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Daily Crunch: Rooftop Observatory Edition

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 12:00 AM PDT

This train don’t stop for nobody

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 09:39 PM PDT


That’s a good idea. I get the feeling it would all end in tragedy, though. At least the end would be quick… about 217MPH to be exact.

[via Reddit]

Rumor: new Nikon DSLRs incoming?

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 07:30 PM PDT


New Nikon DSLRs… that wouldn’t be much of a rumor — of course they’re coming. But this rumor has specs! Things! Being! Rumored! It’s exciting! So what have we here… three new cameras coming? So exciting.

The first rumor is an entry-level camera, perhaps a successor to the D3000. Probably a megapixel bump, better AF system, and generally bringing it up to line with competitors. The next rumor is more interesting: a 16-megapixel, 39-AF point, 1080p/24-shootin’ mid-range monster, possibly a new D90-style camera with a bigger sensor. That’d be a big seller for sure. The third rumor, well, is that there is another camera in the pipeline. Nobody knows anything more.

There are a few more Nikon rumors over at Nikon Rumors (predictably) so get your butt over there and join in the speculation.

HP plans wrist-mounted e-ink display for space marines

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 07:00 PM PDT


First, a trivia question: how many of you remember Super Force? Because that’s the first thing I thought of when I saw this picture. Even more, this Starcrafty Korean concept soldiers. Moving on, though… remember that wrist-mounted device HP showed off in its “let’s do amazing” ads a little while back? Turns out they were showing an old model: the plan now is to have nice big e-ink displays strapped to the wrists of soldiers — space marines to be precise, if the illustration is any indication.

Current wrist displays, inflexible and powered by heavy batteries, are really no good for today’s soldier, overburdened as he is with packbots, newfangled rifles, and portable bunkers. So HP wants to make theirs light, solar-powered, and printable.

What, that LG thing wasn’t cool enough for them?

Hey, AMD’s doing just fine too! Recession over!

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 06:30 PM PDT


Yesterday we learned that Intel tore it up during the first quarter of 2010. Good for them, but what about longtime rival AMD? Turns out they’re doing nicely as well, with record quarter revenue and signs of general recovery for the semiconductor business. I won’t get into the details (check the Register) but it looks like the daring footwork done over the last couple years is paying off for the underdog semiconductor company.

Fujitsu shows off new prototype e-book reader

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 06:00 PM PDT

So fair warning, there’s not a whole lot of detail on this one. Fujitsu just showed off their latest e-book reader prototype at a trade show in Japan. It probably won’t hit the US, but expect to see it in Japan later this year. We’ll keep you informed when we get more information.

[via Akihabara News]

BenQ claims new LCD TV supports 12,000,000:1 contrast

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 05:00 PM PDT

For some strange reason, the contrast race seems to be on. TV’s seem to getting higher and high contrast ratio, but LG was claiming a 1,000,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and now BenQ is claiming a 12,000,000:1.

For whatever reason, BenQ’s new line up includes the 18.5-inch GL9320, the 19-inch GL931, the 21.5-inch GL2230, and the 22-inch GL2231. BenQ claims to have the highest contrast ratio in the industry, but I suspect they might have forgot about LG. Or maybe they are calculating hte contrast using a different method. No pricing as of yet, but expect to see the latest from BenQ at your local retailer sometime in July.

[via Electronista]

DIY: Nikon IR remote in a Lego

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 04:30 PM PDT

Here’s a little DIY project for you Nikon shooters out there. Certain models of the Nikon DSLR support IR remotes, but to buy an actual “Nikon” brand remote from your local camera shoppe will set you back around $40. Why not build one yourself instead?

This project requires a little more skill then most; you have to be able to manufacture a PCB and program a microcontroller. This could be problematic if you don’t already have the necessary gear, so that $40 might not seem such a bad idea. The person who created this project on Instructables did a far better job explaining it then I can, so head on over there and check it out. I’d do one myself, but my camera doesn’t support IR.

