When I was in Japan, I of course made a point of visiting the Akihabara district of Tokyo. The sheer volume of stores was staggering, and many of them, like the monolithic Tsukomo, were seven or eight stories tall. Having a store footprint of only perhaps a Subway and catering to the tastes of the […]
When I was in Japan, I of course made a point of visiting the Akihabara district of Tokyo. The sheer volume of stores was staggering, and many of them, like the monolithic Tsukomo, were seven or eight stories tall. Having a store footprint of only perhaps a Subway and catering to the tastes of the most desperate of personal otaku, the multiple levels were necessary.But the clientele is increasingly moving on the web, and what with economic problems over there as well, Tsukomo is going bankrupt.
An electronics store in trouble always gets me right here, but this one is particularly affecting because it’s in, perhaps, the most gadgety square mile on Earth. I’d like to think it’s an isolated case, but I’m afraid it’s probably more an indicator of things to come. Next time I’m in Japan I’m going to make a point of patronizing these fantastic shops, because apparently they’re an endangered species now.
Do they just have an idea machine over there at Asus? This thing is great! Of course, it’s not very often that you’ve to take all the bits out of your Computer case and travel with it separately, but if you did this would be indispensible. It’s mid-tower sized and has room for an […]
Do they just have an idea machine over there at Asus? This thing is great! Of course, it’s not very often that you’ve to take all the bits out of your Computer case and travel with it separately, but if you did this would be indispensible. It’s mid-tower sized and has room for an ATX motherboard and everything. It’s even got front ports. And it folds flat! This is too much! I don’t know why this is so impressive to me; I just love it. [via HardOCP]
If you’re constantly glancing at your G1 to check if T-Mobile has graced your handset with the oh-so-slow-to-roll-out RC29 update (”By November 11th”? Pah!), you might be glad to find out that there’s now a way to expedite the process. A user over at xda-devhas worked it all out. All you need is a computer, world wide web […]
If you’re constantly glancing at your G1 to check if T-Mobile has graced your handset with the oh-so-slow-to-roll-out RC29 update (”By November 11th”? Pah!), you might be glad to find out that there’s now a way to expedite the process. A user over at xda-devhas worked it all out.
All you need is a computer, world wide web connection, a way to transfer the firmware to your Micro SD card and half a brain.
Remember the Mega Man Blaster that great dad made for his son’s Halloween costume. Yeah, the entire costume is done now and up on Instructables with DIY instructions. The jump suit and helmet doesn’t look that hard to build, but the Mega Blaster isn’t something you can put together last minute - state, today. Still, it’s […]
Remember the Mega Man Blaster that great father made for his son’s Halloween costume. Yeah, the entire costume is done now and up on Instructables with DIY instructions. The jump suit and helmet doesn’t look that hard to build, but the Mega Blaster isn’t something you can put together last minute - say, today. Still, it’s never to early too start planning for next years gala.
While it’s by no means playable at this point (unless your favorite hobby is watching sloths tend to a patch of growing grass), the Android Market has now seen it’s first video game emulator: AndroidBoy. As you may have guessed from the tail-end of the name, it’s a Game Boy emulator, supporting games from both […]
While it’s by no means playable at this point (unless your favorite hobby is watching sloths tend to a patch of growing grass), the Android Market has now seen it’s first video game emulator: AndroidBoy. As you might have guessed from the tail-end of the name, it’s a Game Boy emulator, supporting games from both the original Game Boy and 1998’s Game Boy Color.
The new Prodino micro audio system from Kenwood might not look like much - might not sound like much either - but it supports up to 32GB from SD or microSD cards. Output is limited at 10Wx2 and costs an absurdly 360€ ($465 USD) price. For that price, the sound aught to be nearly as good […]
The new Prodino micro audio system from Kenwood might not look like much - might not sound like much either - but it supports up to 32GB from SD or microSD cards. Output is limited at 10Wx2 and costs an absurdly 360€ ($465 USD) price. For that price, the sound aught to be almost as good as the B&W Zeppelin and something tells me it isn’t.
