Videos
I have an admission to make: I may love gadgets, and the forest of LEDs that tinkle in my room is certainly a testament to that fact, but being the hippie nerd that I am I harbour a deep seated guilt about just how much electricity my gadgets are using.
This has led me to adopt a variety of methods to lower my electricity consumption as much as possible, and Michelle Kaufmann brings us a great idea on lowering our AC bills by using water as a thermal wall on those hot windows:
It may not be as flashy as a new iPhone, but saving some dough on electricity could let you save money for even more gadgety goodness, and help the planet to boot!
[via: MAKE Blog]
It's an interesting look at the new operating system, but I can't help but agree with some of the comments on the video: What is really going to revolutionize Windows is not bells and whistles, but basic interface changes. Menu upon menu upon menu just isn't exciting anymore, regardless of how smooth the transitions are. I see it like Final Fantasy. Up until FFX, the menu-based game play was ok. But after that, we needed something different, something to keep us interested. FFXI tried its hand at something new, but was still stuck in menus, but FFXII really busted out the walls of what it meant to be a Final Fantasy game. Yeah, there were still some menus, but overall the game play was revolutionary.
I see Vista allot like FFXI. It's something a bit new, a solid try at new approach. But I'm hoping Windows 7 will be much more than that. However, from the video, the only exciting thing so far is the web page builder.... and that's just a rehash of a million different programs already available.
What do you think? See anything exciting or interesting here in this video or from any other sources that have got you pumped about Windows 7?
I gotta give it to Viacom and their assortment of TV channels. However much I may not like MTV, I love Comedy Central and I love LOGO. Comedy Central has seen an explosion lately of show offerings on line, like the complete back catalogue of The Daily Show, Colbert Report and even flagship South Park. But LOGO, Viacom's channel dedicated to the LGBT community, has yet to offer any of its shows online. That is, until today.
LOGO announced they would be placing new video content on their website today. Everything from full episodes of Noah's Arc and Big Gay Sketch Show (both good shows, if you ask me) to clips and behind the scenes footage of their other shows, will be available online for you to view at your leisure.
I took a look at the selection, and while I have to admit that it's pretty limited, I'm also optimistic about what Viacom will do to expand the current offerings. Many places still aren't able to get LOGO, or even in places where you can get it *couch*Chicago*cough*, you have to pay extra to get it, so it would be nice to be able to access this content online. One down shot is that it does not appear that you can embed the videos as of yet. If you haven't experience LOGO yet, I would definitely encourage you to check out the shows they have up now. Like I said above, Noah's Arc is a great show (and currently has the most episodes available online) and the Rosie O'Donell produced Big Gay Sketch Show can be hilarious (most of the time).
[via: CNet]
May the Cylon God bless the SciFi Channel, and by extension their lovely DVICE tech blog: not only have they brought us BSG, but their Make a Cylon Contest has already begun to pay off.
Witness this terrifying homemade Cylon Maytag: it's one well-done parody. Now get out and make a Cylon of your own - in any form - and win one for Team Homotron. Check out other submissions here.
You've got to love UK science rag NewScientist - it's a great magazine, comes out at a prolific pace, and is accompanied by some great, free videos that are released on YouTube at a steady pace. I'm a subscriber and I'm always recommending that anyone who enjoys SciAm or other science mags to take a look - it's definitely worth the money if science reading is your bag.
Agitation aside, here's a great example: a robotic wheelchair that uses laser-guided docking technology to load itself into a car. The same principles were used by space truck Jules Verne last month when it arrived at the ISS. How cool is that? 'Look, Ma: No limbs!'
As cool as a Robocar is, this video is kind of trashy. It looks like some kid with eyeballs gooey from too much World of Warcraft constructed it.
Check out the promotional cartoon. Wowwie. Those look like airline emergency instructions.
Note to military tech engineers: if you're gonna make something cool, make the spectacle the same.
[via: Wired Danger Room]
Check out this video tour of the Psystar Mac Clone May-Not-Exist computer thingy. Tell me it's not the biggest piece of amateur trash you've ever seen and I'll buy you a popsicle. Frankly, I think the whole deal is a sham. What do you think?