Celestial Pegasus outsells iPad in DLC shocker

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 04:00 PM PDT

Funny story. Back when the Oblivion horse armor DLC hit, people couldn’t make enough fun of it. No in-game value, pure vanity, who’s got an extra $5 to spend on a game they already bought, and so on. And then Blizzard releases this magic space-horse, which 1up states with some authority as being “the fanciest [magic space-]horse ever born,” and people are buying it at a rate of 20,000 per hour.

I guess WoW players just love them some Pegasi.

Won’t somebody please think of the trackpads?

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 03:00 PM PDT


Having reviewed several laptops in the last year, there is one thing that I have learned I can always count on: the trackpad on PC laptops is going to be a disaster. Every time. At least, a relative disaster, when you consider the quality of the trackpad that comes with every MacBook and MacBook Pro.

Now, this isn’t the venue for discussing the other relative merits of Macs and PCs — cost, OS, Apple Tax, and so on. This is strictly about the trackpad. I rose a similar question when I asked how Apple has had the best touchscreen on the market for three years running, despite years of R&D by their competitors. It’s the same with trackpads. Why don’t laptop makers seem to get it?

It seems obvious. The trackpad is, after the keyboard, the object you interact with the most on any laptop. Wouldn’t laptop makers want this object to be largest, most responsive, most versatile thing they can make it? Yet on every PC laptop I review or test out, the trackpad is small, poorly placed, unresponsive, or all three. And the buttons, which should easy and satisfying to click, are often stubborn, squishy, or small. What the hell are they thinking?

I bet Apple’s trackpads cost a bundle. They’re luxury trackpads, with lots of capacitive fibers in them, a complicated interpolation algorithm, and they’re really big to boot. I’m guessing they cost at least twice as much, perhaps more, than the usual bulk trackpads one finds installed in something like a mid-range Dell or HP laptop. But the return on Apple’s investment in an expensive component is that everyone who touches an Apple trackpad falls in love with it immediately.

(As a quick aside, it seems the difference between Apple and other trackpads has reached deeper than I thought: throughout this article (until I just now corrected it) I’ve been writing “touchpad” when referring to Apple’s, and “trackpad” when referring to others. A subtle difference, but significant, I think.)

Personally, I can’t stand using a mouse in OS X because the trackpad is too good to give up. Conversely, for PC laptops, I keep the driverless SteelSeries Xai around so that I won’t have to use their rubbish trackpads any more than I have to. It’s basically a deal-breaker: I would never buy a PC laptop for any serious use, and I suspect it’s one of the major reasons why Apple has such a high retention rate when it comes to laptops, despite their high price. A lot of people say they prefer to use a mouse with their laptop — yeah, and you prefer to use an external hard drive, too, because what the laptop provides is inadequate. If Dells had a giant, beautiful, fun-to-use trackpad, I suspect many would change their minds about laptop mousing.

Sure, with a little netbook you can’t expect it. But the question is not a netbook question (though to be fair, the reviews linked above are in the low-mid range). This is on otherwise-excellent laptops costing $1000-$2000 that we are finding tiny, low-quality trackpads. There are exceptions here and there, but a huge majority of the laptops out there are, in my opinion, shorting the buyer. When someone is buying a laptop that they are going to use as a primary computer, the savvy laptop-maker would do well to assure the consumer that the laptop is of the highest quality, and not cobbled together from whatever parts fit the bill. The trackpad is the first thing that most consumers will touch, and if they fall in love with one, their budget suddenly expands to allow that love to be requited.

Furthermore, with PC laptops sharing so many components, you’d think Lenovo, Acer, HP, and everyone else would be itching for a chance to set themselves apart, and not just via a fingerprint sensor or custom shell. “We have the biggest and most responsive trackpad in the industry.” Doesn’t that attract you more than “Case designed by Vivenne Tam“?

