Initial D Arcade Setup Uses Full Sized Cars July 30, 2007
By Andrew Liszewski
I’ll admit I’m pretty ignorant at what the anime series Initial D is actually about but I do know it involves cars and is ridiculously popular. So popular in fact that the Initial D arcade game apparently warrants the use of full sized cars mounted on motion simulators instead of a standard gaming cabinet.
The game/simulator can be found at the SEGA Joypolis in Odaiba (Tokyo), Japan and comes in three versions using the actual bodies of a Subaru Impreza WRX, a Toyota GT-APEX and a Mazda RX-7. The game itself plays out on a 90-inch monitor mounted in front of the vehicle and for only $5 (long gone are the days of 25 cent arcade machines) you can cruise around one of three different courses.
Unfortunately since I don’t have any plans to visit Japan in the near future I guess I’m just going to have to wait for the home version to be released.
[ Initial D Arcade Stage 4 Limited ] VIA [ Kotaku ]
iTeddy Will Destroy Teddy Ruxpin
By Andrew Liszewski
I think iTeddy and Teddy Ruxpin should have a battle royale. It would be kind of like Terminator 2 where the old-fashioned Schwarzenegger T-800 model (Ruxpin) would be fighting the high-tech Robert Patrick T-1000 model (iTeddy). But since Teddy Ruxpin isn’t the star of the movie I’m pretty sure iTeddy would destroy him with his superior features.
You see instead of a cassette player mounted in his chest iTeddy has a personal media player with 512 MB of built-in memory that’s also expandable VIA an SD card slot. The media player can be used to listen to MP3s, watch videos and view photos and can even be removed from iTeddy’s chest once the child feels they’ve outgrown the whole teddy bear thing. There’s even a companion website where you can download content and parents can record messages and stories for their kids to listen to. But I have to ask, they couldn’t have come up with a more original name than iTeddy? That’s just lazy iMarketing if you ask me.
iTeddy should be available come August 6th from Argos.co.uk for about $120.
[ iTeddy ] VIA [ Shiny Shiny ]
Nightlighter Flashlight Illuminates Where You Are And Where You’re Going
By Andrew Liszewski
They say if you build a better mouse trap the world will beat a path to your door but what if that happens at night or when the power’s out? Thankfully someone has built a better flashlight with the ‘oval’ that not only allows you to see what’s ahead when walking in the dark but it also illuminates the area just in front of you so you can avoid any tripping hazards.
This ingeniously designed flashlight contains two light sources that work together to provide you with the ultimate illumination. This dual-light flashlight emits a forward-facing, narrow-angle beam (uses a high output Luxeon one watt LED bulb) to light the path ahead of you. It also emits a downward-facing wide-angle beam (uses two ultra bright 5mm white LEDs) to light the ground. Using both of these light sources simultaneously enables you to feel safer while walking in the dark. You also have multiple lighting options available with the flashlights three-way switch: the front light on alone, both front and lower lights on, and lower lights only.
The oval design and built-in handle apparently also makes the flashlight more ergonomic and easier to carry for lengthy periods. Though I have to admit I’ve never really felt strained after using a traditional flashlight design for long periods. But maybe that’s just because my arms are like pythons.
The oval is powered by 3 AAA batteries and is currently available from firstSTREET for only $29.95.
[ Nightlighter Flashlight ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]
X-Rep Taser. Verdict? Smokin’
By Ryan Nill
Guess what I want for Christmas! The embedded video makes this look so awesome I can’t even qualify for words. The person’s face after getting zapped? Priceless. I can only hope that he was compensated justly for being shot at with electrified bullets while being videotaped.
He is being shot at with the brand new X-Rep, a self contained arrow-taser-bullet with a range of up to 100 feet. Popular Mechanics says “The XREP punctures the target with multiple probes, and then unspools to dangle from the unfortunate belligerent’s body, all the while applying Taser’s infamous rapid-fire electrical pulses. As an added bonus, any helpful passerby trying to yank the XREP out of the target before the 20-second discharge cycle is finished will also get zapped, thanks to a ‘hand-trap wire’ that’s nestled in among the other hanging cables.” So hot, those facial expressions should be rated NC-17.
[ Popular Mechanics ] VIA [ techeblog ]
Space Invaders Door Mat
By Andrew Liszewski
Nothing says you’re about to enter the home of a geek (or more likely their parent’s home) than a Space Invaders themed door mat. Using flat panel LEDs and a couple of AA batteries this mat runs a simple animation loop of those invaders from space flailing their arms up and down.