A lot of things are riding on this UI redesign for Microsoft and the Xbox team, but more importantly it’s quelling the frustrations that many of us have had to deal with since the beginning of time. The blade interface was a good start, but it was frustrating at times and it certainly deterred me […]
A lot of things are riding on this UI redesign for Microsoft and the Xbox team, but more importantly it’s quelling the frustrations that many of us have had to deal with since the beginning of time. The blade interface was a good begin, but it was frustrating at times and it certainly deterred me from perusing the Marketplace. Streaming via Netflix has been rumored for almost a year and that feature will finally be unlocked come November 19th. I still think the whole avatar feature is childish, but I was once asked whether or not I made characters in my own image (like in Madden or whatever), which promptly made me shut my mouth.
The Xbox and Microsoft teams began working on NXE this past spring and seeing what they’ve accomplished in such a short time is pretty astonishing. Most will be content with the addition of Netflix, virtual celebrations and creating their own avatars, but I’m most excited by the fact that we no longer have to wait for the spring or fall updates to unlock new features.
Video after the jump. I’m no Doug Aamoth and I apologize in advance.
The Marketplace is no longer a never-ending maze. Everything you could ever want to purchase whether it’s a game related theme or new map pack is accessible from just about anywhere in the dashboard. You don’t have to go the Marketplace to do it. If your favorite game is Gears of War then you can see what’s available for download from your games library. It’s simple and more streamlined. Of course, you’ll be redirected to the Marketplace channel, but the point is that you don’t have to go there to start with. You can also search for items in various ways, but the inclusion of an alphabetical search is key. I can finally redeem codes and/or buy content from my computer without having to be at home. Everything begins to download once I turn on my Xbox and sign into Live.
The Party feature is also fairly neat for many reasons. The 8-way party chat is great because you don’t all have to be playing the same game in the same room at once. You can all be doing different things and still be connected. The Photo Celebration feature is perfect friends and family because you can all share photos at once. Pics can be uploaded to the celebration over your wireless network, USB drive and/or CD/DVD. I like being able to snag certains pics and bringing them back up to the forefront. Sometimes those embarrassing photos you don’t want people to see get uploaded. You can also upload screenshots or share new maps with your cronies if they’re too cheap to shell out for them. It’ll be interesting to see how this feature evolves through time.
The Netflix feature can be seen in the video demo and it’s pretty straightforward. I just hope they roll out the HD streaming soon. There was an update for Netflix that I didn’t download prior to this posting.
Lovers of the blade system should know that you can still access a variation of it by pressing the Guide Button. This is a quick way for gamers to jump from one area to another while they learn the new dashboard system. It also gives you vitals like controller battery life, your Gamerscore, who’s online, etc.
Ripping games to the hard drive has made a massive difference in my overall happiness because I no longer have to listen to the thunderous fans of my Xbox. The actual difference was measured at 7db (this figure came from MS). Games load a lot faster, but I wish I didn’t have to have the disc in the drive simply because I’m lazy and don’t want to swap out discs when my ADD kicks in.
The next addition might or might not have been mentioned, but you can delete zero score games that you or someone else played once on your account so that it doesn’t affect your Gamerscore.
I’m pretty stoked on the New Xbox Experience, but like some of my peers have stated, “it’s just a UI.” But it’s a UI that makes the overall experience that much easier to navigate and it can be updated on the fly. And don’t worry about the servers crashing on the 19th, MS assures me that it won’t happen.
If there’s anything else that you guys want me to check out or film then leave a comment and I’ll be sure to get to it this week.
These little Arduino boards are a real boon to amateur electronics tinkerers: cheap, versatile, and very small. This guy had the idea to make a high-speed photography setup using one, instead of the more direct circuits usually involved. His reasoning was that the Arduino grants for a lot of simple customization, like for instance hooking […]
These tiny Arduino boards are a real boon to amateur electronics tinkerers: cheap, versatile, and very small. This guy had the idea to make a high-speed photography setup using one, instead of the more direct circuits usually involved. His reasoning was that the Arduino grants for a lot of easy customization, like for instance hooking up a sound sensor as well as a laser sensor. It grants for failsafes, superior timing, and involvement of blended hardware and software which might in turn control the object drop, speed of projectile, and so on.