So come on, laptop makers, nut up and throw down for for some high quality hardware — and watch your brand improve. Until multi-touch eclipses trackpads and mice as the primary input for portable computing (some ways off, I suspect), you guys should be dedicating yourself to provide the best possible experience for your users. The trackpad is one of the most important parts of the laptop experience, and you’re all blowing it.

Have a Coke and blue screen of death

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 02:30 PM PDT

Just got this from a reader named Oswald in Katy, Texas. Apparently, Coke uses Windows in their vending machines. Oops!

More Stargate props up on ebay for nerds like me

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 02:00 PM PDT

I love me some Stargate, but I still can’t justify dropping cash on some props. I guess I don’t love it that much. But if you do, jump over to eBay where there’s another group of Stargate props available. There isn’t anything really fun this time around like O’Neill’s sunglasses or Teal’c’s staff, but there might be something in the group that strikes your fancy. The Stargate Atlantis laptop stickers are available along with Bill Nye’s seat back from one of the last episodes and Teal’c’s hat.

Watch out for the shipping, though. The seller is charging a flat rate of $20 for everything. That alone stopped me from bidding on the decals. Sometimes I hate eBay.

DSLR LCD too small? Here, have a tiny HD monitor

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 01:30 PM PDT


If you’re using a DSLR for video (as I’m about to, having just received a T2i to check out), your monitor options are pretty limited in-camera. Obviously you can’t look through the viewfinder, but the live view on the LCD is so small that you can’t really make much out — and the resolution is rubbish, too. SmallHD thinks they have a solution in this camera-mounted tiny HD display, but it too has its limitations.

The display part looks fantastic, to be sure: a 5.6″ diagonal (4×6x1″)at 1280×800 resolution means an excellent ppi of 270, and a ton of high-def inputs mean you’ll be getting a great image. The accessories, like an articulated arm and battery bracket, are still “projected,” so you’ll have to use the default hot shoe mount for the time being, and you’ll have to plug it in as well — that limits its practicality quite a bit.

Still, the DP-SLR is a hell of a nice-looking little doodad. At $900 for the basic and $1200 for the advanced model, however, it’s clearly for the pros out there. You can still try to find this little wireless thing, but it’s probably got a lower resolution than your camera’s LCD.

[via Doobybrain]

Japanese P2P virus catches you downloading porn, demands money to clear your name

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 01:00 PM PDT

There’s a pretty hilarious computer virus causing a bit of havoc in Japan right now. It affects users of the P2P program Winny (sorta like a Japanese version of Freenet, so says mighty Wikipedia), users who were looking for a strain of pornography known as hentai. I wouldn’t recommend googling that word while at work, or while in the presence of other human beings unless you’re prepared for a laugh followed by, “Um, what?”

So the virus works by tricking people into downloading a file that purports to be the porn in question, but then publishes your browser history while demanding money (around $10) to unpublish said information.

Around 5,500 people have been infected so far. Winny has some 200 million users, which is absolutely shocking to me: how did such a popular program fly under the radar? Well, “under the radar” in that I’ve never heard of it before. Makes you wonder what other local P2P applications are out there that get zero publicity here in the U.S.

Trend Micro in Japan is monitoring the situation, so no need to go into freak-out mode.

It just goes to show you how you really aren’t going to get a computer virus unless you’re in the dark alleys of the Internet. I’ve been on a Windows 7 PC since December, and I’ve had zero viruses, trojans, or whatever.

Knock on wood, of course.

(Now watch my PC physically explodes overnight.)

Microsoft Arc Keyboard vs the Apple Wireless Keyboard

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 12:30 PM PDT


I am losing the war on clutter. Apparently my desk can spew gadgets, cables and crap out hidden orifices. So instead of fighting the power by actually cleaning, I picked up both the Microsoft Arc Keyboard and Apple Wireless Keyboard in a desperate attempt to regain my sanity.

My thought was that maybe, with their smaller frames and wireless capability, I could peacefully co-exist with the crap on my desk. After all, they forgo the number pad for a more compact laptop-ish layout. But alas, I also found both have different fatal flaws and aren’t able to handle my daily workload — so I’m back typing on my old full-size Apple keyboard.

