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Tetris takes over MIT building in case of hack as high art (video)

Joseph Volpe — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:01:00 EST

College pranks usually involve livestock, panties, the use of permanent marker on an unconscious, not-so-innocent partygoer or a combination thereof. But when you gather the cream of the geek crop at a hallowed higher learning institution like MIT, those playful tricks turn into wide-scale works of technical wonderment. Unbeknownst to members of the Earth and Planetary Science departments that inhabit the site of this larger-than-life hack, their building -- long a target for the university's mischievous overachievers -- had its grid-like layout of windows converted into a fully workable version of Tetris, complete with colored "pieces" and increasing levels of difficulty. So, is this merely a case of public performance art or just high-minded shenaningans from some very capable, idle hands? Check out the video below to view this Cambridge, MA-based tomfoolery and decide for yourself.

Continue reading Tetris takes over MIT building in case of hack as high art (video)

Tetris takes over MIT building in case of hack as high art (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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April Fools' Day roundup: the big toys, the small toys and the cats

Richard Lai — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST

Depending on where you are right now, you're either pretty much done with April Fools' Day (hence our bloated inbox thanks to all you lovely tipsters!) or it's just about to start on your side of the world. In fact, some of this year's submissions already got a head start, including the excellent 8-bit quest mode in Google Maps. Oh, don't worry, there's plenty more from Mountain View and the usual participants this year -- we've rounded up the best of the lot right after the break for your amusement. Keep an eye on this as we will be adding new goodies to the list throughout the day.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Continue reading April Fools' Day roundup: the big toys, the small toys and the cats

April Fools' Day roundup: the big toys, the small toys and the cats originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows logo planted on upcoming Apple Store in Germany (video)

Joe Pollicino — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 18:05:00 EST

A quick glance at the above photo might have you believing that's the site of a Microsoft Store being constructed; actually, it's an Apple Store. Yesterday, in the Jungfernstieg section of Hamburg, Germany, a group going by the name of ".WAV Collective" apparently vandalized the soon-to-be Apple retail location. They casually went up to the building posing as a team of construction workers, cordoned off a work site, and proceeded to screw pre-made panels, forming a Windows logo, to the side of the store's black veil -- all in broad daylight. Looks like the old question of Mac vs. PC just got a bit more confusing over in Europe. Don't believe us? Have a look at the collective's own video recap of the events posted after the break.

[Thanks, Toni]

Continue reading Windows logo planted on upcoming Apple Store in Germany (video)

Windows logo planted on upcoming Apple Store in Germany (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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April Fools' Day roundup: 'let me Topeka that for you' edition

Vlad Savov — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 06:44:00 EST

Alright, good netizens of Engadget, it's time for us to bring you the sort of hard-hitting news content you can expect only on the first day of April. First on our slate we have the earthshaking news that Google is to officially rename itself Topeka, with the company's official blog urging all future communications to be addressed to Topeka Inc. This is to honor the Kansas town that renamed itself Google in an effort to curry favor with Goog... excuse us, Topeka's 1Gbit broadband program. We also have exclusive and absolutely official confirmation of the forthcoming Android 2.5 update, an inflatable laptop from Toshiba, YouTube's textual deviance, and the hands-down best iPad dock you will ever see. You'll have to come after the break for all those -- they're too hot to handle out in the open. We'll be updating this post as the day goes along, so keep it locked.

Continue reading April Fools' Day roundup: 'let me Topeka that for you' edition

April Fools' Day roundup: 'let me Topeka that for you' edition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 06:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OU professor submerses laptop in liquid nitrogen, smashes it to prove a point (video)

Darren Murph — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:54:00 EST

Hey, students -- pay attention. Not to us, mind you, but to the syllabus provided by your professor. Kieran Mullen, a physics professor at the University of Oklahoma, has a fairly strict rule about gadgets in class: there won't be any, ever, under any circumstances. Balk all you want (understandable given his own clipped-on cellie), but if you sign up for this guy's class, you'll be flipping your phone to "off" and leaving your laptop in the dormitory. And if you try to blaze your own path and slip that netbook into the back row, you might leave bitterly disappointed. As you'll see clearly in the video past the break, Mr. Mullen sought to make a visual point that laptops weren't allowed in class (he calls them "a distraction"), and while it seems that the whole stunt was premeditated, most students acknowledged that his point was driven home. In short, he took a defunct machine, submerged it in liquid nitrogen, and proceeded to make the following statement:

"This is just liquid nitrogen, so it alone won't hurt the computer. But this will."

