Rube Goldberg
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Microsoft wrote an OK Go music video to DNA
OK Go's song "This Too Shall Pass" is merely a serviceable song with an interesting video that features contraptions inspired by Rube Goldberg. Microsoft and the University of Washington have deemed it important enough to write it to the largest DNA storage trove created to date.
The Incredible Machine team is back with Contraption Maker, now on Steam
If you're a seasoned, old-school Mac gamer, there's a good chance you remember a funky puzzle game called The Incredible Machine. In the game, players had to perform simple tasks by building overly complex Rube Goldberg devices and experimenting with how each piece functioned through trial and error. The game spawned several sequels and even briefly found its way to the App Store. Now, the original team behind The Incredible Machine has evolved the concept with Contraption Maker, just released for OS X. Like its much older brother, Contraption Maker is a toolbox for puzzle solving. There's a huge learning curve and you slowly reveal what each of the dozens of balls, platforms, tubes, plugs, and gadgets actually do, but once you've scaled this mountain you'll spend your time constructing machines to complete a specific task. Each puzzle has a simple end goal, such as feeding a cat or lighting a bomb, but completing that task often requires an insane amount of planning and experimenting. For example, capturing a mouse in a case might be the end goal, but in order to accomplish it you'll need to launch a ball to scare a hamster, which runs on a treadmill that turns a gear and rotates a band, which turns another gear to power a generator, which turns on a light that focuses through a magnifying glass to burn a rope which drops the cage onto the mouse. And that's one of the simpler puzzles. Contraption Maker also includes a custom puzzle creator, so once you best the game's 140 official puzzles -- which you might never accomplish, to be honest -- you can try your luck at an endless number of community-created puzzles. In short, there's quite literally no end to this game, so prepare for some serious puzzle solving. Contraption Maker is currently $14.99 on Steam, which is a great price for this amount of content, especially if you're a puzzle fan. Definitely give it a try.
Rumor: Rovio's new game is Casey's Contraptions
148Apps has done a little bit of digging, and has possibly discovered what Angry Birds creators Rovio are up to next. Rovio recently released a thank you/teaser video for a full billion Angry Birds downloads, and in the very end of that video, a character appears: It's a younger kid, with some pulleys and balloons in the background. Haven't we seen that kid before? Indeed, it appears to be Casey, of Casey's Contraptions, an iOS game that came out around this time last year. That game is still available, in HD form anyway, on the App Store. Casey's creator Noel Llopis said this to 148Apps: "Before rumors start flying, Rovio is a perfect gentleman. Not a Zynga at all. Don't worry, all is well." That seems to point to the fact that Rovio has possibly acquired Llopis' skills and the game, and is presumably publishing it or a sequel in the near future. I'm not sure this is the game Rovio was talking about when they said they were making a non-Angry Birds title -- Rovio has acquired other developers before, so this seems more like an acquisition or a publishing deal than an official Rovio game. But we'll see -- Casey's Contraptions was a terrific game that suffered a little bit from lack of exposure, and Rovio has no shortage of an audience to bring to it. If indeed the two are teaming up on another Contraptions release, odds are that's good news for everybody.
Google I/O: input/output game promotes its dev conference, wastes your coffee break
Google's latest time-sink is apparently inspired by "the spirit of innovation" shown at its annual I/O developer conference -- while not-to-subtly promoting it at the same time. The HTML5 game offers a blank canvas for you to clog up experiment with sliders, swingers and flippers, with the largely unimportant goal of getting the ball from one side to the other. Google says it'll even feature some of the more epic creations at this year's conference. Channel your inner Rube Goldberg at the source below.
Pile of Arduinos hooked up in Rube Goldberg-esque chain reaction (video)
All right, so technically this isn't a Rube Goldberg machine (it doesn't actually perform a task, merely loops endlessly), but the spirit is the same. Students in the Media Interaction and Design program at the University of Applied Sciences FH Johanneum in Graz, Austria strung together a pile of Arduinos to create a chain reaction of unbelievably geeky proportions. Seriously, you just need to watch the video -- you know you're in for a treat when you get Homer Simpson, Darth Vader and Hello Kitty in under one minute. Don't waste any more time here, hit that read more link and watch more Arduino's than you can shake a stick at work in tandem.
