The Renault sportwagon concept is driven by Renault's 2-liter, 177 hp diesel, and features a number of innovative features, including the "checkerboard" rear quarter windows, a transparent roof, a panoramic windshield that recalls the Skoda Roomster concept, and a form of active aerodynamics that Renault calls the "Synthetic Jet" which adjusts to optimize drag depending on the speed of the car.
Puzzle Express is an interesting fast-paced Flash game, cross between Tetris and... something else. You're presented with a box—a boxcar, hence the "Express"—and your goal is to fill it with Tetris-like pieces that appear on a conveyor belt. The catch is, you have to fill it up completely—no gaps—and within a time limit. Sometimes you're presented with two boxcars side-by-side and must fill them simultaneously with pieces from the same conveyor belt. And if your conveyor belt fills up, it's game over. When you finish filling one box, it's whisked away and another one rolls up. The game starts out easy, with just a few boxes per level, but of course that changes as you progress. Two hints: One, there's a little red square in the lower left. That's a single (1x1) piece that you can use to fill pesky holes, but you have a limited supply. And two, save 1x2 pieces as long as you can—you'll need them at the end.
British designer Luella Bartley has become the latest high-end fashion designer to go the discount route. The Luella line is available in Target stores now for a 90-day run, and is the first offering in Target's new Go International limited-edition series. Includes will be both accessories and clothing, ranging from cheap thrills like the cherry-decorated iPod case for $12.99 to more pricy options like this cropped suede jacket for $149.99.
The story goes, he tried out last year and did not make the cut because they said his voice was too "mature". Dude can actually sing. SO, he did this as a joke and got maximum exposure.
Kind of like the ThumbDrive before it, the USB Memory Stick maybe takes things a little literally. They're a little more raw than the Hardwood USB drives, but if there's one thing for sure it's that your stick(be it 128, 256, 512MB, or 1GB) won't be the same as your friend's, even if they too have a USB Memory Stick stick. Except, you know, their both being sticks and all. Prices range from EU72 to 189 ($87 - 228 US).
No, that's not a massive remote, it's a small WMCE PC. Measuring just 4.2 x 8 x 12-inches, the Blueado Mini m5e is another small Windows Media Center Edition PC which skips over all the Intel Viiv twaddle by slapping in a cool runnin' Intel Pentium M to keep the noise down. It features 1GB RAM, 200GB of storage, built-in DVD burner, TV-tuner, Dolby Digital Audio out in 5.1, DTS Digital Audio in 5.1/6.1 and 7.1 (future), front-mounted USB 2.0 and FireWire connections, a 7-input card reader, and S-Vid, DVI, VGA and Standard Video outs. Now shipping for $1,500.
Cacheman is a Windows app from Outer Technologies that's "designed to improve the performance of your computer by optimizing the disk cache, memory and a number of other settings." In addition to helping you tweak some settings to give your computer a little boost, Cacheman also has a great memory recovery mode that'll monitor your computer's memory use and, when it's running low, shuffle things around in RAM and free up anywhere from (in my experience) 10-50MB of physical memory. For that feature alone Cacheman is worth it's weight in gold, but fortunately for us software doesn't weigh anything and Cacheman is free.
IMSA has created a package for the Gallardo that tunes all aspects of Lambo’s little bull, including a bump in power to 600 horsepower, an adjustable sport suspension, bigger brakes and better materials in the interior. But what catches the eye of kajillionaires is the unique widebody kit that allows the Gallardo to accommodate larger, twin-spoke wheels. The article on Speed Heads (via GermanCarBlog) states neither how many extra inches the Gallardo gains in width nor what the IMSA package will cost. Then again, we kajillionaires never bother to look at the price.
Photoshopped or not, here's hoping this will be an initial offering. The slimmed down version of the Nintendo DS will be released in Japan on March 2 with a US launch expected sometime later this year.
The Google Earth Center of Gravity Calculator is a web service where you upload a Google Earth .kml file describing all of your family members' locations and get back their center of gravity, i.e. the place most central to everybody. Of course, you can use it for things other than the next family reunion spot --the project was actually inspired by Cory Arcangel, who found the center of gravity of Manhattan's dozens of Starbucks.
