hamster
Latest
Hampture underwater colony established for science, leads the way for future hamster space exploration
Animals have had a rough time of it, when it comes to scientific exploration. Look no further than Laika, the first animal to orbit Earth, soon becoming the first animal to die in orbit, not too long after achieving that earlier distinction. The dwarf hamsters that occupy Hampture seem to be considerably happier in their own scientific explorations than the Soviet mutt, at the moment. Bob Averill brought the project to our attention last week on our visit to Portland, Oregon. According to the official blog, the project is an attempt to "learn firsthand what is involved in designing and constructing a complete underwater habitat capable of sustaining complex organisms." It also may well be a gateway to sending the hamsternauts into space via Skystation Mk1. Averill is also looking to turn Hampture into a salable product, though Kickstarter, for one, has apparently balked at the idea. In the meantime, you can check out a streaming feed of the habitat after the break and read up on the making of the project in the source links below.
Hamster-powered miniature Strandbeest proves that sometimes, cute is a gadget
Sometimes, after a hard day of gadget blogging, you just want to sit down at your terminal and watch a funny, heart-warming video of a hamster running furiously (as they will) in a plastic ball attached to a Strandbeest traveling across a table to the delight of watching children. Right? Video is after the break.
The Flying Hamster spits out some weapon tutorials
If it wasn't evident by now, we're absolutely in love with the upcoming PSP shooter The Flying Hamster. It's bizarre, and more importantly, absolutely adorable. We've only seen screens of the game so far, but with the release of its new official website, we can finally see the game (and its weapons) in action. The first three videos introduce some of the tactics players can use. The default weapon appears to be some kind of hamster spit, which can be charged to produce a more substantial ball of wet destruction. Other weapons include sunflower seeds and berries, which can be charged to devastating effect. While these may not seem like the most appropriate weapons to use in a shooter, they certainly match the zany character of the game. Seriously, it's hard not to laugh while watching these videos. You can check out all the action after the break.
Jacketed hamsters demonstrate movement-powered nanogenerators
Imagine this -- one day, with enough steroids, your pet hamster actually could power your home by just running on its wheel. Georgia Tech researchers have discovered ways to "convert even irregular biomechanical energy into electricity," and it's demonstrating the finding by showing off jacket-wearing rodents that are game to run. According to the institution's Zhong Lin Wang, the minuscule nanogenerators "can convert any mechanical disturbance into electrical energy," which theoretically means that power can be driven by simple, irregular mechanical motion such as the vibration of vocal cords, flapping of a flag or the tapping of fingers. As with most of these university discoveries, there's no telling how soon this stuff will be pushed out to the commercial realm, but at least they've found something to keep the rats busy during the off hours. [Via news:lite, thanks Charles]
Japan offers virtual hamster game to download
Have you ever wanted a randomly generated hamster living in your PSP? Well, you might want one now! One look at this adorable screenshot may warm your heart and convince you to get one for your handheld. This will be a download-exclusive game ...But of course, with all things PSP-related, this one is relegated to Japan only for now. Hamster Channel will be available for 2800 yen. Hopefully, someone will localize this not-too-hard-to-localize project. Perhaps Ubisoft? They can call it Hamsterz.
The Combini: a very important training program
The Combini is really a smart series for Nippon Ichi to put on the DS: what was once called a "video game" can now be presented as "management training" and sold to very serious people who don't want to waste their valuable train time with anything that's not going to give them a business edge. It's not a game, no! It's training. For business. Also it looks like it would be cheap to make.New elements in The Combini on the DS include a "president's office," from which you can get in-game help from your secretary and look at graphs on your PC. As you acquire wealth, you can upgrade your office. Other than that, The Combini is all about opening up stores in strategic locations near popular buildings, in one city at a time, hiring staff and placing products. You'll create direct-mail ads and commercials and track other developing buildings around the city. Oh, and of course you'll build "business power."
Servers are up
It looks like everything went okay with the server hamsters this morning as the servers are back up and running smoothly. In fact, it appears that all the servers are up right now. This is an oddity since usually there are at least one or two battlegroups that are down longer than the rest.There is no patch 2.4.2 on the live servers right now, and the PTR (Public Test Realm) is still up and running for additional testing. Hopefully within the next week or two patch 2.4.2 will go live for us all.WoW Insider will carry any updates on sever outages throughout the day. Enjoy your Tuesday!
