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- Videos: Mobile robot RODEM
- Woot-off alert!
- Daily Crunch: Wine & Music Edition
- Steve Wozniak spotted camping out overnight in San Jose for his iPhone 4
- Mmm, sexy designer LED desk lamps
- iPhone cassette tape case is retro-practical
- So it begins: The iPhone 4 shatters like a mofo
- Your disposable wine glass, monsieur
- New Sandisk WORM cards write once, read for 100 years
- Counter-Strike: Source now available for Mac (!)
- HoodieBuddie is a hoodie with earbuds instead of strings
- CrunchGear contest: keep that old iPhone 3GS alive and useful
- Booq’s new Mamba Catch bag is ready for your shoulder
- Zero Punctuation on the new Prince of Persia
- Elgato’s EyeTV now blocks the World Cup’s vuvuzela
- Relax: President Obama will not flip an Internet kill switch
- Video: How-to use porn as bait in TF2
- Replace a MacBook Pro’s optical drive with an SSD
- Rear view spy glasses!
- Live-action “Akira” is coming, and the Hughes brothers will direct it
| Posted: 24 Jun 2010 05:41 AM PDT
There’s certainly no shortage of so-called mobility robots, but major Japanese robot maker tmsuk’s offering seems to be quite cool. In fact, the RODEM (short for “Robot De Enjoy Mobility”) is being pitched as a mix between robot, wheelchair and ultra-small vehicle (or “Universal Vehicle” [JP, PDF], in tmsuk’s marketing language). The RODEM has been around for a couple of months, but tmsuk recently let a member of Japan’s Lower House in Tokyo (pictured above) drive around in the newest version (finding ways to cope with the nation’s rapidly graying population is one of the hottest topics in Japanese politics today, which means advances in medical technology are sure to get attention even from high-profile politicians).
The vehicle is designed to be used indoors, mainly by older or physically handicapped people. Much like the Segway, the RODEM can be controlled by body movement (but there’s also joystick control). Sized at 1220×690×1170mm, the robot, which is powered by a lead storage battery, weighs just 100kg. It can reach a top speed of 6km/h, features a turning cycle of just 850mm, and it can be equipped with GPS, voice recognition, vital data sensors and other extras.
tmsuk hopes to commercialize the RODEM with a price tag between $5,500 and $7,800 (depending on the number of extras). Here’s a video showing RODEM in action: This video shows how riders can sit in the vehicle: Via Robonable [JP]
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| Posted: 24 Jun 2010 05:36 AM PDT |
| Daily Crunch: Wine & Music Edition Posted: 24 Jun 2010 12:00 AM PDT |
| Steve Wozniak spotted camping out overnight in San Jose for his iPhone 4 Posted: 23 Jun 2010 11:06 PM PDT
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is no stranger to waiting in line outside of the Valley Fair Apple store in San Jose; He found his way to the front of the line for the launch of the original iPhone, and then joined it again for the subsequent launches of the iPhone 3G S and the iPad. It should come as no surprise, then, that Woz is camped out at that very location right this second, awaiting the launch of the iPhone 4. Read the rest of this entry >>
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| Mmm, sexy designer LED desk lamps Posted: 23 Jun 2010 07:30 PM PDT
[via NotCot]
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| iPhone cassette tape case is retro-practical Posted: 23 Jun 2010 07:00 PM PDT
Its era-accurate cassette casing is fun enough to begin with; the cassette shell for your phone fits inside, but then you flip it around and it’s a kickstand for watching video?! Mind blown. I’m thinking of buying an iPhone just so I can use this case! [via Nerd Approved and Technabob]
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| So it begins: The iPhone 4 shatters like a mofo Posted: 23 Jun 2010 06:34 PM PDT
Reader Jared dropped his fresh new iPhone 4. The result? A shattered back. I thought this glass was supposed to be as strong as the Hulk’s purple shorts?
