popcorn
Latest
Sharp's first Alexa-ready microwave ovens are optimized for popcorn
Sharp has unveiled its first microwave ovens with Alexa, and they have voice commands fine-tuned for Orville Redenbacher popcorn.
Well Fed Buff: Bag of popcorn
If you spend time on the internet -- which I'm sure everyone reading this does -- then you're well aware that popcorn is no longer simply a food, it's a verb. One that can often be applied to happenings in World of Warcraft. But hey, I'm not here for the verb version, I'm here for the delicious, edible noun. I've long thought it was a shame that the only place you could get a Bag of Popcorn in WoW was from the arena vendor in Zul'Drak (you have to wave at him--he'll toss you the item). Wouldn't it fit right in at the Darkmoon Faire? Blizzard, are you listening? Anyway, if you're not feeling up to flying all the way out to the frozen wastes of Zul'Drak to get one of these, you can make it easily in the comfort of your own home.
Pop Dongle makes your iPhone smell like popcorn: Get it while it's hot!
When it comes to iPhone accessories, the Pop Dongle (a collectible accessory available on eBay, with proceeds going to the American Red Cross) is certainly one of the most unique we've ever covered on TUAW. It's an accessory that plugs into the headphone jack of your iPhone and -- when you do certain things in the Poptopia app (free) -- emits the smell of freshly popped popcorn. Mmmmm! The Pop Dongle is the brainchild of Pop Secret Popcorn and ad agency Deutsch Los Angeles. While playing Poptopia, swiping the butter encourages the Pop Dongle to spread the yummy odor of popcorn. My guess is that Pop Secret has the idea that smelling the Pop Dongle will also encourage you to pop some real corn -- hopefully its brand. You only have until this Friday, December 13, 2013, to put in your bids on the Pop Dongle on eBay. At this point, the top bid is US$152.50, although I'm hoping that a generous TUAW reader will push it over $200 before the end of the auction. While you're waiting for your bid to win the auction, you can watch this video repeatedly and dream of the lovely scent of popcorn coming from your very own Pop Dongle.
The Popinator voice-activated popcorn launcher: because greasy hands are just so 2011 (update: yep, may become a product)
Before you ask: it looks like the real deal. Popcorn, Indiana has decided that it's just too much trouble to reach into that bag or bowl and has devised the Popinator, quite possibly the world's only smart popcorn launcher. A binaural microphone array on the machine's front listens for a clear "pop" command -- say the magic word and the Popinator will aim one of its many corn projectiles at your mouth, no hands required. We're still working to glean all the details, such as whether or not the snack delivery vehicle will be a commercial project and how much money it would take to install one at home (and, we'll admit it, the Engadget offices). In the meantime, you can hop past the break to catch one of the most appetizing and laid-back promo videos you've likely ever seen. [Thanks, Peter] Update: Popcorn, Indiana has answered back and says the Popinator is currently an in-house project, but it may well become something you can buy if everything lines up. We'll let the full statement speak for itself: "All we have to say is: it is a work in progress right now. We certainly hope that one day it will become a commercial project, but as of now there is no shipping date and no price tag. It is purely a fun internal project we are toying with here at Popcorn Indiana. Based on the very positive responses we are getting online, we think this is well worth looking into as a commercial product."
Popcorn Hour launches A-400 streamer for €289 with 'studio-quality' 3D video processing
If you're a streamer who shuns plastic disks and their ilk, but still wants 3D, there's good news: Syabas has announced the Popcorn Hour A-400 network media player. Thanks to a dual-core video processor, the box can mulch through 3D Blu-ray content (ripped, presumably), while also supporting studio-level features like detail enhancement and debanding. Like its A-300 predecessor, the streamer can dock a hard disk for content storage, and connects to your network via ethernet or optional WiFi. Other connections include an SD card reader, HDMI 1.4, eSATA and USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 (pending confirmation). On top of giving you access to your own content, the Syabas Apps Market brings YouTube, BBC's iPlayer, and 90 or so other free or premium channels. It'll hit stores in October with a €289 price tag, so if that sounds like your bag of popcorn, see the PR for more info.