Tuesday morning at WoW Insider
It's Tuesday morning and the hamsters that run the servers are being fed by Blizzard, which means all the realms are down for extended maintenance until at least 11:00 a.m. PDT. There is no patch 2.4.2 to look forward to when the servers go back up this afternoon, but that might not be that bad of a thing. Usually patch days mean add-on trouble and serious server stability issues. Those spell disaster for anyone expecting to enjoy the evening.While the servers are offline, go ahead and get your WoW fix from us! We've got a few dandy articles to entice you and keep your WoW addiction in full swing. Take a look at the official and unofficial patch notes for patch 2.4.2. Highlights include reduced cooldown timers, changes in the hand specifications of some weapons, and new polymorphing mechanics. A talented rogue was able to tank the seventh boss in the Black Temple, Mother Shahraz, by stacking insane amounts of avoidance and agility. Take a look at the video of the encounter, definitely worth watching if you have a minute. SK-Gaming killed M'uru (the next-to-last boss in the Sunwell Plateau) over the weekend. M'uru dropped some nice loot for them. Check out what they got in their world first kill. Did you know Blizzard launched a new and improved online store? The best part about it is that if you buy something, you can click a little check box that gives you a chance to be selected to participate in a beta. I ordered a tee-shirt over the weekend, and have my fingers crossed that I'll get in a certain beta test pretty soon (I could care less about the tee-shirt, naturally). Sean Forsgren recently profiled one of my favorite add-ons, Dr. Damage. It's a great tool that gives you very useful statistics about all your spells in the form of extended tooltips. Take a minute to look into it now, and get it all downloaded and setup for when the servers come back online later today. When the severs do come back online, WoW Insider will let you know. Hopefully there won't be any major stability issues tonight, but if there are, we'll be covering that too. Enjoy your downtime!
Meet the Hamster Shredder
We've already got a 100,000-large network of hamsters in wheels powering backup generators at Engadget HQ, but in the interest of energy conservation (especially going into the warmer months), we think Tom Ballhatchet's Hamster Shredder might be an order. Just be mindful to keep your little guy clear of the paper-grinding gears, we wouldn't want this thing taking its name literally.[Via Core 77]
First footage of Hamster Quest: Wheel of Respite
Though this alpha footage could easily be misinterpreted as a record of a hamster's harrowing journey (involving an intricately constructed series of traps, enemies and elevators), the vivid graphics and sweeping orchestral soundtrack make the truth quite apparent. Scheduled for release sometime in 2007, Hamster Quest: Wheel of Respite promises to deliver an epic journey that will engage the senses, challenge the mind and delve into the emotional relationship between a deranged man and his beloved hamster. It says here."Hamster Quest is a full-bodied experience," says Syrian Campbell, the game's lead and only designer. "It has a heart, because you'll become emotionally attached to Mr. Hamstar, the main character, as he attempts to defeat the evil mecha guinea pig. It also has a brain, because some of the puzzles will really stump you. Then, there's the liver and kidneys which, uh, refers to the... other stuff. Which is really cool!"The official Hamster Quest trailer is embedded for your inevitable viewing pleasure after the break.[Thanks Kevin!]
Love Love Hamster loves to give us new screens
A whole slew of new screens from the upcoming Nintendogs clone Love Love Hamster have hit the net over at Famitsu. The screens depict some of the stat screens Japanese gamers (or foreign importers) can expect to see whilst playing the game, as well as some screens of the in-cage environment. Also present are some heart-warming screens of hamsters at play, as they wrestle and just overall crush your heart under the power of their cuteness. Check after the break for included screens.
The USB-powered hamster wheel
If your office isn't quite overrun with newfangled USB-powered devices, well, maybe it should be. Joining the staggeringly-long list of lava lamps, seat coolers, deco lights, and other curious adornments, the USB hamster wheel is yet another incredibly novel way to make a spare USB port feel appreciated. Although most of these gizmos distract you (and your co-workers) from meeting those deadlines, this rodent could very well assist in boosting your productivity level. After the little guy's software is loaded up and he's all plugged in, just start typing to see his wee legs start to move. The quicker you type, the quicker he scurries, and we assume you don't even have to type actual words to get that wheel a-spinnin'; if an alarming stream of smoke begins to form, you can let the critter cool off by just flipping the on / off switch. Oddly enough, this USB-powered device still requires a couple AA batteries to operate, but if you need an alternate form of motivation to get you going each morning, the hamster wheel is available now for £24.95 ($47).[Via Uber-Review]
Nintendogs paves way for hamsters?
Given the success of Nintendo's dog-training, dog-loving sim Nintendogs, it's no wonder third-party developer Digital Kids is trying to strike while the iron is hot. We've seen clones centering around cats and dogs already, but this is a first. Now you'll be able to virtually pet and talk to a hamster in Love Love Hamster, which is set for release on the 2nd of November in Japan.There are 6 total breeds in all, including the Golden hamster, Dzungarian hamster, Chinese hamster, Campbells hamster, Roborovskii hamster and Panda hamster. The Panda hamster, by far, is the hamster of choice for the DS Fanboy staff and could help pave the way to cross-breeding other species. We hope to soon create the Bark; half-bear, half-shark, all unstoppable killing machine (not to be confused with the Bear-Shark). Anyway, a trailer, which sadly lacks sound, for the game may be found here.