Find out exactly what "this" was by hitting that 'Read More' button there on the lower left.

[Thanks, studentatOU]

Continue reading OU professor submerses laptop in liquid nitrogen, smashes it to prove a point (video)

OU professor submerses laptop in liquid nitrogen, smashes it to prove a point (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USB PC Prankster: guaranteed to freak out, enrage your cubicle mates

Darren Murph — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:33:00 EST

Oh, brother. As we all know so well, the office can be a draining place. But devices such as these could make even the most burnt-out middle manager excited to clock in. The USB PC Prankster looks like a stock flash drive, but as you can clearly see above, a few toggle switches enable it to become quite the headache. Once plugged in, the unlucky PC that it's attached to will have its Caps Lock enabled and disabled at random, see garbled text splattered about quarterly reports and be victim to uncontrollable, erratic cursor movements. Thankfully, the drive will never activate the Enter key nor close or save documents, so you can rest assured that it's all in good fun. Turning your office up on its head costs just £19.99 ($33), but you'll have to wait a tick 'til it comes back in stock.

[Via Switched]

Filed under: Peripherals

USB PC Prankster: guaranteed to freak out, enrage your cubicle mates originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Birthday boy gets box of rocks instead of Nintendo DS

Darren Murph — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:41:00 EST

No, you're not being mercilessly attacked by an unyielding feeling of déjà vu for no good reason -- we really have seen something eerily similar to this happen before. This go 'round, we've got a totally innocent ten year old boy who was given Guitar Hero for DS prior to even owning a console; as the mother finally ended the tease, she handed him a shiny new DS handheld for him to unwrap. Unfortunately for everyone involved, all that was tucked inside was a couple of stones, a Chinese newspaper and boatloads of disappointment. After the Walmart store from which she purchased it referred her to the Big N, she furiously admitted the following: "They don't want to do nothing. They want me to keep the box of rocks. I'm not buying a box of rocks for $138." Thankfully, Wally World finally refunded her and threw in a $20 gift card for the trouble (after being hounded by a local news station, mind you), but the real damage -- losing all hope in humanity -- will never be undone. Ever.

[Via plugged in]

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Birthday boy gets box of rocks instead of Nintendo DS originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pleo roundup: spy cam / XBee hacks, dino visits the day spa

Darren Murph — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:02:00 EST

Oh Pleo, it's been far too long since we've seen you out and about! Thankfully, we've stumbled upon a handful of Pleo news all at once, so we hope you're ready to catch up with your favorite dinosaur. First up is a pair of useful hacks from GRIP: a spy cam hack -- which transmits images from the pet to a PC sans wires -- and an XBee hack, which allows users to monitor Pleo's sensors and control its servos in real time. For those looking for less work and more laughs, you'll definitely want to venture on past the break. Wondering what's there? Pleo visits the day spa -- need we say more?

Read - Pleo hacks
Read - Pleo's day spa adventures

Continue reading Pleo roundup: spy cam / XBee hacks, dino visits the day spa

Filed under: Robots

Pleo roundup: spy cam / XBee hacks, dino visits the day spa originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Image Fulgurator projects images into other people's photos

Nilay Patel — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:42:00 EST

There's DIY mischief and then there's next level DIY mischief, and we'd have to say that Julius von Bismarck's Image Fulgurator is one of the best scare-the-squares toys we've ever come across. A sensor detects camera flashes of nearby victims, triggering a projection of the image or text of your choice onto their subjects -- and into their photos. Anyone using a digital camera will notice the trick immediately, of course, but marks with film equipment won't ever know what hit 'em -- although they might remember the weirdo with the pistol-grip camera thing standing next to them. Check the video after the break.