Win a year's subscription by making a blockbuster City of Heroes poster
Want to make your mark on a game world and get a year's subscription at the same time? Sounds like an achievement only a superhero would be capable of, right? Fortunately, Paragon Studios has an entire legion of super-powered imaginations at its disposal. The studio has launched a contest in which players are challenged to create a City of Heroes-themed poster worthy of a blockbuster marquee. If you're interested, you have to be 13 or older and use non-copyrighted material to make a good-looking movie poster on your computer. Submissions have to be turned in by April 10th, at which time Paragon will choose a first-, second-, and third-place winner out of the heap. Each winner will have a chance at seeing his or her poster put into the game itself, and all will win free subscription time (first place gets a full year, second place six months, and third place three months). This contest may be part of a larger plan for City of Heroes. In her latest producer's letter, Melissa Bianco wrote, "We're already on our final push for Issue 23 polish, in pre-production on Issue 24, and putting some exciting new content into place for the summer. You may have heard whispers, but it will be fun. Think: popcorn."
Popcorn Hour bulks up for the C-300, can juggle an extra hard-disk or Blu-ray drive (video)
Some people may not be willing just yet to leave the world of physical media. Those circumspect media consumers may be intrigued by the latest Popcorn Hour box. Looking more substantial than the recent A-300, the C-300 model includes a 2.5-inch color TFT display at the front and packs space for both a quick-removable 3.5-inch HDD and an internal 2.5-inch SATA drive. A Blu-ray drive can also be mounted to the removable HD rack and you can expect support for the same plethora of file types we've come to expect from the Popcorn Hour family. Network options have been expanded, with a new built-in aerial supporting an optional Mini MII PCI WiFi N card. Syabas is already offering up a full UI walkthrough at the source below and you can take a peak at the C-300's built-in app market in action right after the break.
Popcorn Hour A-300 ready to sit quietly and enjoy the movies, starting October 18th (video)
Syabas has released a torrent of details about its next media streamer. The forthcoming Popcorn Hour A-300 houses the latest Sigma 800MHz CPU and Real Media decoder support, plus USB 3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet connections to ensure dizzying transfer speeds. Like its predecessor, the aluminum-encased streamer is entirely fanless, broadcasting your favorite content in stoic silence. The A300 will be available starting October 18th, direct from Syabas. You can prepare yourself by checking out the source link below for a plethora of detailed videos and screengrabs of the A-300's interface in action.
Anti-Aliased: "Cash shop" shouldn't be a dirty phrase
A not so long time ago in an interview located not too far away, one of our intrepid readers asked Alganon's David Allen if they ever considered a free-to-play model for their game. His response was the following: "Right now, the industry standard is to squeeze as much money as they can out of players by introducing cash shops, and forcing them to pay for things that ought to have been part of the game. We don't want to do that. We want Alganon to be a service. You pay us a subscription so we can continue to develop and run a game that you enjoy playing. It's not a product where you hand us money and we hand you a vanity pet, or mount, or epic sword and then walk away. " So, David... not to be "that girl" but... um... how's that cash shop working out for ya? So, now that I've said what pretty much everyone was thinking when they heard that announcement from Quest Online, let's talk about cash shops this week and how we seem to royally keep screwing them up in our culture. Because, as the title says, "cash shop" just shouldn't be a dirty phrase in our industry.
Twitter-powered robotic popcorn machine: media snacker deluxe
Reading people's annoying "I'm eating such-and-such" tweets gets pretty tiring (though we're just as guilty as the next guy when we have a particularly impressive petit four). Someone with even more time on their hands than us had taken it upon themselves to make a little contraption that, it could be argued, increases Twitter's usefulness just a little. Popcorn Tweets (as it's called) was built using Lego's Mindstorm NXT and is powered by Labview software. Triggered by a #popcorn tweet, the machine's motor is driven by a belt which turns an Archimedes' screw, which in turn moves a kernal of unpopped corn from the hopper to the popper. Of course, you could always just get a bag of Orville Redenbacher's microwave corn, but then... where's the fun in that? The semi-annoying video is after the break.