I’d definitely be rocking one of these if I had the time to throw down on some sweet high-speed shooting. His gallery is here, but there are more pics over at Hack n Mod.
Swift Version: The $99.99 Pure-Fi Anytime is a good choice as an alarm clock and single-room speaker system. If you’ve got your life on your iPhone, you’ll appreciate this gadget as it pulls double duty as a bedside phone charger and music player. Overview and Features Universal iPod/iPhone dock and alarm clock Motion activated backlight and […]
Quick Version: The $99.99 Pure-Fi Anytime is a good choice as an alarm clock and single-room speaker system. If you’ve got your life on your iPhone, you’ll appreciate this gadget as it pulls double duty as a bedside phone charger and music player.
Overview and Features
Universal iPod/iPhone dock and alarm clock
Motion activated backlight and snooze – just waving your hand over the top of the alarm clock acts as the snooze function
AM/FM radio
Audio input for non-iPod devices
Remote control
MSRP of $99.99
It’s good for…
…people who live and die by their iPhone or iPod. If your iPhone is a major part of your life – contacts, appointments, phone, mobile internet, music, and all that good stuff – then you might as well integrate it into how you wake up in the morning, right?
If you’re the type that has trouble getting going in the wee hours, you may appreciate the capability to flail your arms about wildly when your alarm starts up with the off-chance of activating the snooze. A easy Obi Wan Kenobi-style hand wave within a few inches of the top of the Pure-Fi Anytime is just as good as physically tapping the actual snooze button. The same goes for the backlit buttons on top of the device. They’ll remain dark until your hand gets close to them, at which point they’ll illuminate.
At under a hundred bucks, too, the Pure-Fi Anytime isn’t outrageously expensive. If you have a small apartment/dorm or spend a lot of time in your bedroom, it’s a nice do-it-all alarm clock and speaker dock if you’re low on space.
Not so good for…
…audiophiles, party people, those seeking block rocking beats and/or who wish to be taken to FunkyTown, etc. The sound quality is above average for an alarm clock but a tiny tinny once you crank it up. It’d also be a tiny too low-volume for a party, as it doesn’t get all that loud. If you’re from the Midwest like I’m, you might be able to throw a successful party because everyone in the Midwest is polite and refrains from talking over one another in social situations. If you’re one of the 900 girls on the East Coast who are each somehow part of my wife’s side of the family, though, forget it.
Also, the remote isn’t really a selling point if you ask me. It’s one of those credit card remotes that seem to ship with every affordable audio device on the market. I find myself having to point the remote directly at the Pure-Fi, giving it a nice, hard, deliberate press. Even then, it still doesn’t register sometimes. Not really a direct Logitech issue – none of those little remotes seem to work well.
Conclusion
A good choice, especially if you’ve most of your music on your iPhone/iPod and want to listen while you’re getting ready in the morning. Many people sleep with their phones charging right next to their beds anyway, so you might as well kill two birds with one stone and cut down on the cords to boot.
The price is nice, the motion sensing stuff is pretty cool (if a bit gimmicky), and the unit itself is a handsome piano black which should go well with most bedroom motifs.
A database problem is censoring unexpected song titles including titles using the words h*t, k****r, t**n. Also affected are c***s***er, s**t, p***ya**s, and “Your Mom Spends Her C*****d D***k W***e*****y P****l” by P***y and the A**l Glands. Apple intends to fix this problem as soon as they f***ing get around to it.
A database problem is censoring unexpected song titles including titles using the words h*t, k****r, t**n. Also affected are c***s***er, s**t, p***ya**s, and “Your Mom Spends Her C*****d D***k W***e*****y P****l” by P***y and the A**l Glands.
Apple intends to mend this problem as soon as they f***ing get around to it.
When I was in Japan, I of course made a point of visiting the Akihabara district of Tokyo. The sheer volume of stores was staggering, and many of them, like the monolithic Tsukomo, were seven or eight stories tall. Having a store footprint of only perhaps a Subway and catering to the tastes of the most desperate of personal otaku, the multiple levels were necessary.But the clientele is increasingly moving on the web, and what with economic problems over there as well, Tsukomo is going bankrupt. 
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