Sony unveils its fourth tablet teaser video, Rube Goldberg aficionados rejoice
We still aren't sure what Sony's series of teaser videos for its forthcoming S1 and S2 tablets are really all about. What we do know is that we love the films' cheery soundtracks and the wondrous contraptions they showcase. This fourth spot has the now-familiar pale figurines wandering though a mechanical wonderland, with marbles whizzing overhead and bubbles floating about. Alas, like those that precede it, the latest video provides no new info on the slates Sony's shilling, but feel free to enjoy the visuals in the bit of esoteric advertising after the break.
Sony tablet teaser video is breathtaking, not overly informative
Woosh. Plonk. Snap. Like a highly atmospheric scene from your favorite film noir, Sony's teaser video for the S1 and S2 tablets starts off with isolated sounds and a bit of quick motion before settling into a sumptuous, deliberately paced feast for your eyeballs. You might say it's high art posing as a consumer electronics promo, particularly if you compare it to ASUS or Huawei's efforts in the field. There's sadly little in the way of new information, all we really get to witness are the reassuring Android Honeycomb software keys on the larger S1, but this "first impression" clip is the start of a series of ads revolving around a pair of alabaster figurines and their tablet-assisted love affair. Give the play button a bash for your recommended daily dose of awesome.
Rube Goldberg Machine to set new world record, bring forth apocalypse
If you've never seen the rise and fall of humanity as told by a series of pulleys, levers, and CO2 rockets, now's your chance -- a team of Purdue engineers have built a contraption that not only tells the history of the world through the end of days, but is also a contender for the world's largest Rube Goldberg machine. The Purdue team's "Time Machine" catalogs a history of dinosaurs, war, and rock 'n roll before finally culminating in a cataclysmic inferno and efflorescent renewal in 232 steps -- narrowly beating out the previous record of 230 set by Ferris State University in 2010. Impressive, but not officially the "world's largest" just yet-- the team is submitting a video of a flawless run to Guinness World Records to certify the historic thingamajig, hopefully eking out a victory with its two step lead.
Create 'Contraptions' trailer needs a history lesson
Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who would create drawings of crazy machines that could complete simple tasks in wacky ways. Why are we telling you this? So that when we say this new Create trailer shows off some wacky, Rube Goldberg–like machines you can make in the game, you'll know what we mean.
My new EyeTV set-up, and why Comcast's digital transition is a pain
On Monday, Colorado cable customers transitioned into a new digital world. Comcast switched off analog access to all but its most basic channels, i.e. the ones that they are still required to carry by law, and killed the clear-QAM signal that has made it possible for my EyeTV tuner to schedule and record TV for the last few years. Instead, Comcast has introduced digital transport adapters, and this small box has wrecked my TV-watching, time-shifting, Mac-recording happiness. The problem is this. The new Comcast box will transmit video over a coax cable on channel 3 or 4. You set this via a toggle switch on the back of the box. All channel switching must be done via the box. That means if you bought a fancy new TV with a built-in clear-QAM tuner (without CableCARD) or are using a computer-based tuner like the EyeTV that doesn't have an IR blaster to change cable channels, you're in a bind. You need to send channel requests somehow to the box rather than allowing your equipment to function the way it always has. Unfortunately, EyeTV can't work that way. Elgato suggested that it isn't possible to use the channel 3-4 type connection when controlling a set top box. Argh! For EyeTV users, you can either pay to upgrade both to a new Comcast HD tuner and an Elgato EyeTV HD system, which TUAW is going to review soon, or you can try to cobble together your own solution, a la the discussion at this online Elgato forum thread. I did the latter. In the end, it cost about a hundred dollars in parts and degraded my video quality to "barely watchable", plus it took up several ports (both on my computer and on the EyeTV unit) that I normal use for work. But I can now automatically record TV shows, so it's going to keep me going for the moment, however badly. Read on to learn how I put my solution together, and why you'll probably want to consider opting for a net-enabled TiVo instead. Update: Working with Elgato over e-mail this afternoon to try to bypass the "need a VCR to transform coax signal into composite signal", will update when I have made some progress. The rest of the exercise, from the IR blaster, to the missed channel signals, and so forth stands. Do consider going for Elgato's premium EyeTV HD product rather than trying to back-engineer with older equipment and a DTA. Update 2: Managed to get the solution sans VCR to work. Via Elgato: 1) Make sure you have Analog - Antenna channel 3 2) Make sure you can see the video from the cable box on channel 3 3) Configure ZephIR - give your downloaded IR set a name like "ComcastDCX50" 4) Make sure ZephIR can control EyeTV 5) Use Configure Set Top Box in EyeTV. Name you setup "ComcastDCX50" (or whatever, at long as it matches your ZephIR setup name) 6) Choose Built-In Tuner, and Channel 3. Do not select "use built-in tuner for analog channels". 