DIY USB Popcorn Maker: pops corn, explodes your mind
You paying attention Redenbacher? Those daring kids at Instructables have created the USB Popcorn Maker from a high intensity heater light, aluminum cup, and mason jar. Add oil, non-Linux kernels, and salt and you're ready to cozy-up in an uncomfortable three-some with the Wachowski Brothers. Unfortunately, the video posted after the break jump-cuts between USB attachment and the first corn kaboom. But given the 5V USB source, you'll likely need plenty of time to get the oil boiling. Then again, nobody said this was practical.[Thanks, Sophia D.]
DS Daily: The fooling comes to an end
With yesterday being April Fools' Day, the internet was set ablaze with crazy rumors and fake news. DS Fanboy was even on hand with its own little something something to mark the occasion. Aside from telling you our most darkest fears, we broke news involving a certain Nintendo president and his theft (or, as he puts it, "discovery") of a rather large bag filled with popping corn.Aside from that, we did manage to round up some of the best pranks the internet pulled yesterday, chronicling them all for your amusement. Who's joke was best? Personally, we couldn't stop playing that Space Invaders game over at Yahoo Japan, but that was just us.What did you enjoy most on yesterday?
2008's April Fools' DS pranks
Oh man, is that Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime over there, bringing you a giant bag of popcorn? It must be your lucky day!Too bad it's April Fools' Day! You're not getting any popcorn at all! Nope, it's just another bag of the usual stuff -- disappointment, regret, and the simple pain of living.Rather than spend your day weeping over missed opportunities and movie snacks, why not peruse our collection of April Fools' Day DS pranks? We've gathered up all of this year's handheld shenanigans we could find around the internet, providing you a concentrated punch of lulz to counteract Reggie's kick to your head. Click Reggie for popcorn! ->
Roxio releases Popcorn 3, adds TiVoToGo support
Roxio has released version 3 of their DVD and video conversion utility Popcorn. The biggest new feature is probably the "exclusive TiVoToGo support for the Mac" that lets you burn TiVo recorded shows to disc or convert them for playback on other devices. However, other improvements include the ability to create compilation DVDs and custom DVD menus as well as improved Apple TV and iPhone/iPod support. Popcorn is $49 and is available now.For my own money, I think the the only compelling feature of Popcorn is the TivoToGo support. Unless that's a big deal for you, I think you'd probably do better with VisualHub ($23.32) plus Handbrake (free), as the ffmpeg based conversion of the former is considerably faster than the QuickTime based conversion that Popcorn appears to use.[via MacMinute]
Wii Warm Up: Defend the N64
We enjoy the retrogaming here at Wii Fanboy. And, since we're Wii Fanboy, we have low requirements in terms of graphics. But man, N64 3D hurts.We actually enjoy the look of old sprites. Big blocky pixels can be appreciated years after they've become obsolete. But the blurry, foggy Nintendo 64 puts us off every time.We know there are a lot of N64 fans around here for some reason, so we'll put the question to you: how can you look at that stuff? Does it still look okay to you? Was there ever a time that it looked okay?
Popcorn 2 goes Universal
Roxio announced Popcorn 2 is a Universal Binary now. Popcorn is a little app that'll supposedly move content around to your mobile stuff— a PSP, iPod, or "mobile phone." I couldn't get a list of supported phones, but I'm assuming it won't convert your movies to ASCII so they show up on Nokia's from 2000. Popcorn also says it'll grab your unprotected DVD content. Now, I haven't used Popcorn, but will it just refuse to rip store-bought DVD's? Ugh, I'm beginning to hate DRM too... If anyone knows the answer to these burning questions, leave your experiences in the comments.