[Via Core 77]

Continue reading Image Fulgurator projects images into other people's photos

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. Gadgets

Image Fulgurator projects images into other people's photos originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pranksters invade Starbucks with desktop computers

Donald Melanson — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:53:00 EST

We've already seen the confusion and hilarity some so-called "portable" computers can cause when taken out into public, but those shenanigans are nothing compared to the scene stirred up when the folks from Improv Everywhere lugged some ancient desktop computers (replete with CRT monitors) into a Starbucks. As you can see in the video after the break, they surprisingly weren't kicked out, but they did manage to attract a fair bit of attention, including from a few folks that thought the computers were set up for public use. Be sure to head up the read link below for the full report, as well as another video with the team relishing in their accomplishment.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Pranksters invade Starbucks with desktop computers

Filed under: Desktops

Pranksters invade Starbucks with desktop computers originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LED pranksters remember the Aqua Teen Hunger Force "bomb" scare

Joshua Topolsky — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:24:00 EST

In an expression of remembrance for a historical moment in hair-trigger overreactions, artists all over the Boston area have taken to the streets armed with provocative LED signage. Paying homage to the "bomb" scare of January 31st, 2007 (which was actually just viral promotion for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie using LED art), creative pranksters have descended upon the city with electronic recreations of President Bush, Osama Bin Laden, and a number of other inflammatory images sure to rile the local authorities but-good. Truck on over to MAKE to see a collection of images, and if you happen to be in the Boston area, don't miss a chance to snap some photos of your own!

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

LED pranksters remember the Aqua Teen Hunger Force "bomb" scare originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hoax or prank: did Zug punk the whole Super Bowl?

Ryan Block — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 17:41:00 EST

Did Zug punk the entirety of the Super Bowl-watching population this year, an estimated 90 million people? Or is their chronicle of "the most ambitious prank in history" a prank in and of itself? We don't know the answer -- for the record, we're leaning towards hoax -- but Zug claims that with some social networking and 2,350 Prince-themed pendants (ordered from Chinese manufacturer Ok Fun Times Electronics Co.), they were able to get the audience to light up and spell out ZUG.COM during the halftime show, thinking they'd instead be spelling out PRINCE. Ok, makes sense, but you'd think everyone would have heard about this by now, right? Well, Zug claims the media's been trying to cover it up; they expect us to imagine how few would really want to admit that five unauthorized people could transport a quarter ton of boxes on pallets -- contents unknown -- into the most televised sporting event of the year. For the record, what was the cost on this supposed stunt? $40,000 in equipment and legal fees, as well as a 2nd mortgage on lead prankster John Hargrave's home.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Hoax or prank: did Zug punk the whole Super Bowl? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2007 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now this is a funny prank on Best Buy

Matt Burns — Wed, 03 May 2006 07:38:00 EST

This has nothing to do about HDTVs. Well it kind of does and yes Ben, this is a stretch. But this is a great prank. 80 people dressed up in blue polo shirts with khakis paired with a black belt and black shoes and went to a local Best Buy. They of course brought in hidden cameras and from the looks of the pics, they blended right in! These "agents" were instructed to go "wait for their friend." This caused a whole bunch of Best Buy looking people just standing around doing nothing. Eventually they got kicked out when cameras were found but this is just great.

Check out the site for pics and videos.

[via Digg]

Filed under: DIY

Now this is a funny prank on Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 May 2006 07:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mario question cube girls let off

Ryan Block — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 17:51:00 EST

Remember those five teenage girls from Ravenna, Ohio, who on the eve of April first placed seventeen Mario Bros. inspired question cubes around town? Well, after HAZMAT, the Fire Dept. and the five-O were called in and the dust settled it looked like those little ladies were in for some serious trouble. Though it turns out the town of 12,000's dropping the case against them, the case prosecutor stating of the squeaky-clean teens he does "not believe that they had any bad or malicious intentions." Gee, ya think? Sure, we can understand a little why some people who didn't ever play Mario (unlike Engadget or our readers) might have gotten concerned at the sight of these boxes, but we're just glad that a slight case of Midwest terrorist hysteria didn't ultimately result in some crazed teenage witch hunt.

[Via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming

Mario question cube girls let off originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Apr 2006 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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