Still, they are both great keyboards in their own right and might be a legitimate alternative for you. Click through for my findings.

Looks

Winner – Apple

The Microsoft Arc keyboard is a good looking kit. But the Apple Keyboard is downright sexy with a sleek aluminum skin paired with white keys. There’s no contest really. The Apple Keyboard could be featured in a museum 100 years from now representing “post-modern computer.”

Ergonomics

Winner – Microsoft

The Arc keyboard has, well, a slight arc to it. It curves up in the center, which I’ve found reduces stress on my wrists. It was a bit different at first, partly because my desk is slightly higher than it should be, but it was awesome once I got used to it. The Apple Keyboard isn’t bad per se as it’s basically the same form factor as a standard keyboard — just sans a number pad.

Both keyboards feature full-size letter keys, but the Apple keyboard has a smaller space bar than found on a normal keyboard. The Arc keyboard however has what seems to be a full-size space bar along with everything else besides the arrow keys. Where the Apple keyboard has a dedicated button for each directional arrow, the Arc has a single button that rocks in each direction. It seems to work well and I haven’t had any issues with it, although I don’t navigate spreadsheets for a living.

Tactile Feedback

Winner- Tie

Think laptop chiclet keys. That’s what both are like. Almost a cross between mushy and springy, but overall satisfying.

Compatibility

Winner- Microsoft Arc

This surprised me. The playback controls on Microsoft Arc keyboard work great in both Windows and OS X. This means that users can control the volume levels and such via the Arc keyboard in both operating systems — a big thing for OS X, actually. But the Apple Wireless Keyboard doesn’t control the volume levels in Windows, only OS X. It’s somewhat strange as the Microsoft Arc keyboard uses a little USB receiver where the Apple Keyboard works via Bluetooth, which I thought would have ensured a bit more compatibility.

Installation

Winner – Microsoft Arc

Windows – Simply plug in the USB receiver for Windows to pick up the Arc. That’s it. The installation is complete. The Apple Keyboard requires you to pull up the Bluetooth menu and then select the keyboard. Windows then asks you to type in a series of numbers to complete the installation.

OS X – The Arc installs nearly as easy in OS X. Once the receiver is plugged in, OS X asks the user to press two buttons on the keyboard to confirm the installation and you’re done. The Apple Keyboard’s OS X installation is nearly the process that’s by Windows: Open Bluetooth Setup Assistant, select install keyboard, type in a series of numbers.

The Deal Breakers

I love the footprints of these keyboards but they also have major issues that I cannot look past. The Arc Keyboard like to double capitalize characters. So when I type a capitalized word, the first two letters are big. LIke this. OR this. ANd this. It happens more than it doesn’t. ANoying.

Then the Apple Keyboard doesn’t work well with Windows. Apple used the same design found on its laptops so the fn key is located in the farthest left position — this is where the Control key should be. Sure, not a big deal for OS X users, but a big deal for the Windows crowd. The Apple keyboard also doesn’t have a true delete button — that is, it says “delete” but it’s actually backspace. Apple has done this for years on its notebooks, but it’s something that I cannot give up on my main input device no matter if I was using Windows or OS X. But it’s a huge deal breaker in Windows as there’s no way to Ctrl+Alt+Del without it.

So with the double capitalization thing in the Arc and lack of true delete key on the Apple Keyboard, it’s safe to say these keyboards are not meant for power users. It’s a shame, too. I can’t be the only one that’s willing to ditch the full keyboard in favor of a piece of smaller wireless kit. I’m not giving up searching though. There has to be something out there that will let me live and work peacefully on my cluttered desk.

Blizzard selling World of Warcraft mounts now

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 12:00 PM PDT

Yup, Blizzard is selling World of Warcraft mounts now. Two of them have just gone live on their little online store there, Celestial Steed and Lil’XT. The former is $25 and the latter is $10.

