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Micro Matic v-POD weds beer dispenser and LCD TV
It's two things that are inevitably tied to one another each Sunday -- LCD TVs and alcohol. Now, Micro Matic is bringing them together like never before, and only the most serious of in-home bartenders need apply. The v-POD comes in a couple of shapes and colors to best suit your needs, with the stainless steel Kool-Rite boasting a half-dozen taps, stereo speakers and an inbuilt 10-inch LCD. Now, if only these were available with slightly larger HDTVs and price tags nowhere near the three grand mark, we'd be talking.[Via Engadget Chinese]
Three Sheets not done yet: New Year's Eve Pub Crawl from London on MOJO's website
iN DEMAND Networks has heard you loud and clear, and it's giving Three Sheets fanatics at least one more look at Zane Lamprey's blitzed face this New Year's Eve. On the very day that MOJO HD vanished from programming providers everywhere, in flies a release informing us that what's likely the channel's most loved show will be back for another go... online. The second annual Three Sheets New Year's Even Pub Crawl will air this year from London, and it will begin streaming at the stroke of midnight ET on January 1, 2009. The 45-minute special will see Zane dropping by the bar at Duke's Hotel, Green and Red on the East End and Casa Blue (just to name a few). Oh, and if you're really dedicated to the show, you can hit up the Zane Years Eve party in LA, which will include a screening of this very show. We'll keep you posted on anything we hear regarding the show being picked up on another network (hint, hint, networks). Full release is after the break.
Steins come to the EU
Good news, EU players -- now you can store your ale in a WoW stein also. 3 Point Entertainment, the group responsible for making those official World of Warcraft beer steins, has announced that they are now selling the steins overseas as well, meaning that even EU players can spend $80 on a cup that won't even fit in your cup-holder.We kid -- at $80, these things better be nice, and they probably are -- each one, we're told, is handcrafted and made of "fine grain stoneware," whatever that is. The company says that the North American sales have been very good so far, and that a few people have even bought them for wedding or groomsmen gifts. Because nothing starts a marriage off right quite like a WoW stein, yeah?Still, Europeans, if you've been waiting to get your hands on one, now's your chance. Cheers!
Oh, Canada Wii's home and native land
Hey, grab a Molson and pull up a comfortable ice block and listen up. The AP is reporting that the Wii has become the first system to reach a million units sold in Canada. That's like one system for every two people or so you've got up there, eh? We're guessing it's because the pearly white exterior of the system matches the decor of your igloos (not to mention the polar bears roaming around outside).According to NPD statistics, the Wii has sold 1,060,000 Candian units through July, meaning the upcoming Wii version of NHL 2K9 can count on at least 1.5 million sales up there in the frozen North (some Canadians will buy an extra copy for their pet moose, you see). Microsoft and Sony are rumored to be planning competing lumberjack simulations and marketing tie-ins with popular maple syrup makers to increase their systems' appeal to the Canadian market, but as the Quebecois say, this might be "trop peu, trop tard."(Apologies to all Canadians, who we're sure are too polite and respectful to get mad about this, right?)
Get your dri... er, game on with the Stella Artois PSP
Nothing goes together like drinking brewskis and the PlayStation Portable, right? Apparently, that goes doubly so if you're a sales representative in the land down under. Stella Artois is the number one international draught beer, but they haven't cracked the Australian market. So, instead of sending boring brochures and glossy guides down to the land of Oz, they sent 50 custom-made Stella-branded PSPs to the sales teams.Not only were they in hand-stitched black velvet Stella bags, but they also had Stella themes loaded on them, and were packed with information about the beer. Plus, since they have wi-fi built-in, they can download updated beer data when they aren't playing God of War: Chains of Olympus or listening to Kylie Minogue MP3s. Now that's a marketing tool we can get behind. We wonder how long it'll be before one of these babies is up on eBay.[Thanks, Dan]
3 Point Entertainment releases Horde and Alliance beer steins
A company called 3 Point Entertainment has apparently been contracted by Blizzard to make some WoW steins -- yes, tired of drinking your ale out of a plain old authentic German stein? Now you can drink it out of a Warcraft-branded, Horde or Alliance themed WoW stein. As much beer as we drink, we can't exactly say we're stein connesseurs, but these look pretty well done to us. Each one features a bas-relief illustration from two artists who've done a lot of work for Blizzard, Glenn Rane and Samwise Didier, and they're made by a company called Ceramarte, apparently a big player in the "beerware" business.They'll set you back a whopping $79.99, though, which seems pricey (although it's been a long time since we went stein shopping, so maybe that's a bargain). Think we could drink our mead out of something a little cheaper, maybe a Thunderbrew-branded sippy cup?
