles are incredibly tempting. Too bad Sega didn't forgo the license and just hunt for the meat of it all. The music in the trailer makes one thing clear, though: dinosaurs rawk. Not that we needed another confirmation of that fact.Interested parties can also check out the new screens in the gallery below.%Gallery-22668%
Take a peek at Champions Online's Monster Island
Over at the official Champions Online website you can find an excerpt from the upcoming Monster Island sourcebook for the Champions tabletop game. The cool thing of course is that this relates entirely to the digital world of Champions Online, which makes it a lore piece as well. The island itself is very much an homage to the Godzilla movies as it's located just off the coast of Japan. It's not all text, however, as Cryptic has seen fit to release three new screens featuring the Monster Island locale and we've gotta say the zone looks pretty awesome. There's plenty of lush jungle-scape and you just know that a giant dinosaur or an 800lb flaming gorilla is just around the corner.We've added all three of the screens to our Champions Online gallery, so feel free to check them out at your leisure.%Gallery-17946%
Video: Samsung's Soulful dinosaur takes tour around England
Remember that not-entirely-innocent looking prehistoric creature that won your heart immediately upon viewing Samsung's optical illusion promotional vid? Apparently quite a few folks demanded to see more of the Soul dinosaur, so Sammy hoisted him up onto a truck and proceeded to drive around a few English towns. Catch the sub-2 minute journey (reactions included) just after the break.[Thanks, Claudio]
Watch dinosaurs be kings
If you like watching dinosaurs beating the snot out of each other, you'll probably enjoy the Dinosaur King trailer above. The battle animations looked pretty cool to us, and we found ourselves letting go of some of the worries that plagued us earlier.Even so, we were disappointed when watching the second gameplay trailer (embedded below), only to see that the stegosaurus has the exact same moves as the triceratops. If all the dinosaurs can do the same things, we can foresee the battles in the game getting old fast.It does seem that each dinosaur has an attack specific to its own kind, though, so we hope that will be enough to keep things interesting. Gallery: Dinosaur King
Excavating more details on Dinosaur King
We were more interested in Dinosaur King when we thought it was just a paleontology sim. Now that more details have surfaced, though, we're a bit more wary. According to Sega, the fossil digging is only the beginning. In this anime-based game, you also have to use the different dinosaurs that you collect to fight -- think of it as Pokemon, only with extinct creatures rather than cute, fictional animals.Sounds good, right? So far, yes. The dinosaur-loving dorks inside of us were also excited to hear about the game's compendium, which keeps track of the dino bones that you've collected and lists facts about the beasts they came from, too. With seventy different dinosaurs to collect, as well as stylus-utilizing excavation processes and Wi-Fi battles, this seemed like something we could really get into. Then why our hesitation? You'll probably have to check out the screens in our gallery below to fully understand, but it has something to do with the game's clashing styles. Bright colored anime and realistic-looking dinosaurs just don't seem to mesh well. Add that to a cheesy storyline (as members of the D-Team you're trying to stop Dr. Z and the Alpha Gang from destroying the world), and we can't help but lose some of our initial excitement. Still, we'll be keeping our eyes on this title, which is scheduled to release this September.%Gallery-22668%[Via press release]
Digging up fossils in Dinosaur King
Oddly enough, screens for a game called Dinosaur King popped up on Sega's press site, but there's been no official word or press release as to what the game is or when to expect it.Still, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what this title involves. The screens are pretty telling; it looks like some sort of paleontology sim, in which you dig up dinosaur bones and restore the extinct creature's skeletons as completely as possible.In fact, it sounds very familiar to what we know of We Are Fossil Diggers, a second-party game that was only released in Japan (and happens to be selling quite well over there). Some of the screens for Dinosaur King also hint that the title has an added drama element, though, so we'll wait until we hear more information.%Gallery-22668%
We are First Impressions
Bokura wa Kaseki Horidaa (English name: We are Fossil Holders) doesn't launch in Japan until next week, but Siliconera got its hands on a copy early, and wrote about the experience of excavating one of the in-game fossils; apparently, it's a little more complex than casually chatting to an owl in a bow-tie.There's a range of tools and techniques required to successfully excavate fossils without damaging them, including an X-ray device (to detect what lies underground), a hammer (to break down rocks and soil), and a drill (to chisel away smaller pieces of earth). Blowing dust away (using the DS's microphone, a la Spectrobes) is also an important part of recovering pieces for your dinosaur army.Beware, however, for if greenish cracks appear on the fossil, that means that it's getting damaged, and could break. We'd recommend reading Siliconera's write-up, as it actually sounds like quite a tense (and delicate) process!
A brief dig unearths Kaseki Horidaa site
An official site has just appeared for Kaseki Horidaa, Red's dinosaur-based title in which players dig up fossils, assemble them to create a dinosaur army, and then send them out to fight with other dino armies. For the winners: ultimate victory! For the losers: uh, we presume they just perish and eventually become fossilized all over again. It's a vicious cycle. But we digress.There's plenty of screens and character art over at the official site, and also (more interestingly) some footage of the game, including a brief slice of action from the battles (here), and also a video showing an actual excavation in process, with the stylus being used to gently chip away at the dirt around a fierce-looking skull (here - scroll down and you'll see it). There's elements of both Spectrobes and Pokemon on display here, and that's no bad thing.[Via Go Nintendo]
Dig up fossils and enslave dinosaurs on your DS
Famitsu has a pretty interesting look at a new game for the DS. Developed by Red and published by Nintendo, Kaseki Horidaa looks like Pokemon on steroids. Instead of deceptively cute creatures that hide dangerous attacks, the game will feature blatantly scary dinos with unspeakable power. Unlike Pokemon, the game will allow players to compose a 3-dino team. Gaining a new dino comrade demands the player dig up fossils, as each ferocious beast is made up of 4 different parts. And digging up fossils isn't as simple as blowing away virtual dirt by blowing into your DS's microphone.There's a real sense of tension here, as players can just as easily destroy a fossil as liberate it from its earthy confines. But, with over 100 different types of dinosaurs in the game, breaking a fossil or two won't be too much cause for concern. And, based on what dinosaurs you make, they'll be adept at attack, defense or support.That's about all we could get from the Famitsu page (machine translation is being a royal pain with this, for some reason), so for some more eye candy, be sure to head on past the break to see screens. And keep an eye on DS Fanboy for more news on the game as it develops.
Mattel's D-Rex wants a piece of Pleo, your leg
If you're content with letting time pass you by, you may not realize that this year's holiday shopping season is but ten months away, and apparently, Mattel thinks it's got the whole hottest toy thing figured out already. Granted, we'd place our bets on that wildly animated Elmo Live fellow (and yeah, Kota is a legitimate dark horse), but the $150 D-Rex dinosaur is still pretty slick. Aimed at kids ages six and (way) up, the interactive dino reportedly features 100 different roars, "lifelike" skin (saywha?) and the ability to respond to a variety of commands or simply take a chunk out of your ankle if he prefers. Looks like Pleo's got its work cut out, eh?[Thanks, Braden R.]