I already wrote a rambling thing about Blizzard selling in-game items, so I’m not about to do it again. The gist of the argument, if you can even call it an argument, is that I don’t mind if Blizzard sells cosmetic items, but they have to be cosmetic. If you can buy some crazy powerful sword or dagger or stave, well, that’s Not Good.

Now, I shan’t be buying any such cosmetic items, but that’s just because I’m viciously anti-microtransactions.

The Steed does look pretty cool, though, I’ll give them that.


Exciting interview: UFC’s Chuck Liddell talks Reebok ZigTech, his MMA future and the Apple iPad. Yes, the iPad.

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 11:00 AM PDT

I had myself a bit of a field trip yesterday, going over to Reebok’s fancy gym on Columbus Avenue in New York to try out their new ZigTech shoes. The name alone implies, well, tech, which would explain my presence there. Bonus: I got to interview former UFC light heavyweight Chuck Liddell. Truly an awesome day.

Let’s talk a little about the shoes first: you cannot eat them. I know they look absolutely delicious, but I have confirmed that they are not, in fact, edible. Sorry.

Their raison d’être is that zigzag line you see alongside the bottom. The idea is to transfer the energy that would otherwise be lost as you place your heel onto the ground toward the front of your foot, giving you, quite literally, an extra spring in your step. I have been waiting some 30 hours to write that last sentence.

Reebok had us do some light exercise drills to get a “feel” for the shoes, and I didn’t injure myself or any of my colleagues in the process, so that’s a plus. I’m not exactly a “shoe expert” or anything, but they didn’t feel heavy or awkwardly weighted or anything like that. Presumably with additional training I’ll be able to leap over tall buildings in a single bound!

The shoes are available now for around $100, which is about the average price you can expect to pay for these type of shoes.

Most importantly, I did, in fact, get to interview Chuck Liddell at the event. It was pretty amazing, and I’m very happy that I finally got to see the mohawk in person.

Without further ado…

CrunchGear: What do you make of the new Reebok ZigTechs? Have you been using them for a while? They seemed pretty cool for the hour we used them this morning.

Chuck Liddell: I’ve been using them for a while, yeah. They’re really cool. I have a bunch of shoes, actually. My girl was making fun of me because of how many shoes I have. I really like ‘em. They’re comfortable, they seem to be working, seem to be helping me move.

CG: Do you use a lot of hi-tech items in your training, or are you more a back-to-basics kind of guy?

Liddell: Define hi-tech.

CG: I don’t know. It’s like, you watch TV late at night and there’s so many fancy devices and gizmos out there that promise to make you Superman overnight or whatever…

Liddell: We do a lot of old school stuff. Old school, new school… I mean, it depends on how you want to see it. For us, we’re trying to emphasize the explosive, explosive power over time, you know? I don’t care how much I can lift in one shot. I want to be able to pop, to be able to knock a guy out in less than five minutes. When he [the opponent] catches one of them, I want it to be able to put him to sleep. It’s a different kind of thing.

CG: We’re a tech site, so I guess I have to ask a couple of tech questions…

Liddell: Tech? Well I’m probably not gonna be too helpful there…

CG: Do you have an iPhone? That’s pretty much the extent of it as far as I’m concerned.

Lidell: I have an iPad.

CG: Oh, do you?! Really? Do you like it?

Liddell: Yeah, actually, we’ve been using it quite a bit. ["We'' refers to Chuck and his girlfriend, who was sitting next to him. You'll recall that they were in that Reebook viral video exercising in the nude.] We have it up here somewhere.

CG [to his girlfriend, who's now jumped into the conversation]: Oh, really? I just asked him if he has an iPhone or an iPad, and he’s the first person I’ve met that actually has an iPad. So it’s weird, not exactly the first person you’d expect to have one.

Liddell’s girlfriend: Yeah, we have it…

CG: What’s your favorite App? Do you guys watch Netflix or whatever on it?

Liddell’s girlfriend: Yeah, we just did! [laughs]

Liddell: Hey, you’re pretty good! [laughs]

CG: Wow, OK.