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| Your disposable wine glass, monsieur Posted: 23 Jun 2010 06:30 PM PDT
According to our old friend Matt over at Crave, the inventor of this disposable stemware actually took it on a show dedicated to finding cool new products, and it was rejected. The joke’s on them; they’re blowing up over in the UK. At £2.25 a glass (~$3.40) they’re not exactly cost effective, but neither is buying a Rainier for $4 at a bar downtown — why do I do that? And cost aside, the real advantage is in the simple fact that it’s sealed and good to go. The foil top is like a yogurt container’s, keeping your wine fresh and your legal status legit. No need for unsightly paper bags! Just wait till the fuzz goes by, pop the top, and enjoy a nice glass of… Le Froglet?! What kind of name for a wine is that?
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| New Sandisk WORM cards write once, read for 100 years Posted: 23 Jun 2010 05:45 PM PDT
In addition to the cards being only able to be written to once, they’re intended to last for 100 years. Now, I’ve taken some pretty good pictures (going to Yosemite this weekend in fact) but I don’t know for certain that I’d have any desire to keep any of my pictures that long. Sandisk suggests using them for evidence collection and so on — as long as they’re adequately protected, a write-once, tamper-proof card could be an important tool in court. The new cards aren’t yet available for purchase, but no doubt Sandisk will have them available at some point in the near future.
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| Counter-Strike: Source now available for Mac (!) Posted: 23 Jun 2010 04:00 PM PDT
Just a heads-up to let you Mac users out there that Counter-Strike: Source, “the number one online action game in the world,” is now available on Steam for Mac. Or, if you already have it on your PC, you’ll find that it’s in your Mac library, too. To celebrate its Mac release, Valve has it on sale for $6.80 (or 66 percent off the regular price)—quite literally less than what Activision wants for one of those Modern Warfare 2 map packs. Yes, I will go out of my way to rag on Activision. I’m that guy.
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| HoodieBuddie is a hoodie with earbuds instead of strings Posted: 23 Jun 2010 03:30 PM PDT
In the front right pocket, you’ve got your 3.5mm jack, which runs inside the hoodie up to the little earbud-things. Brilliant!
The good news: it’s machine-washable, so no need to worry about taking the tech out if you spill coffee on yourself. The bad news: people will think you are insane, because you have your hoodie strings plugged into your ears. The other good news: they’re only going to cost $44 — just slightly more than your average hoodie. They’ll be available starting July 1st at HoodieBuddie.com.
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| CrunchGear contest: keep that old iPhone 3GS alive and useful Posted: 23 Jun 2010 03:00 PM PDT
 Elgato: EyeTV iPhone App iPhone app lets you watch, record & enjoy live and recorded TV on your iPhone over a 3G or Wi-Fi connection
Available at: App Store
Available at: iskin.com
Available at: Nationwide retailers coming soon
Available at: Scosche.com and Bestbuy
Available at: TenOneDesign.com and Amazon.com
Available at: TenOneDesign.com
Available at: FYE, Amazon.com, Fry’s Electronics, Airport Wireless, and other select international retailers
Available at: Speakal.com Please note: those are the PR people’s bullet points for each product, and not necessarily our own opinions. That’s over $400 worth of accessories! To win this wonderful collection of swag, simply comment below with an explanation of why you’re sticking with your iPhone 3G or 3GS instead of upgrading to the iPhone 4 or switching to Android. We’ll pick a lucky winner on Friday morning! As usual, this contest is unfortunately only open to people with a U.S. mailing address. We’re unable to ship internationally. If you live across the pond, feel free to enter and provide us with a U.S. mailing address; but you’ll be responsible for getting the gear to you on your own dime (or Euro, as the case may be).
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| Booq’s new Mamba Catch bag is ready for your shoulder Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:32 PM PDT
Like other Mamba bags, the Catch really opens up when you unzip it. They love to line everything with pockets and mesh catches of different sizes — it’s great if you’re a gadget fiend or blogger like me and are always wrangling multiple cords, drives, and so on. Of course, there’s such a thing as too many pockets, but you’ll have to discover your own limits there. It’s got a laptop pocket, which will fit up to a 13″ or 15″ lappy. The Catch is different from other messenger bags, though (they say), because it maintains its shape even when empty — but it’s not stiff like a briefcase. I don’t know, exactly. We’ll get our hands on one and give you the full report. Alas, another identifying characteristic of Booq is a rather high price. $130 for the 13″ version and $150 for the 15″. They’ll be on sale starting tomorrow, I believe.