7) Make sure to delete any previous channels (a la Step 7 in the the main part of this write-up) or you will experience the errors, I first encountered. After, the image quality is pretty poor, but it works and does not require the VCR step. This improved audio but experienced similar channel switching problems with one fewer device needed. Still a hack -- and I still recommend avoiding this approach.
Dear Aunt TUAW: How do I use my Apple TV in the car?
Dear Aunt TUAW, I'm planning a road trip for the summer. We'll be driving for 3-4 days, then spending a couple of months in a rental house before heading back. Thinking about keeping the family sane, especially during the drive, I thought, "Why not hook up the Apple TV to the Composite inputs (meant for video games) in the minivan?" That way, we'd have entertainment on the drive, then we could hook it up to the TV in the rental house as well. One thing I can't figure out, however, is how to power the Apple TV in the car. Are there car adapters that might work? Love & Kisses, Narcema
NYC's public gaming school enters first semester, teaching with 'Troggles'
The first semester of New York City's Quest to Learn began last week on the 9th, with an inaugural class of around 75 sixth graders in NYC's Chelsea neighborhood taking classes that employ games (of all types) in learning. "One thing I want to emphasize: this is not a school about just playing video games ... this is a school that uses the system of games to deliver rich discussion," the school's principal, Aaron Schwartz, told Joystiq over the phone this morning. "We use games as a medium here." Education at Quest to Learn is delivered through a variety of means other than games, though game systems are a focus for teaching the specific subset of student that Q2L targets: "digital kids." We pressed him on exactly how the students will be using games like LittleBigPlanet to assist with education. "Right now, one of our classes called 'The Way Things Work' [math/science] is using clips from LittleBigPlanet to introduce this race called the 'Troggles' who are having problems with how things work," he said. " Our kids are studying simple machines, so the Troggles have reached out to our children for help building their machines." As the semester progresses, students will build on their knowledge by creating something a bit more complex -- a Rube Goldberg machine. "Some of them will be doing it in actuality, some may be doing it virtually, and from there they'll use LBP to understand other concepts." Quest to Learn plans on adding one new grade annually (up to 12) and is currently hiring teachers for next year.
Halo? Simpsons? Rube Goldberg? Sold!
We always knew that there would be some very interesting maps generated with the new Halo 3 map Sandbox, but this ... this is special. This map takes three of our favorite things -- Halo, The Simpsons and Rube Goldberg machines -- and swirls them all together into a delicious, digital smoothie. We could waste more of your time and ours by describing it, but you'd really be better served by just watching the video after the break. Enjoy.[Via Bungie.net]
This is what loving geeks looks like
Who doesn't love geeks, really? But do you love them enough to play a game about building Rube Goldberg machines in order to defeat bullies and impress the ladies? Well then, you should check out the upcoming DS title I Love Geeks. You might be wondering what a game filled with Rube Goldberg puzzles even looks like (we were). Well, we're answering that question for you right here, right now, with some gallery screens to check out.To a history major like this blogger, I Love Geeks looks a bit daunting in its concepts. Hopefully our love for geeks will be enough to overcome any challenges the game has to throw at us. Who knew that geeks could be so intimidating?%Gallery-27588%
Mechanic Master looks incredible
Midway has announced a new DS game that should grab the attention of any fan of Dynamix's classic The Incredible Machine series. Mechanic Master from Most Wanted Entertainment follows the same format: solve simple puzzles by stringing together household objects into Rube Goldberg machines. The touchscreen-based game, formerly called Contraptions, also features some items that didn't quite make it into The Incredible Machine, like robots and portals.In addition to 100 premade puzzles, you'll have the ability to assemble your own machines and puzzles and share them over Wi-Fi. There have been a couple other Incredible Machine-alikes on the DS, but this one has one very important difference: it's coming out in October in the U.S.
