Myspace -- Engadget

myspace posts

Video: Arduino-based 'insecure, egotistical' robot band

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jul 31st 2009 at 5:37PM

One part gadget, one part art project, and 100% awesome, the Cybraphon is a MacBook powered, Arduino-based mechanical band housed in an antique wardrobe. Including an organ, cymbals, a motor-driven Indian Shruti box (played with 13 robotic servos, no less), and a gramophone, it relies on infrared motion detectors to sense when it has an audience. A number of factors, including the amount of attention it gets on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, help the device determine its "mood," which in turn determines when the "band" plays, and what material it selects. According to one of the artist / inventors, the Cybraphon is a "tongue-in-cheek comment on people's obsession with online celebrity. We modeled it on an insecure, egotistical band." That's our favorite kind! And you know, the thing doesn't sound half bad. Check it out for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Video: Arduino-based 'insecure, egotistical' robot band

A MySpace portable audio player? (Design your own!)

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Nov 7th 2008 at 2:39PM

MySpace has long been associated with music, and the site's recent push into commercial sales has prompted rumors that it might release a device of its own -- "it's possible," said the site's co-founder Chris DeWolfe when asked about it yesterday. For the time being, however, the social networking site will be wisely concentrating on what it does best: maintaining the world's foremost photographic archive of suburban tweenagers flashing gang signs and providing a much needed creative outlet for people with names like IfUaHATERthenDon'tbeHatin, « ASHLEE » and Psycho♥Rée. And to keep you entertained as you wait for another episode of MySpaceTV's Sorority Forever, feel free to check out the MySpacePMP Blingee after the break.

Update: We've found ourselves so visually inspired by the concept of a MySpace player that we've decided to run a Photoshop contest (that grandest of traditions) to see what you can come up with. Fire your best 'shops on over to contests at engadget dawt com, and together we can create a brighter future.

[Via Electronista]

Continue reading A MySpace portable audio player? (Design your own!)

VoIP comes to MySpace through Skype partnership

by Darren Murph posted Oct 17th 2007 at 8:19AM

Skype and MySpace -- that just sounds like a match made in heaven, no? If you're still scratching your head on how the two actually fit together, here's the low down: a new partnership between the pair will soon allow MySpace members to dial up other users by simply clicking a button in their profile. Of course, this is assuming you can actually find the aforementioned button in all of the site's clutter, but we digress. Starting in November, the service will reach users in some 20 countries around the globe, and while vanilla PC-to-PC calls will obviously be gratis, "premium options" such as personal phone numbers, voice mail, call forwarding and PC-to-landline / mobile calls will have an undisclosed pricetag attached. Welcome to a whole new realm of shock callin'.

T-Mobile, Danger introduce MySpace Mobile for Sidekick

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 20th 2007 at 1:33PM

Once Helio's claim to fame, mobile versions of MySpace are spreading across carriers large and small now; seems this whole social networking thing isn't a fad after all. The bulk of the Hiptop user base seems like a key MySpace demographic, so it makes sense that T-Mobile and Danger have joined the fray with a customized version of MySpace Mobile for the Sidekick range. The software's more than a simple mobile web portal, offering real-time status, profile editing, photo management, and communication with other members assembled into a decidedly Danger-like user interface. The companies are undertaking a "multi-week rollout" to the on-device Download Catalog beginning immediately with availability to all Sidekick 3 and iD users by the end of October, so enjoy your last few weeks of productivity while you can.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

MyCyberTwin knows why you cry, but it's something it can never do

by Nilay Patel posted Apr 21st 2007 at 3:18PM

An Australian company has grand plans to reinvent the lowly chatbot by giving it a little personality -- yours. And no, it's not just for messing with your friends. MyCyberTwin is a chat robot designed to be easily programmable by ordinary users. The 'bot accepts high-level input in the form of detailed questionnaires about politics, religion, and sex, as well as the answers to any questions you might anticipate it being asked, like "What are you doing on Saturday?" The idea is that you'll install the chat widget on your blog or MySpace profile, and then visitors can talk to "you" based on what you've programmed into the 'bot. But besides the thorny problem of managing an army of emo MySpace robots, the MyCyberTwin people seem to have overlooked the obvious name for their product: with endless online relationship questions and politics quizzes plus the thrill of filling out personality profiles, this thing is just begging to be called MyFreshmanDorm.

[Via TechnologyReview]

Cingular jumps on the MySpace bandwagon

by Darren Murph posted Dec 18th 2006 at 11:15AM

It looks like Helio isn't the only game in town touting a MySpace partnership anymore, as Cingular has not only joined the ranks (well, solidified the friendship, anyway), but upped the ante in the process. While we learned about MySpace's integration with Helio (and the subsequent perks for members) awhile back, Cingular's deal promises a "more expansive" offering. So expansive, in fact, that users will be charged an extra $2.99 per month to upload photos taken on their handsets to their profile, read / respond to MySpace emails, update their blog entries, and search / view friend profiles on their handsets. Apparently, these not-so-outrageous niceties are costing users due to the "small Java application" that they can download, which presumably makes accessing these luxuries an easy and painless process. About "30 cellphone models" will initially be supported, with another 20 or so to follow suit, and while online videos aren't currently supported, that functionality should be launched "sometime in 2007."

The Sony mylo's first street review

by Cyrus Farivar posted Sep 9th 2006 at 2:34AM

While the Sony mylo isn't really meant for your lap (we envision it as more of a dual-handed device -- or, erm, "dual-core," if you will), Laptop nonetheless decided to take 'er for a spin -- one of the first in-the-wild reviews that we've seen since our recent unboxing. The verdict? It's a cute little curvaceous piece of hardware that does what it advertises -- you can surf the web, Skype, IM, and play back media from it all with ease (they even claim it plays back WMA "secure", i.e. PlaysForSure, which we somehow highly doubt). But the mylo isn't the be-all Sidekick killer that Sony would surely like it to be. The magazine described the keyboard as too small and cramped for their liking and added that the mylo didn't handle all web pages perfectly (specifically the image-heavy MySpace, whose denizens Sony is aiming at) on its 2.4-inch display. This led us to wonder if we'll start seeing mylo-friendly webpages in the near future, but nevertheless, we still think Engadget looks best on the biggest screen in your house.