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| Zero Punctuation on the new Prince of Persia Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:30 PM PDT
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| Elgato’s EyeTV now blocks the World Cup’s vuvuzela Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:00 PM PDT
Here’s another option if you’re one of those people who hate the sound of the vuvuzela during the World Cup. Elgato, makers of EyeTV 3, have developed a filter that blocks out the sound of the horns. You’ll need the latest version of EyeTV, mind you. My advice? Embrace the vuvuzela! It’s all part of the fun~!
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| Relax: President Obama will not flip an Internet kill switch Posted: 23 Jun 2010 01:30 PM PDT
Part of me wishes President Obama would flip that so-called "Internet kill switch." Imagine: a world without the Internet! That would be grand, indeed. But let’s not indulge in fantasies: there is no such kill switch. Well, there is, but it’s not as if the president is going to say, "I disagree with Nicholas’ opinion of anti-virus protection, I’m going to shut down CrunchGear." The deal is that Sen. Joe Liebermann, of Connecticut, has put forward a bill called the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010. You can read the whole thing if you wan, but life is entirely too short for that kind of thing. All you need to knows is that the law would replace a law that dates back to the 1930s. That law already gives the president the ability to kill any form of telecommunication! Granted, it has to be in the interest of national security, so we’d have to be staring down the barrel of a Red Dawn (or its lame re-imagining, Modern Warfare 2) scenario for that to happen. The new law, as it’s currently written, would actually prevent the president and his peeps from directing much of anything. He (and the director of National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications) would have to work with the owners of critical infrastructure to decide on any plan of action in the event of a national security situation. So if you want to be mad at anything, be made at an 80-year-old law that was developed decades before the Internet was even around. In closing, if you’d like to see limits placed upon whoever happens to occupy the Oval Office, then you really should have no problem with Liebermann’s bill. Or, you can take my attitude: whatever happens, happens. Time to pour a nice glass of lemonade on this warm summer day.
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| Video: How-to use porn as bait in TF2 Posted: 23 Jun 2010 01:00 PM PDT |
| Replace a MacBook Pro’s optical drive with an SSD Posted: 23 Jun 2010 12:30 PM PDT
It’s a fact that no one uses optical drives anymore and so why not replace the one in your late-model MBP with something a bit more useful like an SSD. It doesn’t really seem that hard as long you’re comfortable totally disemboweling your MacBook Pro. The SSD and optical drive both use SATA so it’s really plug and play and only requires a special adapter plate to properly hold the SSD in place. It’s really up to you whether you use this speedy new drive as your primary (that’s what I would do) or as a secondary drive. You can always decide that after all the real fun is done and the mac is back in its original assembled state.
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| Posted: 23 Jun 2010 12:03 PM PDT
Features: NO TECHNIQUE! DID YOU READ? NO TECHNIQUE. Sigh.
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| Live-action “Akira” is coming, and the Hughes brothers will direct it Posted: 23 Jun 2010 11:41 AM PDT
One of the best manga ever created, Akira, is going to the big screen. And this time, it won’t be an anime (like the one from 1988) but a live-action film. We first reported about plans to shoot the live-action remake, whose rights were bought by Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, Appian Way, back in February 2008. The idea was scrapped a few months later, until New York Magazine wrote in February this year the studio is in negotiations with the Hughes Brothers (who directed “The Book Of Eli”) to direct the movie. And now various Japanese online sites are reporting [JP] that the live-action Akira film will really happen and that the Hughes brothers will indeed helm it. In fact, there will be two movies, with the first covering the first three volumes of the manga and a possible sequel covering the following three (and final) volumes. Albert Hughes is quoted as saying that he’s a huge fan of the original anime and that he’s currently busy creating storyboards and writing the plot. Neither Appian Way or co-producer Warner Bros. have confirmed the news from Japan yet.
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Sandisk has created a new line of write once, read many SD cards, mainly intended for law enforcement. I suppose you could use one for taking pictures of grandma, but I don’t really see the point for personal use. Well, maybe for weddings and graduations and such, but part of the attraction of digital cameras is that you can erase pictures without worrying about it.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from 
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