Liddell’s girlfriend: Oh, my gosh!

OK, let’s stop the interview for a second to explain what just happened here. As we were all laughing at the absurdity of me guessing exactly how they use the iPad, the little table we were sitting at collapsed. Yes, collapsed, like a house made of hay. Hence Liddell’s girlfriend gasping “Oh, my gosh!” Luckily I was able to catch the table before it fell all the way to the ground, thus preventing a terrible tragedy. Here’s the audio of that part, simply for the lulz…

Audio: I think the table’s broken…

About a minute or two goes by while the table is fixed. I am a hero; clearly I should try out for The Ultimate Fighter next year.

CG: Wow, so you have an iPad, that’s amazing. Did you wait in line for it or do you have connections somewhere?

Liddell: I had a friend pick it up.

CG: Oh, I see. OK, well… I see you’re on the Twitter. Is that really you on there, or is it a manager or publicist or whatever?

Liddell: Yup, that’s me.

CG: OK, so fans can be all, “Hey, what’s up?” and that’s you on the other end of the line.

Liddell: I answer a lot of questions on there, but sometimes they’re pretty dumb. They’ll ask real personal questions, you know, like, “Hey, where do your kids go to school?”

CG: What a horrible question…

Liddell: Yeah, you know? Or, “What happened to that girl you dated from Bakersfield?” Do I really want to cover that in public? No.

CG: Right. I did see a bunch of people asking you about Tito and your thoughts…

Liddell: Yeah, I’ll send that back. That’s what the fans want. Usually I like to retweet—when people talk shit about me I’ll retweet that. It’s fun to watch the responses, people come up with pretty creative responses.

CG: Well, people are real brave on Twitter.

Liddell: On Facebook I had a guy bugging me, bugging my daughter. It’s like, are you serious? He kept saying stuff about wanting to fight me. Talk all the shit you want, tough guy. But, come on…

CG: Do you still have people, when you go out to bars and whatnot, do you still have people saying dumb stuff like, “Oh, I bet I can take you, just give me five minutes…”

Liddell: No, no. I’m pretty easy-going anyway, so you’d have to be a pretty huge dick to bother me. Most guys who would do that tend to be friends of mine, so I don’t know what that says about me. I mean, I worked at bars for a long time, so I’m pretty good at diffusing situations before they become a problem, you know? I know exactly what to say to escalate something, but I know exactly what to say to get rid of something.

CG: So your fight now is with Rich Franklin on June 12 at UFC 115 in Vancouver. Did training camp for that start, and when?

Liddell: It has. It began…

Liddell’s girlfriend: April 1st.

Liddell: Yeah, April 1st is when I actually started camp, but I had a kind of mini-camp when we were filming the show [The Ultimate Fighter season 11].

CG: And that was taped a few months ago, right?

Liddell: Right. We taped that beginning in January and finished up in early March. Then I took a couple of weeks where it was just regular workouts, just to sorta relax a little bit, sorta cool off a little bit. But I’m back in right now. I’m 219 pounds right now, and my goal was 220 by May 1st, so I’m doing good. So I’ve been in shape for a while.

CG: What’s your typical training day? Do you get up for a light jog, or…

Liddell: It depends on the day. Sundays are my day off. Mondays I usually wake up, get a good stretch in, get some sprints in. Then I go work out, then I come back and wrestle. Tuesday I usually go and spar, then at night I’ll wrestle. Wednesdays it’s light, like a hike or yoga whatever just to get my body moving. Thursdays I’m back in. Friday it’s a swim then two workouts.

CG: So an all-day thing. Now, has anything changed that you’re fighting Rich Franklin and not Tito Ortiz?

Liddell: Well, he’s a southpaw, so that changes some things. I do a lot of strategy, so… training partners, sparring, it gets tweaked a little. But it’s a similar fight for me because I’m gonna make him strike with me. He doesn’t have the take-downs to take me down. He’s a better striker than Tito.