Budweiser telephone lets you drunk dial, like, for real
We can only hope that the makers of this beer bottle phone actually got Budweiser's permission before slapping its logo on there, but regardless of all that, who can deny the awesomeness here? Okay, so you've got to be "that guy" for it to take your breath away, but we know you're out there somewhere, that guy. Aside from looking like a cold one, it pretty much handles everything else a hamburger phone (or similar) would, but at least this one doesn't require prior knowledge of Juno to be appreciated by your tipsy pals. Get your inebriated dialing on now for just $16.99 delivered.[Via CrunchGear]
Meet Coren Direbrew, dispenser of awesome trinkets and brewmaidens
The Brewfest is currently live for testing on the PTR, and one of the biggest changes is the addition of yet another holiday specific boss, Coren Direbrew. Coren himself isn't completely new. He was also present in the Grim Guzzler last year, when he would give you a quest to deliver brew to the Brewfest and get an offhand tankard in return. This year, however, it appears he's a bit more surly. Instead of simply completing a quest, this time you need to fight him. Luckily, the loot he drops is more than worth the hassle. Most of it is clones of the trinkets available for badges from G'eras, but there's also a couple other drops that look like a lot of fun. Overall, the loot should draw a lot of people out to Blackrock Depths to beat him up. A list of his loot is coming up after the break.
These 1ups taste like beer
What better way to test your drinking limits than with a 1up stein? This way, if you drink too much, you'll have an extra life stored away that you can make use of.* It's too bad, then, that these nifty mugs aren't available to the public. Designed as a gift for Die Krieger des Lichts clients, only a select few will ever get their hands on these limited edition steins. Yet, if you do manage to nab one somewhere, somehow, we recommend skipping the beer and trying out some Mario themed drinks insead.Prost!*Note: Seriously, drink responsibly and legally. This public service announcement was brought to you by DS Fanboy.[Via Technabob]
Chassis the beer pouring robot gets paint job, even more lovable
Robots that assist in taking humans to their desired level of inebriation are far from new, but Chassis is just too darn likable to ignore. The beer pouring creature itself has actually doled out a few pints in its lifetime, but apparently, the latest spotting showed off a snazzy new paint job and a few additional lights. Heck, there's even a built-in microphone and speaker for "audience interaction." Best of all, however, is that the operator of this fellow can make it talk to party goers in the vicinity, and while we're currently unsure of its marital status, we have all ideas that it's a real hit with the ladies. Check out a few more snapshots in the read link below.[Via UberReview]
Bill Gates: philanthropist, nerd, beer baron
Being the shrewd businessman that he is, Bill Gates has just invested a significant amount of money in one of the few products consumed during both good times and bad: alcohol. Actually Femsa, the Mexican brewery in which Gates now owns a $392 million stake through his Cascade Investment LLC fund, does a lot more than just brew booze: according to Reuters, it's also the world's second-largest Coke bottler as well as operator of Oxxo, Latin America's largest convenience store chain. When asked how he felt about the Microsoft founder moving in on his home turf, fellow billionaire Carlos Slim reportedly shrugged off the threat, boasting, "Not only am I a wealthier man than Mr. Gates, but he couldn't even make it through half a Power Hour with his nueva cerveza."
Pocketable probe could detect drink spiking
Granted, we've come across hordes of patent applications that were far from practical, but if it's the premise that counts, we suppose this one works out alright. The app calls for a "probe" which could then be inserted into a drink, and an indicator connected to a database that would enlighten you if your drink has indeed been injected with a noxious solution while you weren't paying attention. The process would also require that a blast of electricity be sent through the probe, and though it's not directly stated, it also entails that the user be sober enough to understand it and willing to bust it out whilst partying. We have our doubts about the last two ever truly working out.[Via MedLaunches, image courtesy of BBC]
Nuvo Wino infrared wine thermometer sports retractable sensor
There's no shortage of gadgetry designed to keep your wine legit and chilled, but the Nuvo Vino infrared thermometer is hitting the market to ensure that your pre-drink rambling doesn't lead to you drinking an overly warm glass. The simplistic device sports a retractable sensor that purportedly measures the exact temperature of the wine itself, and there's plenty of accompanying documentation to inform you of what perfect degree you should look for before indulging. As expected, it also features a fairly attractive motif in order to catch the eye of the affluent, but until they add built-in aural cues that blurt out whether or not your beverage is ideal, we'll hold onto our $49.95.
Foster's to aid in first "beer battery" fuel cell project
While it's certainly debatable whether beer is to thank for the explosion in the consumer electronics industry, it looks like we'll be thanking the beverage without hesitation for making our world a little greener. Oddly enough, "scientists and Australian beer maker Foster's are teaming up to generate clean energy from brewery waste water by using sugar-consuming bacteria," and better yet, the University of Queensland will host a microbial fuel cell at a Foster's Group brewery near Brisbane. Essentially, the cell will consume brewery wastes such as sugar, starch, and alcohol, while producing clean electricity by harnessing the energy released from the organic materials coming in. The device is expected to produce two-kilowatts of power, and while hopes are to bring the technology to other breweries and wineries around the country, this iteration should crank up sometime in September.[Via Physorg, thanks Michael T.]
