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'Rocket League' is mining the '80s for nostalgia-tinted DLC
Rocket League fans, it's time to slap on your aviators, grab a hoverboard and fire up your favorite '80s playlist for a Radical Summer. Psyonix is tapping into the decade's pop culture tentpoles for the game's biggest event to date, lasting all summer long.
After Math: Hello Darkness, my old friend
Well, this week lasted years. While we weren't being bludgeoned by the cantankerous Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, we were learning about how 50 million Facebook users had their accounts hacked, that Elon Musk is being sued by the SEC for his Twitter posts (the ones about privatizing Tesla, not the ones wherein he libels a rescue diver), and that Red Dead Redemption 2 will rustle the remainder of your hard drive's free space.
ICYMI: A 'Back to the Future' jacket and the super-secret space shuttle returned
While manned shuttle missions ended back in 2011, the US government is still sending reusable spacecraft into orbit. This past weekend the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle returned from its super-secret two year mission. Speculation about what the craft was doing up there all this time ranges from; testing autonomous navigation system to evaluating if the X-37B is suitable for surveillance.
Nike's power-laced Mags net millions for Parkinson's research
All the nostalgia around Nike's self-lacing shoe, the 2016 Mag, came together in a major way for a great cause. Today, the sportswear titan revealed it raised $6.75 million through its online raffle and two auctions, with all proceeds going to The Michael J. Fox Foundation. The money, as a refresher, will help the organization try to find a cure for Parkinson's disease. Michael J. Fox, who starred in the Back to the Future II film that made the sneakers popular, suffers from Parkinson's himself.
Nike's self-lacing Mags are hot, won't catch fire
For Nike, yesterday was the culmination of a passion project which began in 2007. It was then that iconic designer Tinker Hatfield, who is behind the most popular Air Jordan models, took on the task of creating an innovative shoe based on the one worn by Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in Back to the Future Part II. Now, as demoed by Fox himself last year, the Nike Mag is finally more than a film prop, thanks to a self-lacing technology the sportswear giant calls "Adaptive Fit."
Nike's 'Back to the Future' shoes can be yours in a raffle
The Nike Mag, aka Back to the Future sneakers, have been a work in progress since 2011. However, it wasn't until 2015 that they featured the self-lacing technology which made them a pop culture hit. Now, after a brief tease by Michael J. Fox last year, Nike today announced its plans for a general (albeit very limited) release of its second-gen Mags, this time with the "Adaptive Fit" laces that tighten themselves. Here's how it works: Nike has opened an online raffle for people to have a chance at winning a pair, where they can buy an unlimited amount of tickets for $10 each.
With this self-drying jacket, your Marty McFly costume is complete
A startup called Falyon has created a jacket that'll match those Back to the Future kicks perfectly. It doesn't only look like Marty McFly's jacket from the movies, you see, it can also dry itself inside-out by circulating high-pressure air internally. The self-drying jacket's Kickstarter campaign says the air inside is redirected by built-in air amplifiers powered by a rechargeable battery. Falyon claims it'll only take a minute or two to dry spills or light wetness from rainfall, but you're gonna have to spend much more time than Marty did to dry up after jumping into a pond.
ICYMI: Pegleg cat, X-ray laser sight and recharging tabletop
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-260428{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-260428, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-260428{width:570px;display:block;}try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-260428").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A cat born without part of its hindlegs got an upgrade with 3D-printed prosthetics implanted in its bones. A camera that basically gives X-ray vision has been invented, peering around corners with lasers, then recreating images of objects that are out-of-view. And design students in Copenhagen dreamt up a charging pad for phones that is powered by the heat given off by a cup of coffee.
ICYMI: Pocket 3D scanner, light show record and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-440441{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-440441, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-440441{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-440441").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Russia set a world record for the largest projected light show that took 140 Panasonic projectors to display. A Kickstarter project for Ulo the security camera is truly one of the most adorable pieces of tech we've seen for quite some time. And the EORA 3D scanner attaches to a smartphone and can upload scans to 3D compatible printing services right from the app.
Nintendo revives 'Wild Gunman' in time for 'Back to the Future' Day
You've probably seen your share of over-the-top publicity grabs on Back to the Future Day, but Nintendo has a subtler one that you might just appreciate. The company's European branch has quietly released a Wii U Virtual Console port of Wild Gunman, better known as the game that Marty McFly dominates when he visits 2015 in Back to the Future Part II. As in the movie, you have to use your hands to play this "baby's toy" -- the big difference is that you're using a Wii remote instead of the NES' Zapper light gun (BTTF2's particular arcade cabinet never really existed, we'd note). You probably won't mind if you're on a nostalgia kick, though. And if you really, truly want to play a game that Hill Valley's kids would enjoy, Microsoft is happy to help.
Nike's power-laced 'Back to the Future' shoes arrive in 2016
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few hours, then you know today is Back to the Future Day. In the trilogy's second film, Michael J. Fox's character Martin Seamus McFly, better known as Marty, gave us a glimpse of how things would look on October 21st, 2015. And even though the future according to the movie may have not been fully accurate (which is okay), Marty's power-laced Nike sneakers are indeed a reality. While the sportswear juggernaut did release the Mag in 2011, that version didn't use the self-lacing technology we saw in Back to the Future Part II. But don't worry, the actual Marty McFly shoes are coming in spring 2016, Nike has confirmed. Tinker Hatfield, Nike's VP of creative concepts and the man who designed the Mags, also sent a letter to Fox saying, "Although the project started as science fiction, we're now proud to turn that fiction into fact."