Unfortunately unlike this Space Invaders Rug this door mat has absolutely no interactivity unless of course you stomp on the battery box which will probably bring the animation to an end. And while most geeks will probably refuse to actually use this outside for fear of something happening to it the mat is made of industrial grade rubberized plastic making it both durable and weather resistant.
It’s currently available from Charles & Marie for $110.
iPod DJ Mixer
By Ryan Nill
Remember; remixing a song is like admitting you were wrong. That being said, the Alesis iMultiMix 9R is a mixboard for playback and mixing straight from your iPod. It has video output as well, so you can share all of your poorly bootlegged videos. It features 5 mic/line inputs, 3 band per channel EQ, Mic/line inputs, 48V phantom power, auxiliary sends and returns, band pass/reject, and composite video. All from your iPod! it’s like buying that iTV thing, except without all the guilt from dealing with a frigid, soulless corporate evil.
The Alesis iMultiMix 9R should be available in late 2007 for $399.
[ alesis ] VIA [ Newlaunches ]
Instant Ambiance, Just Add Water
By Ryan Nill
The Healing Theater Umine uses LEDs to project blue and green beach-y images on your ceiling as it plays back digitally recorded sounds. If your Ariel the Mermaid fetish has become too passé, you can easily switch to several other settings, including a tropical rainforest, under the sea or you can even opt to play your own sounds with a media player and use the mottled colors as a backdrop.
You can also add a frosted dome to it, turning it from nifty full room lava lamp to dome lamp with music. The effect, like all other LED projects, requires a completely dark room. The Healing Theater Umine is available now for about $69.
[ Himeya Shop ] VIA [ technabob ]
Iris Identification For Cell Phones
By Evan Ackerman
Seeing who’s #1 on your girlfriend’s speed dial is about to become slightly more difficult: you’ll be needing one of her eyeballs. Oki Japan is introducing iris recognition software that’s compatible with any phone with at least a 1mp camera. It’s even available as an add-on for existing phones running Symbian or Windows Mobile. According to Oki, the chance of a false positive is a mere 0.00001% (1 in 100,000) with a 2mp camera, but I’m just as concerned about false negatives. How reliably does the phone unlock itself when you need it to? What about if it’s 3am and I’ve been binge drinking in a smoky nightclub and my eyes are all bloodshot? Will the phone recognize me so that I can drunk dial my ex-girlfriends? Clearly, extensive testing will be necessary before this program is ready for the market. Except it already is. In Japan, anyway.
[ Oki Iris Authentication (In Japanese) ] VIA [ Digital World Toyko ]
We All Knew This Day Would Come - RIP Joox.net
By Andrew Liszewski
While that goody two shoes Joost always chose to play by the rules its cousin Joox.net was a wild child that preferred to throw caution to the wind. And it’s for that reason we all fell in love with the site. (Well that and the hundreds of free streaming movies and TV shows.) Over the past few months Joox.net has occasionally gone down causing a bit of panic for those who’ve come to enjoy its services but the site always re-appeared a few days later. This time though it looks like Joox.net’s time has finally come. The following comment was posted to my original Joox.net story:
We had to officially shut down the site due to repeated warnings about theft and copy-right violations. Truth to be told, the managers, myself included, don’t really give a crap about any copy-right violations, but after someone threatened to sue, I felt I didn’t have a choice.
Sorry for the inconvenience, but you can visit stage6.com if the urge to stream high quality videos persists.
I’m thinking of starting a site myself, and the Anonymous post above has a point; stage6 do give out their links freely, and embedding isn’t actually against the law. So screw those people who are jealous of our success and worry about us violating their rights to the wallets of people like you.
Here’s to the memory of Joox. We had a good run.
It was a good run indeed. You will be sorely missed.
[ We are assuming that the commenter is indeed someone at Joox, though we haven’t officially verified this. The site certainly has been down long enough. -Ed. ]
[ Joox.net (sniff) ]
The DoorKnob Condition Ensures Privacy
By Andrew Liszewski
While there are several unofficial methods for letting a roommate know you’d like a little privacy the Doorknob Condition by designer Arnaud Lapierre ensures you won’t be interrupted no matter what. Instead of hanging something on the handle which could be misinterpreted you simply pull on the doorknob on the inside of the room which causes the knob on the outside to recess to the point where it can’t be grabbed or turned.
In theory it could also work well in a hotel when you don’t want to be disturbed in the morning as opposed to those hanging doorknob signs which are so easy to remove by a hilarious prankster outside your room.
[ The Doorknob Condition ] VIA [ electro^plankton ]
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