Gadgets Technologies

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted May 13th 2008 at 6:23PM Dreamcast fans are doing what they can to keep the final Sega console alive in handheld fashion. This latest one certainly isn’t the most elegant mod in the world — in fact, it’s a boxy Frankenstein that looks pretty uncomfortable and crampy after a long game session. That said, the clean, straight lines and generous 5-inch screen are an impressive step up from some rough versions we’ve seen elsewhere. Taking an entire Dreamcast’s guts, adding an LCD screen, forging a portable power supply, and fitting it all in one portable box is no easy task — so we salute you, modders. And we confess, we totally dig the brass hinges. Video after the break. (Read the full post about ‘Modder creates Dreamcast portable from mom’s plastic jewelry box’…)

Share This

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

We all know that the tiny Eee PC from Asus has been a runaway hit here in the US, however, what we don’t know is whether or not Asus can pull off the same feat with a similar desktop.

(Read the full post about ‘First pics of the Asus Eee desktop PC’…)

Share This

by Thomas Ricker, posted May 14th 2008 at 1:38AM var Stand down oh gentle readers and defenders of the flesh, we’re getting reports from Detroit that the baton wielding ASIMO did not direct the human race to its doom. Instead, Yo-Yo Ma is safe and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra concert went off without a hitch while netting the DSO a cool million for the musical education of Grosse Pointe’s children. Of course, the Honda-built robot wasn’t so lucky as he got “keyed” on his walk back through the parking lot. (Read the full post about ‘Video: ASIMO burns as Yo-Yo Ma fiddles’…)

Share This

by Donald Melanson, posted May 13th 2008 at 5:32PM No stranger to taking Macs beyond their standard issue capabilities, MCE has now pulled yet another entirely unofficial trick out of its hat, with this one giving 17-inch MacBook Pro owners a significant storage boost. As with some of its other mods, this one replaces the MacBook Pro’s optical drive with a 2.5-inch hard drive (500GB in this case) and, to hit the magical 1TB mark, it also replaces the laptop’s standard hard drive with another matching 5,400 rpm 500GB drive. (Read the full post about ‘MCE intros 1TB hard drive kit for 17-inch MacBook Pros’…)

Share This

Some rumors you really want to come true and this definitely classes as one of those. Platinum Games Inc. is thought to have signed a deal with Sega to publish its first three games.

Platinum Games is the company that eventually formed after the Capcom-funded independent developer Clover Studio closed its doors. For those not familiar with Clover Studio, they developed the Viewtiful Joe series, Okami, and God Hand–not a bad softography to have.

When Clover initially closed the talent from the studio (Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya) reformed as Seeds, but then in October 2007 merged with another developer to become Platinum Games.

(Read the full post about ‘Platinum Games signs 3 games with Sega?’…)

Share This

TokyoFlash has just rolled out its new watch, the Oberon SS. This thing not only tells the time, but it does so in style by using a series of concentric bright blue LED rings. The outer ring will let you know what the current hour is, while the middle one indicates the single minutes and the innermost ring displays tens of minutes. When the watch is in its off state by default, the black mineral crystal in front looks like a black hole on the wrist. Pushing a button will kick the watch to life from darkness, possibly affording you a second jealous glance from other people as well. A second press will show the current date using a similar ring of light metaphor. (Read the full post about ‘TokyoFlash Oberon SS Watch’…)

Share This

by Donald Melanson, posted May 13th 2008 at 1:11PM It looks like Dell’s not the only one that thinks boxy is in, with the folks at the NonObject design firm now also taking a decidedly hard-edged approach with their new motorcycle concept. Dubbed the nUCLEUS, the vehicle is described as a “zero emission, zero impact speed machine,” albeit one that would seem to have a bit of trouble making sharp turns. That possible shortcoming aside, the concept is certainly unique enough, with it boasting an “animal-like behavior system” that allows it to get up on its “hind legs” when its in action and rest down flat when its at rest, as well as some interchangeable (but equally boxy) side panels. (Read the full post about ‘NonObject nUCLEUS motorcycle concept makes its boxy debut’…)

Share This

The Education Ministry, Electoral Service and military servers used by the Chilean government have been infiltrated by a hacker. The servers contained the personal details of over 6 million Chileans, which has now briefly become publicly available through a forum posting to a technology blog site.

The story was reported by the El Mercurio newspaper, which said the hacker also left a message stating his reasons for the act. His intention was to uncover just how poor the security was on these important servers and show the lack of overall data protection there exists in Chile.

The 6 million records included full addresses, telephone numbers, ID card details and academic records.

(Read the full post about ‘Government servers in Chile hacked, 6 million personal records made public’…)

Share This

In 2006, Dell acquired the high-end gaming PC brand Alienware to complement its own premium-gaming line of XPS computers. With a market worth around $12 billion, Dell’s investment in the gaming PC market by purchasing Alienware was a logical move. The company allowed Alienware to operate independently, but by doing so it created a problem in that they now had two competing gaming PC lines. Dell has admitted its XPS line has eaten into Alienware’s market share. As a result, the company plans to phase out four gaming XPS models from its lineup, streamlining their offerings and relieving their Alienware subsidiary of competition. Their plan is to essentially create two complementing brands, rather than two competing brands. (Read the full post about ‘Dell to continue XPS line along with Alienware’…)

Share This

Visionware has released its powered HDMI cord known as Hi-Wirez HDMI cable. This cable claims to minimize signal, and boasts the following :- It has a proprietary silicone core technology enhancing fidelity between source and display. Each connector has a patent pending embedded data chip that ensures lossless video and audio data transfer (video from 480i to1080p and higher) limiting distortion and pixilation. An ultra-slim industrial design for applications that need to fit connectors very close together and a CE rating for in-wall installations and applications. Most importantly, the cable is powered (from either end), allowing for a much thinner and lightweight design that can run over much longer distances than other analog HDMI cables. (Read the full post about ‘Visionware Hi-Wirez HDMI Cable’…)

Share This