Cool toys and Gadgets

Boxee is pretty much brand new, but they’re already releasing an update to add new features to the mix. The company’s media player software that’s currently in an alpha version for Macs and Linux only, just got an update that adds the ability to stream Netflix movies and videos from sites such as the WB network, MTV and offers up photos from the Boston Globe.

Just two weeks ago, Boxee was working to gain venture capital funding in an effort to license their XBMC-based software to set-top box makers. An update like this certainly can’t hurt that effort, especially as more and more people are looking for ways to get their online media on their TVs.

The update also adds interface tweaks for sites such as CNN, Flickr, Picasa and Hulu. Plus, watching YouTube videos is now easier due to better browsing and added support for H.264 video. Though not currently compatible with Apple TV because of hardware issues, Boxee is working on adapting their software to it soon. A Windows alpha version is also on the horizon.

Relevant Entries on SlashGear

• Samsung Blu-ray players to support Netflix in HD
• Roku release GPL source code for Netflix Player
• Samsung Blu-ray Players now support Netflix and Pandora Services
• Hack your 360 to stream Netflix movies
• Netflix is considering streaming movies to the Xbox 360

The Norwegian company has released the Alpha version of Opera 10 browser for PC carrying a new rendering engine, Presto 2.2. Presto 2.2 will be the base for all Opera 10 browsers and is 30 percent faster compared to Presto 2.1 that is used in Opera 9.5+ versions.

The new version concentrates more on web standards, thus making Opera 10 to achieve a full 100 in the Acid3 test and also include features like on-the-go spell checking, auto-updating to latest versions and better HTML renditions in Opera Mail.

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Multi-tool... is a font via NOTCOT. Marcus writes -

My neighbour forgot his multi function tool in our kitchen. I started playing around with it and (surprise, surprise) tried to create a whole alphabet with the sentence “typography can be a multi function tool” in mind. I did not yet find the time to create a real font but if you want to play with it, feel free to download the high resolution versions of the colored (5MB) and the black(0.5MB) characterset as PNG.

Photography by Simon Jansen

New Zealander Simon Jansen has all the bona fides of an alpha maker. A software engineer and classic car restorer, he's got a half-built R2-D2 and a custom minibike he made from scratch. He achieved geek fame with his ASCII animation of Star Wars scenes (asciimation.co.nz), which practically defined obsessive attention to detail.

But a jet-powered beer cooler? This bloke operates on a whole 'nother level of absurdity.

Jansen set out to make the holy grail of many a maker: the homemade jet engine. In his Auckland garage, he welded his own combustor, bolted it to an old turbocharger, and added a leaf blower for air flow and a propane tank (sans regulator) for fuel.

The trickiest part was the oil system, which must maintain critical lubrication pressure: "I used an oil pump from an old Ford Escort Mark 1, driven by the motor and gearbox from a cheap 12-volt rechargeable drill!"

Don't try it at home without an exhaust temperature gauge that goes to 1,000°F and an rpm meter that hits 100,000. But bloody hell! It worked, with

the head-splitting roar that jet hobbyists live for. "Incredibly loud," Jansen recalls fondly. "You can hear the air being ripped apart as it is sucked into the turbine. I was grinning for days."

From adversity came the real breakthrough. Jansen's jet burned propane so fast that the tank rapidly iced up, dropping the fuel pressure. So he stood the tank in a tub of warm water. When a colleague remarked that the iced water could then chill beverages -- eureka!

Jansen says beer and dangerous machines don't mix, so he abstains from the frosty bevvies until he's finished playing with the engine. Ever the tinkerer, he has stripped down and rebuilt the jet beer cooler several times. "The latest iteration should be more self-contained and portable," he promises. "I've been telling the mates at the office we'll fire it up in the car park."

>> Jet-Powered Beer Cooler: asciimation.co.nz/beer

>> More Homemade Jets: junkyardjet.com

From the column Made on Earth - MAKE 11, page 19 - Keith Hammond.

Section: Audio, Home Audio, Video, Content, HDTV, Imaging, Camcorders, Peripherals, Displays

Chances are if you’re reading this you’ve probably seen The Dark Knight sometime this summer.  Or you at least heard of it.  If you haven’t, I congratulate you, it would have been nice to live in a cave during that media blitz.  Now, you may or may not know that the DVD and Blu-ray release of the movie is coming up on December 9th.  Well, if you haven’t, JVC wants to remind you.

JVC has announced a partnership with Warner Brothers to promote The Dark Knight, as if it needed help.  The company is holding a sweepstakes on its Dark Knight micro-site, offering for a chance to win a JVC home theater package, and Dark Knight DVDs. 

