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Giant scissors are your controller in this quirky first-person action game
There's this small world inside GDC 2018 called Alt.Ctrl.GDC, where you'll find a booth full of quirky games that incorporate physical objects into their story. With Scissors the that than (the latter part pronounced "da da dan," according to its Japanese developer), you use giant scissors as your controller and as the main weapon inside the actual game. Before we get into the premise of Scissors the that than, you should first know that the physical pair that acts as a controller only has a joystick on the left handle (which you use to move) and a red button on the right one that starts the game.
YouTube bans videos that sell guns and accessories
Gun videos may be a thing of the past on YouTube, with the Google-owned company updating its policies on firearms-related content. Videos can no longer sell guns or accessories via direct sales or even have links to sites that sell them. Videos also cannot have instruction on manufacturing firearms or associated items like magazines or silencers.
I built a vibrator at SXSW
Crave is trying to open up the conversation about female sexual pleasure. The company sells beautifully designed vibrators in a range of styles, from the $60 stainless-steel Bullet to the $150 Duet, a discreet and powerful vibe packed with a variety of pulsing combinations. There's even the Vesper, a slim, stainless-steel vibrator that dangles from a delicate chain and doubles as a necklace -- "designed for beautiful experiences in public and private," as Crave describes it.
One of the UK's largest electronics retailers is broke
Many years ago, Maplin was the place to go if you needed a VGA to Scart cable, a weird battery or a new charger for your Samsung flip phone before there were industry standards for that kind of thing. It's the UK equivalent of RadioShack, and the only well-known highstreet chain still selling obscure electronics. Next to aisles of every cable and converter you could imagine, you'll often find random delights such as a smoke machines and soldering stations. In more recent years, Maplin started stocking products with a broader appeal, like Nest thermostats, Amazon Fire TV sticks and Google Home speakers. It even launched a smart home consultation service late last year, but the change in tack hasn't rescued the retailer from going broke.
Kids play mechanics for Marvel heroes with the Electro Hero Kit
Not every child wants to be a coder or an engineer, which can make it hard to get them playing with STEM toys if they don't really care about making their own video games or building a cool robot. However, many kids are into role playing and telling stories, which is what Tech Will Save Us' newest set focuses on instead. The Electro Hero Kit asks children to build stuff to help out their favorite Marvel characters, while imparting some basic lessons about electricity in the process.
The 'Spire' portable recording studio is all about spontaneity
Inspiration hits you at weird times -- usually when you're in the shower or about to fall asleep. Basically, moments when you have very little chance of putting it down on paper or recording it. The $350 portable Spire Studio from iZotope probably won't help much in those situations (unless you keep it next to your bed with a guitar or keyboard). But, for folks who write music, it's a surprisingly simple to use 8-track recorder that hooks up to almost all your gear.
ASUS' Tinker Board S is a powerful platform for DIY types
Last year ASUS tried to win over DIYers with the Tinker Board. It tried to elbow in on Raspberry Pi's territory. And even made an attempt to upstage it by making the Tinkerboard incredibly powerful. It was capable of pushing out 4K video and 24-bit/192kHz audio. The pile of HDMI, gigabit Ethernet, quad core processor and 2GB of RAM made it better suited to build a media center around than turning into some sort of art project or prototype. The Tinker Board S is more of the same. It's powerful board for hacker types with a pile of maker-friendly features like 40 GPIO pins and robust Linux support. The S also has 16GB of eMMC storage and the same pile of USB ports. But its the same size and, most importantly for the DIY crowd, it has the same layout. So you don't have to tear your whole project apart just to upgrade its guts. The Tinker Board S will ship sometime in the first half of 2018, but ASUS isn't talking price just yet. But, considering the original Tinker Board cost a hefty $60, don't expect its sequel to compete with the Raspberry Pi on price. Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.
Ben Heck's super glue gun: Designing a better enclosure
Karen and Ben break out the pencils and go back to the drawing board to redesign their super glue gun. After changing the auto stand in response to feedback from the element14 Community, the team is looking at how best to fit together the extruder and electronics. They also need to decide on the best plastic to use for the casing. After buying a few off-the-shelf glue guns for inspiration, Ben loads up Autodesk Fusion 360 and starts designing a 3D model to print. Is the team headed in the right direction? Let them know over on the element14 Community.
Researchers 3D-print WiFi-connected objects that don't need power
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a way for 3D-printed plastic objects to transmit information via WiFi without the help of batteries or electronics. And they show that it can be done with commercially available plastics and WiFi receivers. "Our goal was to create something that just comes out of your 3D printer at home and can send useful information to other devices," Vikram Iyer, a graduate student on the project, said in a statement. "But the big challenge is how do you communicate wirelessly with WiFi using only plastic? That's something that no one has been able to do before."
