CrunchGear

Listen to Isaac Asimov talk prophetically about robots for 4 minutes
Predators, the 2010 remake of Predator: This won’t end well
Review: Iomega iConnect Wireless Data Station
DIY: Stereo Cooler
The Search for Meaning (at SXSWi 2010)
Kim Jong-il caption contest

Listen to Isaac Asimov talk prophetically about robots for 4 minutes

Posted: 13 Mar 2010 01:07 PM PST

There’s something reassuring about the way Asimov speaks on this topic (surely one of his favorites) — even though this clip has got to be 35 or 40 years old, it rings true now and we would do well to take his advice. And how about that transcription? Like human beens indeed. It’s an interesting topic for post-brunch rumination: what would a world built around robots be like? Probably like that nightmare Korean theme park if we’re not careful.

[via Metafilter]

Predators, the 2010 remake of Predator: This won’t end well

Posted: 13 Mar 2010 12:04 PM PST

Nowhereelse found what amounts to be a sneak peek for a new version of Predator, now called Predators which I suspect will eat les balles. Oh well.

Review: Iomega iConnect Wireless Data Station

Posted: 13 Mar 2010 09:22 AM PST

Short Version: We now have so much storage in our homes that we could probably, each of us, start our own Rapidshare service. But how do we get all that data to the other machines on our network or, better yet, out onto the Internet?

Devices like the Iomega iConnect allow us to place storage space on our internal networks and expose that data to the world, as needed. However, the iConnect also creates a local iTunes share, adds a Time Machine back-up location, and performs a few other tricks all for $99. While it’s not perfect, it’s pretty cool.

Features:

Four USB ports
iTunes/Time Machine support
Printer support
Wireless

Pros:

Shares data locally and with the world
Compact
Built-in Ethernet port

Cons:

iTunes sharing not selective
Set-up a bit wonky
Doesn’t work with Drobo

The Iomega iConnect Wireless is, in short, a NAS without drives. You can stuck up to four devices onto this thing and even print wireless over your network. When you need to grab a file from one of your drives – and if you’re like me, you have plenty – you just connect to that drive. When you take the drive out of the network it disappears. Add it again and it reappears. The system also offers a remote access service with your own private URL mapped to the iConnect.

The device is fairly easy to set up. You connect to a network, run the enclosed software, and add a disk. As soon as a disk is plugged in it appears as a share on your network. A click and you’re in.

Setup is very straightforward. The desktop UI is barebones and the web UI isn’t much more complex. It isn’t for the average user but you could set it up for Grandma and tell her how to watch her soaps. Besides, it has a Torrent client built right in so she can DL her things on the DL.

For $99 you get a lot of features. Is it better than something like the Netgear Stora? That depends on how many loose drives you have in your collection. If you need to get your data online in a hurry, however, this is a good solution.

In the comments for our quick look one reader, Bryan, found that the device doesn’t support the Drobo, which is a problem. It also seems to only support FAT, FAT32, and NTFS, which could be a problem for larger files. However – and I haven’t tested this – most devices like this will handle large files thanks to the sharing properties and protocols used. The disk format seems to be invisible to OS X.

Product Page: Iomega iConnect

DIY: Stereo Cooler

Posted: 13 Mar 2010 08:45 AM PST

Here’s a clever yet simple DIY project for you, just in time for the weekend. You could probably even through this thing together before the next camping trip, even if you are heading out tonight. It’s that simple.

Take an inexpensive cooler, chop a couple of holes in the side. Add speakers, wiring, a stereo, and a car battery, and you’re rocking loud enough to disturb the neighbors. Admittedly it’s a little more complicated then that (for example, the author had problems mounting the speakers), but overall it seems like an easy project. The author added a few extra features as well, including a built in charger, a couple of 12v outlets (for charging other devices), and an amplifier with a sub-woofer as well. From looking at his build log for the thing, it’s obvious that this is an ongoing project and I look forward to seeing what other refinements he can come up with.

[via Hackaday]

The Search for Meaning (at SXSWi 2010)

Posted: 13 Mar 2010 06:00 AM PST

While standing in line for an hour to get my badge and materials at this year’s SXSW Interactive Conference, I had time to ponder my first trip to Austin for the event. Initially, my plans for attending centered around hunting down and harassing SEO spammers but a little extra time to reflect reminded me of the insensitivity and meaninglessness of such actions. Besides, that time could be much better spent hunting down beer and merch.

All kidding aside, Friday got off to a slow start, panel-wise, but that seemed to suit the nice, laid back nature of this town. At least the AT&T network seemed stable. We'll see how that goes in the following days. If you have something specific to bitch CrunchGear at SXSW, twoot me at getdonovan.

Check back for details as I sort the good from the bad and pass the info on.

Here is what's on deck:

The "Location Wars". I will be speaking with several people intimately involved with providing you the latest location based goodness to help keep your "Check-In" habit interesting.

Q&A with Kyle Outlaw from Razorfish.

Panel summaries and more.

Stay tuned.

Kim Jong-il caption contest

Posted: 13 Mar 2010 05:38 AM PST

Matt: “I see we just got the latest computer monitors. Take that, South Korea.”
Devin: “Zerg him, comrade”
John: “Our glorious gold farming initiative is the pride of the world.”
Dave: “What?? Doug left CrunchGear?”
Greg: “Our screens may not be bigger, but they are deeper. Take that, South Korea!”
Scott:”I always get sniped on de_dust, too. Don’t let it get you down, brother.”

The person who sends in the best caption, as judged by all of us, gets something from John’s box-o-stuff. We’ll close the contest on Monday at noon New York Time.

via The Big Picture where there are 30 more just as funny pictures.