[via: Psystar]
At least, that's what developmentally challenged Conservative blogger Erik Erikson over at RedState would have you believe. Why? Because once upon a time, Google CEO Lessig used a the above mash-up video to demonstrate the innovation of the Internet and to highlight the "remix culture" that has cropped up at sites like YouTube. The video, according to Erikson, is offensive to somebody somewhere that supposedly someone cares about, but I still can't figure out who wouldn't think this is hilarious!
So how does this tie to Obama? And why is this particular conservative is convinced that this time, this Democrat, is actually the Anti-Christ (as compared to every other Democrat before him)? Well, Lessig has come out many times to support Obama, and is acting as Obama's chief technology guy. So, you see, because Lessig used a funny video once upon a time, and Lessig supports Obama, then Obama must hate Christians! It's simple math really, when you look at it.
Yesterday, I talked about some of the fun and good things that technology has brought to the world, and unfortunately, it looks like the Conservative Movement has also discovered the "trend" that is the Internets. Meh, they keep things fun and interesting at least.
Lessig, Google, Obama, and Jesus: a net neutrality mash-up [Ars Technica]
While it's suffered more than its fair share of problems and delays, Art Lebedev's Optimus Maximus OLED keyboard is now here and ready to buy!
... that is, if you have $1,589.99 to burn.
Take a gander at ThinkGeek's introduction video, in case you've been living under a rock:
For the rest of us who have a little less expendable income when it comes to input methods, we can just drool at the final spec sheet:
- Revolutionary Keyboard Features a tiny OLED screen on each key. 113 screens total.
- Each key can be individually programmed to perform a series of functions, open an application or run an Applescript (Mac only.)
- Various System Monitor functions can dynamically display on a key including CPU usage, CPU temperature, Network Speed, and Memory Usage.
- Paint images across all keys at once in your image editor of choice.
- Key sets can be linked to an application, so whenever you open that app the appropriate keys come up.
- Use any language with the appropriate key images including Cyrillic, Ancient Greek, Georgian, Arabic, Quenya, and Hiragana.
- SD Card Slot for Storing keyboard Settings.
The fact that Quenya as a compatible language (and the fact that my brain automatically corrected and said Tengwar is the written script, while Quenya is the spoken language, though I speak Sindarin) is a major feature for me, means I'm more of a nerd than most of my friends realise. This keyboard would be dangerous when combined with my linguistics nerd obsession.
The Optimus Maximus works on both Windows and Mac OS X; no word on Linux compatibility, but I'm sure some enterprising hacker out there's working on it as we speak.
Product Page [ThinkGeek]
In case you haven't loaded up a Google search page today and seen the environmentally themed Google logo, I'm here to remind you that today is Earth Day!
And what better way to celebrate Earth Day than by bringing you some green news and tips to help you live a more responsible and planet-friendly existence on Earth?
So, if you've got some 2-Liter bottles laying around, here's a nice video with 8 ways you can reuse that bottle for some neat things around the house (specially relevant to gadget freaks is how to reuse a 2-Liter bottle as a camera stand):
Remember kids, the power is yours!
[via: MAKE Blog]
I really just don't know what can be said about this video. I mean, at the very least, they could have picked a cuter butt for this blatant rip-off.
We've all had to watch pathetic "motivational" videos that some executive put together thinking they were being clever and funny. And we've all forced laughter as if it were the funniest thing we've ever seen. And puked immediately after. I think I'm most disappointed with the "muicians" that created this... I mean, I know it can hard hard to make ends meet, but if you're going to sell your soul for a buck, why not at least do it on American Idol?
For those of you who have more than a little animosity towards Apple (*cough* Jesse James *cough*) or for those of us Apple users who love a good laugh, College Humor nails Steve Jobs's eccentric and unique presentation style, duplicating his Reality Distortion Field™ for the use of comedy:
Bonus video after the jump from a SNL MadTV broadcast about a year ago with another parody of an Apple product introduction: the iRaq.
[via: Boing Boing Gadgets]
And girls who like girls who like fembots!
Gadget of the Week
Show-stopping "half-VGA" screen and HSDPA/UMTS support, gorgeous video playback: Bold, Bold, Bold!
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