Google caters to the DIY crowd with an AI camera kit for Raspberry Pi
Google created its AIY Projects initiative -- "artificial intelligence yourself" -- to encourage developers and DIY enthusiasts to learn about artificial intelligence. The first project in the series, the ready-to-assemble Raspberry Pi-based AIY Voice Kit, was based on a project from MagPi magazine. Now Google has a second project ready for release this year: the AIY Vision Kit.
Kids can build their own Star Wars video game with Bloxels
There are a whole host of apps and games that are aimed at teaching kids to code, but not all of them come with stellar IP partnerships. But that's just what Bloxels, Pixel Press's video game building system aimed at teaching kids how to be content creators, has. Today, Pixel Press and the toy company Mattel announced that the companies were partnering to release a Star Wars edition of Bloxels. You can buy it today for $50 at retailers nationwide.
Ben Heck's Hex game: Fun with soldering
After working out the kinks with the layout of the Hex board game, Ben and Felix have received the PCBs from OSHPark and they're all ready for soldering. That's interesting, because ultimately the game itself will be used to teach soldering in schools. How's your own soldering technique? And what do you think of the Hex game? Let us know over on the element14 community.
GarageBand expands its music-making palette
Making music on a phone or tablet is generally an unpleasant experience. It's easy enough to bang out a melody in a cute app like Bebot or whip up some controlled chaos in a soft synth like Animoog. But composing is difficult on a mobile device. One of the few apps that takes an honest (and semi-successful) stab at delivering a full mobile music production suite is GarageBand. Apple is making that app even better today with a pretty major update.
'Women of NASA' Lego set available starting November 1st
Back in March, we reported that Lego would make a "Women of NASA" set, which was submitted to the Lego Ideas competition by MIT deputy news editor Maia Weinstock. Now, the set is finally ready. It will be available November 1st for $25/€25.
Ask Engadget returns (and you should send us your questions)!
A long time ago in a far-away land called 2013, we used to run a feature called "Ask Engadget" where you -- our readers, fans, followers and critics -- could ask us for our advice, opinions and recommendations on everything from cheap laptops and starter cameras to routers and email clients. You would write into ask@engadget.com with all the pertinent details about your issue, and like your favorite trusted oracle, we would gather all our knowledge and experience into a reply (and let the community weigh in as well).
Hobbyist gives iPhone 7 the headphone jack we've always wanted
For those of you who miss the iPhone headphone jack, you're definitely not alone. But Strange Parts creator Scotty Allen missed it so much that he decided to add one to his iPhone 7. He just posted a video of the project's entire saga, with all of its many ups and downs, and in the end he holds what he set out to create - a current generation iPhone with a fully functional headphone jack. It turns out, real courage is adding the headphone jack back to the iPhone.
Google reveals its most-searched ‘How To’ tips
It's easy to forget how difficult DIY repairs were just a couple of decades ago, considering how easy the internet makes it to fix very specific product problems. (My biggest personal victory was fixing a 50-inch LG plasma display that borked a week after the warranty expired, following some extensive Googling.) Now, Google has created a site that shows exactly what you want to fix, do and learn the most, based on where you live.
littleBits' Droid Inventor Kit teaches kids tech with 'Star Wars'
The latest addition to the littleBits line of products is a Droid Inventor Kit -- part of the Force Friday II toy launch ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. "We've created a gender-inclusive product that celebrates kids' own self-expression and ingenuity, while showcasing the same characteristics of imagination, grit and invention that are embodied in the Star Wars franchise," said littleBits CEO Ayah Bdeir in a statement.
Reprogramming the piano
Dan Tepfer is an acclaimed jazz pianist and composer who has played venues from Tokyo's Sumida Triphony Hall to New York's Village Vanguard. He also has a degree in astrophysics and writes computer programs. Born to a mother who sang in the Paris Opera and a plant-geneticist father who brought a Macintosh Plus home in the 1980s, Tepfer sees the worlds of art and science as entirely complementary. Algorithms and improvisation both drive his work. In his latest project, Acoustic Informatics, Tepfer uses a player piano, the automated instrument that occasionally appears in airports and Wild West saloons. Next month, he will present his first concert in New York City -- where he's lived for more than a decade -- to showcase this project at the Jazz Gallery, a venue known for its experimentation.
Kano’s latest DIY kit turns motion into code
DIY computer company Kano has released another brightly-coloured addition to its learn-to-code arsenal: a motion sensor kit. The standalone product comes with the Kano App to teach would-be coders how to translate movement into data which can be applied to games, apps and music. The kit, which is available for $30/£30, includes a USB motion sensor which can connect to any Windows or Mac computer -- or the original Kano Computer kit -- and comes with an easy-to-follow storybook featuring beginner's coding challenges. Learn to code a hand-controlled version of the classic game Pong, for example, or make noise and mix tunes by "scratching" a DJ turntable.