CG: What do you make of what Anderson Silva did the other day? A lot of people online were saying, you know, “Oh, he’s this-and-that.” I mean, I’m not a professional fighter, so I’m really not comfortable criticizing someone like Anderson Silva.

Liddell: You know, if he [Silva] was going to clown him [Demian Maia], I would have preferred he try to fight him for three rounds then clown him for the last two, not clown him from the get-go. If you want to clown him for a little bit in the beginning because you felt he disrespected you, fine, but then go and knock him out. But it’s a hard match-up, those guys were trying not to get knocked out. But still, you can’t clown and then run out of gas. I would have liked to see him go after him for two or three rounds, and if he wasn’t out by then then try to clown him. But I don’t know, I don’t know what happened.

CG: It was weird, I guess is the best word to describe it. I guess the last question is, how long do you see yourself fighting in the UFC? Are you gonna keep fighting till [UFC President] Dana White sits you down and says, “Look, stop.” [White had tried to get Liddell to retire last year.]

Liddell: I’m going to keep going till I feel like I’m ready to stop. I still love what I do, I can still beat anybody in the world.

CG: If Dana says “Alright, you’re done,” would you ever consider fighting outside of the UFC, or is that your home?

Liddell: That is my home. We’ll argue back and forth. But at this point, I’m out to show him that I’m back, I’m re-dedicated. I took some time off, I got the fire back and I’m training hard. He’ll see, he’ll see me fight. It’s a fight-by-fight thing for him. But he’ll see, so long as I’m ready to go and I’m healthy he’ll let me go. I think he’s pretty excited to see me back training.

CG: OK, well they’re telling me to get out of here so thanks for your time.

Liddell: Yup, take care.

(Note: I don’t know why Liddell’s picture is in the gallery below; it’s just supposed to be photos of the shoes. Oh, wait, I do know why it’s there: because the software we use is complete garbage.)


This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

The Leica V-Lux 20 gets pictured and detailed

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 10:00 AM PDT

Bits of info has been leaking onto the interwebs about a new upcoming Leica the last few weeks. The V-Lux 20 is all but been revealed now though with specs, pics and launch info. God bless the Internet.

The V-Lux 20 is based on the Panasonic ZS-7 and will be a compact pocket shooter as the pics clearly show. The camera has an HD video mode, GPS, and a 3-inch rear LCD. Nice, eh?

The camera should hit dealers on April 20th and retail for €549, which is two hundred over the similarly-spec’d Panasonic. But it’s a Leica so of course it will cost more. That little red label costs a lot.

How to clog your arteries the fun and flavorful way!

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 09:30 AM PDT


Instructables has, um, instructions for preparing a “Blooming Onion” of the sort you find at fine restaurant chains throughout the United States. I don’t know if this wonderful delicacy has crossed the pond yet, so maybe this will be a treat for our European readers.

Instructables: Blooming Onion.

Hey, it’s Thursday, and I’m hungry. You think I should be writing about something else? Tell us!

Hyper Telescope: Bandai’s new “science toy” for kids

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 09:00 AM PDT

Major toymaker Bandai yesterday announced the Hyper Telescope [JP], which is being marketed as a “science toy” for kids. It’s the ideal gadget if you want your kid to become an astronomer, as it allows users to observe the sky and view relevant information on connected displays or within the device itself. All that needs to be done is to specify one’s location on earth and the current time.

Users can then move the telescope around, pointing it to a spot on the star map they want to know more about. The LCD within the device, which features three joints and an accelerometer, will then display the corresponding information on a “virtual” star map (see below for an example). Others can view what is being displayed if the telescope is connected to a TV, for example.

Bandai has built 20 background melodies and data (stats, pictures, etc.) on about 300 stars and similar objects into the Hyper Telescope. Over a thousand of those objects can be identified.

Bandai’s Hyper Telescope weighs 600g, is battery-powered and will carry a price tag of $200 when it will arrive in Japanese stores on May 29. It’s hasn’t been announced for other markets but could find its way outside Japan soon, too.
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