Germans are clever, almost like scientists even
Chalk this one up to functional German engineering. Our wunderbar friends can now look forward to Clever DS, an upcoming puzzle game featuring a bunch of wacky science experiments. Apparently based on the popular German television show Clever (featuring Dr. Boning and magical helicopters), the overall gameplay involves using various items in the correct methods (even combining stuff MacGyver-style) to solve puzzles. Items featured include lasers, hot air balloons, mirrors, see-saws, boxes, balls and magnets. You can arrange these elements together to form chain reactions, not unlike those awesome Rube Goldberg machines. We'll let you know if this crazy DS contraption will be available anywhere outside Germany, because frankly it sounds rather intriguing. Even if the boxart is incredibly creepy.
National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest of '08 makes us feel lazy
The last time we got to feeling this crafty was in middle school and involved large quantities of cardboard. The folks at the National Rube Goldberg Machine Contest 2008 have clearly taken things to another level, and while the ingenuity is evident, the commitment to aesthetic excellence is what really makes this event a winner. Also the fake beards.
Forged Halo 3 "marble maze" is inspiring
While cruisin'' through Digg we came across a video by mus65tang1 featuring some interesting forging on Foundry involving the soccer ball. Mus65tang1 created what he calls a "marble maze" which is a rather cool series of lifts, ramps and shield doors setup to carry the soccer ball through Foundry. It isn't over the top spectacular, but it's entertaining and it inspired us. It inspired us to not only create our own marble maze of sorts, but to convert ours into a Rube Goldberg machine. And so, per Rube Goldberg rules, we must create a "marble maze" that completes a simple task. Maybe our soccer maze will complete the task of blowing up fusion cores, releasing a mongoose to drive or capturing a flag for us. Yeah, that'd be cool. Or our Rube Goldberg forging inspiration will end like it always does; after ten minutes we give up, resort to childish behavior and blow crap up. That'll probably be what happens.[Via Digg]
Turning on a 360 Rube Goldberg style
Proud Xbox 360 owner ethjam0909 must have thought that turning on his white box was a little too easy or he just had had a lot of free time, because he felt compelled to construct a Rube Goldberg machine to power it up. Embedded above is a video showcasing his machine, which uses a marble, blanket, and some string to turn on his 360. Our favorite part has to be the end where ethjam0909 glows with pride by giving the camera the "oh yeah, I roxorz" smirk. Rock on ethjam0909, we'd so make one of those contraptions to power on our Xbox 360 at Fanboy Towers, but it's against house rules. And as everyone knows, we're good kids who abide by the rules.[Via 360 Style]
DIY cat feeder powered by Ubuntu Linux, CD-ROM tray
It seems, from our very unofficial research, that cat owners tend to be geeks. And to prove our point, we bring you the geekiest cat owner in history. Lee Holmes, of Ontario, Canada, recently combined his Ubuntu Linux server to create a Rube Goldberg machine of a cat feeder. By running a script on his server, the CD-ROM tray pops open, a trap door opens, allowing cat food to flow down a cardboard chute into his cat's bowl. (Bah, just go watch it in action on YouTube, which is linked from his site.) As if that weren't geeky enough, he can use his i-mate JasJar to SSH to the server, allowing him to feed his cat from across the room, or across the world. Now all he needs is to figure out a way for the restocking process to be automated, and he could retire from his day job and sell these things to cat owners worldwide. [Via MAKE:Blog]