Beer to thank for consumer electronics explosion?
Beer has certainly found its place in worldwide culture, but claiming that it's the foundation for all of the consumer electronics that we enjoy today is probably stretching it. Nevertheless, the controversial (or just plain sarcastic) Charlie Bamforth proclaims that "beer is the basis of modern static civilization," touting his three decades at Anheuser-Busch as a knowledge base. Essentially, Charlie insinuates that beer spurned innovation in ages past by making the early brewers think outside of the box, which subsequently led to tents, then cities, and by extension, iPods, laptops, and USB-powered oddities. Granted, the man's linkages make entirely more sense when inebriated (or at least tipsy), so if you're looking to prove just how important alcohol is to your gadget collection, grab a few cans and hit the read link below.[Via Inquirer]
PS3 or beer? Microsoft poses the ultimate question
While we might've put down a few of Microsoft's last night Europe exploits as a tad immature, we aren't going to deny the genius here: Microsoft's message to gamers is that the PS3 = the Xbox 360 + £146 in beer money. Of course, such a mental exercise is nothing without a bit of illustration, so Microsoft carted in just that much beer to the offices of the UK's CVG magazine (above) and Auckland, NZ's GamePlanet store (pictured after the break). Naturally, Sony will have the last laugh when its utterly sober fanboys use keen rhetoric to destroy their tipsy MS fanboy opponents in the comments section following this post.[Via Joystiq]Read - CVGRead - GamePlanet
Microsoft uses beer to illustrate Xbox 360 cost advantage
Drink that picture in ...After yesterday's shenanigans, we imagine the guys at Microsoft strutting around their various international offices as if they were in a locker room after a big game; lots of high-fiving, butt-slapping, and other telltale indicators of competitive confidence. For example, for the European (and New Zealand ... ean) PS3 launch, they did what any self-respecting mega-corporation would do: Used beer to visually communicate the price difference between their console -- the Xbox 360 -- and their competitor's -- the PlayStation 3. UK-pub CVG received the above stockpile while Auckland, NZ's GamePlanet store got a similar treat (pic after the break). We normally would consider additional games a more appropriate metric when discussing price deltas, but we suppose they wanted to stick with the locker room theme.Read - MS sends CVG the difference between 360 and PS3... in beer! (CVG)Read - Microsoft NZ Tease Sony (NZGamer.com)
PS3 price difference buys a lot of beer
It's pretty common knowledge that the PS3 is a bit more expensive than a Xbox 360. In Europe the difference in price is around £146, something Microsoft really wanted to hit home with their latest generous offering. This afternoon, over at the CVG offices, they received a special delivery of £146 worth of Fosters beer, rolled in by beer couriers, and sent to them by none other than Microsoft. Perplexed by Microsoft's sudden generosity, they opened the attached note which read;"What would you purchase for £146...? (The price difference between an Xbox 360 and a PlayStaion 3) Well, for a start we thought you might like £146 worth of beer to kick start your weekend early."What a great point Microsoft, we would have never thought to purchase beer with all of the money we've saved. But why you didn't share the beer love with Fanboy Towers? We're still a little confused to exactly how much beer one could purchase with the savings in US currency, so we'd welcome the knowledge. Lucky CVG writers ... they get all the drunken fun on Microsoft's tab.[Via Digg]
Inebriated crooks leave behind digital snapshots of themselves
It's one thing to lose track of all the peripherals you need to gank whilst stealing a gaming console, but to leave behind digital snapshots of yourself at a crime scene is on an entirely different level of dumb. In a case filled with Darwin award nominees, a team of self-incriminating thieves managed to break into private property and jack about "$5,000 worth of expensive alcohol, including $800 bottles of wine and high-dollar scotch," only to forget a digital camera filled with photos of the party in progress. Interestingly, game designer Richard Garriott (Ultima Online, anyone?) actually owns the property, and has stated that he'll probably install a swank video surveillance / security system to prevent such an annoyance from happening again. But if you've been wondering how to make a quick buck in order to snag a few new pieces of kit flowing out of CeBIT, Texas police are offering "up to $1,000 in reward money" for leading investigators to the less-than-intelligent criminals.[Via Fark]
The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (or, a field day for Jack Thompson)
We're not particular fans of EA, generally lackluster licensed games, or the mafia. Still, seeing this trailer excites us a little, if for nothing else than to beat the crap out of everything that moves. The gesture-based control system includes such perks at beer bottle throwing, choking, slapping, and throwing people into walls. Yep, our buddy J.T. is gonna have a grand ol' time with this one, and to be honest, we're a little worried. If hyper-paranoid parents get a look at this stuff, Nintendo could land in some hot soup. For now, though, simply kick back and enjoy the abject violence.