Headlining this grand-prize are the DLA-HD750 projector and Everio GZ-HD40 camcorder.  The projector has a 50,000:1 contrast ratio and is touted to be THX-compliant, while the camcorder can record 50 hours of 1080p content.  There is also a “Catch The Joker” game that you can play on the site for a daily chance to win Dark Knight DVDs, as well as behind-the-scenes footage from the film.

To advertise the campaign, there will be in-store promotions and print advertisements.  Oh yeah, that large HDTV in Times Square will also be showing Dark Knight-themed commercials when it goes live.  Nothing like 19’ tall images of Heath Ledger looming just one story above the street, and I suppose Batman will be there as well.  So, it’s another chance to win a home theater, and a movie with it.  Except this time it’s one of the largest grossing movies of all time, and a projector with an excellent contrast ratio.

Read [Virtual Press Box]
Read [JVC Dark Knight micro-site]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

James Delaney's created The Unfocused Brain, an interesting variation on Mitch Altman's Brain Machine:

This program and schematic is designed to flash LED's in certain brain wave inducing patterns. The device is controlled by four buttons that switch the generator between Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Theta frequencies.

...
After building and trying out the SLM I noticed that certain transitions from one state to another created particularly strong visual hallucinations.

My project is a deviation from the original SLM. Since my hallucinations seemed to be the same with or without the audio component I decided to leave it out. I added buttons rather than a program so the user can change frequencies spontaneously. I built this project with the Attiny461 chip.

Check out the Make Brain Machine thread for more ideas on variations.

And, if you get really ambitious, switch to low-frequency ultrasound for brain stimulation (pdf; thanks to Bryan Bishop for the link)

Section: Video, HDTV

Its been a while since I’ve been to Times Square, I can’t even draw an image of it in my mind.  It just tends to blend in with the rest of New York City for me.  Almost commonplace in a way.  Now at least there’s something brand new to catch my attention.  JVC has announced that it will be bringing the first ever HDTV to the New York City landmark.

The screen will display at 720p and be powered by LEDs (1,266,400 of them to be exact).  There is no mention of a contrast ratio, but with a size of 19’ by 34’, I doubt many people will be looking for that sort of thing.  The screen will hang just one story above Times Square at Broadway and 43rd.  There will also be a new 71’ LED ticker below the screen, and the JVC globe beneath it will be refurbished for the HD screen’s activation on December 2nd.

JVC plans to use the screen to show promotions that the company is running and “seasonal, promotional and product-related original content.“  There’s no word of the original material, though it will hopefully show just how much better HD is than all the other screens in Times Square.  It should be something interesting to look at if you happen to be passing by, but I doubt it will really draw anyone to the landmark that wouldn’t go there already.  Plus, it must be decent marketing, as the screen will have 9’ tall neon, JVC letters above it.

Read [JVC]
Read Facts [Virtual Press Office]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

What would you get when you combine together an iPhone, aQWERTY keyboard, and a Game keypad? The upshot might be something like the iCEphone. Originally designed to meet the demanding requirements of the British military, the iCEphone is a combination of a cross-platform medical software package and a phone that sets a new industry standard in convergence technology. The rugged handset has both a desktop and a handheld mode. In the desktop mode, the intuitive keyboard folds out, and in the handheld mode, the secondary keyboard slips underneath. In both the modes, users will get the proper keyboard functionality.

(more...)

Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops

This is for the folks who had their hearts set on grabbing an Inspiron Mini 9 or Mini 12 netbook from Dell, but were not really feeling the black or white options.  Rest easy, because Dell has announced some new design options as well as the pink and red colors for both the Mini 9 and Mini 12. 

The new colors are officially being called “Cherry Red” and “Pretty Pink” and sadly they are both coming with a $25 premium.  Hopefully, Dell will have a change of heart on that added cost.  If you remember back, the Apline White originally had that same premium, but it was quickly removed.

As for the artwork options, there are five designs available, all of which are from artist Tristan Eaton.  As for that extra cost involved with the artwork, these designs add an additional $50 to the purchase price.  Keep reading to check out some images of the five available artwork designs…

Product [Dell]

Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Papervision - Augmented Reality (extended) from dpinteractive on Vimeo.

I tried it out and it was very impressed by the speed and accuracy of the motion tracking (he did flicker a bit and have problems when my lights were too bright, so be prepared to work a bit to make him happy). This is a Flash implementation of augmented reality created by Digital Pictures Interactive; all it takes is your web browser, a webcam, and a printed marker symbol. Now, would it kill the little guy to smile every once in a while?!

It seems to be based on the ARToolKit developed by Dr. Hirokazu Kato of the University of Washington.

I enjoy Augmented Reality much more than Virtual Reality because 99% of the AR environment is the real world in all of its infinitely detailed glory and I can accept a few lower fidelity objects overlaid here and there. Even the highest quality VR worlds still feel much less than real in a way that usually pulls me out of the experience.

via BoingBoing Offworld