'Back to the Future Part II': science fiction vs. reality
If you came of age in the late '80s, there's a good chance that Back to the Future Part II was a formative film that helped inform your idea of what society might look like in the not-too-distant future. BTTF creators Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis certainly weren't trying to predict the future as much as they were trying to build a world that worked with their story. And in fact, the entire trilogy features less than 40 minutes of time in 2015. But that doesn't mean this limited glimpse at the future wasn't thrilling and hilarious to moviegoers in 1989. Now, it's just fun to look back and see what, if anything, they got right -- particularly today, the day that Marty and Dr. Emmett L. Brown traveled forward in time to. We can now finally judge how the fictional world of Hill Valley in 2015 matches up with reality.
Stanford turns a DeLorean into a drifting, driverless car
This isn't from some weird movie franchise mashup entitled Back to the Future IV: Stanford Drift. No, Stanford's Revs Center simply decided to experiment on an old DeLorean, giving it the ability to fly drift all on its own. The car, which the team decided to called MARTY (Multiple Actuator Research Test bed for Yaw control) as an homage to B2F, was heavily modified and modernized. DeLoreans are old cars, and they found that it had severe limitations: for instance, it was understeering, so they had to equip it with a power steering motor and rack.
The new 'Back to the Future' vinyl box set is a work of art
The so-called "future day" -- the day that Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel forward in time to in Back to the Future Part II -- is fast approaching. As such, the movie and music memorabilia masters at Mondo have put together a truly fitting record collection: The score for all three Back to the Future films will be available in full on vinyl for the first time. You can either pick up each movie individually as a two-record set for $35 each, or you can get all six records in an amazingly creative and beautiful box set. The full box set will run you $105. The individual album versions feature new artwork by Matt Taylor, who previously created screen-print Back to the Future posters for Mondo, while the box set artwork and design was done by DKNG Studios.
'Lego Dimensions' reunites the original 'Back to the Future' cast
We already knew that the upcoming Lego Dimensions video game would be a universe-bending mashup of characters from franchises including Back to the Future, Jurassic World, Ghostbusters, Lord of the Rings and, of course, The Lego Movie. Today, we found out a lot more about the voice actors behind the game, and it's a veritable treasure trove of big-name actors and some of the best video game voice talent you can find. Perhaps most notably, both Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd will reprise their roles as Marty McFly and Doc Brown. It's no surprise Lloyd is involved -- he voiced Doc in Telltale Games' Back to the Future series a few years ago and was featured in advertisements for Lego Dimensions. But Fox hasn't performed as McFly in any official capacity in years.
Lexus will officially unveil its hoverboard on August 5th
On August 5th, Lexus will finally reveal its hoverboard, which has been in development for the past 18+ months, to the public. Let that sink in for a bit: Lexus has created a working hoverboard in 2015, the year Marty and Doc Brown jumped to in Back to the Future...! Unfortunately, we don't know if you'd be able to buy one before October 21st -- or at all, really -- but even if it does become available for purchase in the next few months, you can't ride it to a B2F anniversary screening. See, it can only levitate over metallic surfaces, so it's pretty much useless in most places. That's about the extent of what we know about the device, though Lexus is bound to divulge more info during the event.
'Back to the Future' to celebrate 30th anniversary in cinemas
For Back to the Future fanatics, October 21st, 2015 is a momentous day: it's the destination date Marty and Dr. Brown chose for their journey through time. And now, it's also when the movies are slated to hit the theaters for the franchise's 30th anniversary. Yep, hardcore fans may want to get ready to take those Nike MAGs out of their display cases and wear them to a screening, because Back to the Future's going back to the big screen. They'll have to ask around to know which local cinema's showing it, though, since it's unclear how wide the re-release will be.
Future 'Lego Dimensions' packs will work with the originals
Lego has something up its sleeve to lure you away from Skylanders and Disney Infinity: future-proofing its toys-to-life-game, Lego Dimensions. Along with the announcement that a handful of new figures will be sold in "Team" and "Fun" packs, the press release wasn't afraid to get passive aggressive about what separates it from the competition: "Future expansion pack purchases will continue to work with the LEGO Dimensions Starter Pack, even in the fall of next year. No compatibility chart necessary." That last portion refers to the aforementioned games' need to point out what does and doesn't work between different expansions and figurines in each game. Cheeky, yeah? That means the Joker and Harley Quinn minifig/vehicle Team Pack, and Superman and Bane minifig/vehicle Fun Packs won't have any trouble getting along with anything released in the future, it sounds like. Nor will a certain Timelord when he meets the likes of Doc Brown of Back to the Future fame and some more Ninjago characters.
We rode a $10,000 hoverboard, and you can too
It's impossible to talk about hoverboards without invoking a particular movie title, so we're not even going to try: Remember that awesome scene from Back to the Future Part II? It's one step closer to reality: A California startup just built a real, working hoverboard. Arx Pax is attempting to crowdfund the Hendo Hoverboard as a proof of concept for its hover engine technology -- it's not quite the floating skateboard Marty McFly rode through Hill Valley (and the Wild West), but it's an obvious precursor to the imagined ridable: a self-powered, levitating platform with enough power to lift a fully grown adult.
Charge your phone with a miniature Flux Capacitor
After surfacing on April Fools' Day, ThinkGeek made its gadget-charging Flux Capacitor into an actual product. Sporting all of the details of the full-sized power plant, this diminutive option leverages your car's cigarette lighter to juice up a pair of devices via two USB ports. Of course, those 1.21 gigawatts of power are reduced to 2.1 amps, and there's an on/off switch for the $25 time-traveling accessory's lights. And yes, they actually pulse just like you hoped. Of course, if you're looking to splurge for the real deal, you'll need to shell out a bit more dough.