Wow, $469 for a block of wood! But wait, it tells time too. This block clock designed by Takumi in Japan looks like a simple block of wood when it is turned off and when it is on, the LED numbers shine through. The only things that mar up the pure wood simplcity are the time adjustment indicators and the hole for the power jack.
The Katamari Damacy soundtrack is the catchiest, pop-iest video game music to implant itself into gamers' brains since the Super Mario Bros. theme song. There was only one problem: they were mostly in Japanese. Until Kitsune, a Quarter to Three forum member, translated them all into English! From "Katamari Mambo":
Nobue: I hate wide places I like the narrow ones So come on, baby, Ahhh, that sweet, painful katamari
Ooooh! Swallow it up! Aaaah! Sticky STICK IT TO ME! Ah ya ya, we'll spend the night in That kind of behavior where two stars lay bound up together
It gets better though! Kitsune has also transcribed some of the songs into romaji, romanized Japanese, to make it easier to figure out what you've been singing along to this whole time.
Stack Style Tabs is an extension that changes Firefox's Ctrl Tab functionality to something similar to Windows' Alt Tab task switcher. When you press Ctrl Tab a menu with the titles (and icons) of your open tabs (nicely uncramped compared to a full tab bar) pops up and remains visible until you release the keys. Pressing Tab with Ctrl held down lets you select the tab you want and releasing Ctrl will switch to that tab. Excellent!
Nobody's hands pass over more freeware than the folks at Download.com, so their staff-picked Best Free Software collection is worth noting. They split the free apps up into ten categories--Audio & Video, Business, Developer, etc--and their picks are very solid. There are a few surprising picks especially the Desktop Enhancements section that has quite a few gems like this brilliant Holding Pattern screensaver pictured at right.
Google targets PSP to build municipal Wi-Fi networks
Google recently met with Sony to discuss how users could use their PSPs to access municipal Wi-Fi networks, which Google hopes to bring to the San Francisco area and beyond. The San Francisco network would be free to the city and its users, to an extent—Google will likely offer a premium service, featuring higher speeds for paying customers. In addition, with the proper network access installed on the PSP, Google could deliver location-specific ads to gamers. That is, Google can track which access point the PSP is connecting through and send out an ad for a business around the block.
The $26 Acrilan Radio, is battery powered, has a built-in speaker, and elevates the design of radio technology enough to make you almost miss the mind numbing station programming. Almost.
Metal Gear Solid will appear in a never-before-seen digital comic book format on the PSP, with animations, sound effects and visuals courtesy of illustrator Ashley Wood. The comic is similar in treatment to the previously announced Silent Hill UMD, but will feature characters who do all their brooding in an entirely different, less macabre fashion. No release date has been set for this treat, but it's safe to say that we're all already itchin with anticipation.
Atomic clocks are pretty handy, but why settle for just any atomic clock when you can get one that has a customizable face so you can use 24-hour military time. Or be able to reverse the numbers and run the motor backwards, so that it becomes a time machine you can look at it in a mirror. That's the idea behind this wall clock from Citizen, available in Japan and Korea.
When we last caught sight of Enryu -- the 5-ton, 11.5-foot rescue robot designed by Japan's Tmsuk -- the fearless bot was being tested for deployment to earthquake zones. Now the iron giant has a new mission: rescuing survivors of avalanches and other winter disasters (Japan is currently going through one of its worst winters on record). The bot's hydraulic arms have a 16-foot span, and can lift over 1,000 pounds. In a test, Enryu was able to lift a car out of deep snow and wipe snow and ice off of rooftops.
Tiny-but-featureful WIndows BitTorrent client uTorrent got a great new web site a few days ago, and along with it came a great new skins gallery. uTorrent's skin support is fairly minimal, only allowing toolbar buttons, status icons, and tray icons to be altered. The skins come in the form of .BMP files and need only be placed in your %APPDATA%\uTorrent folder, and if you're artistically inclined making skins is a snap.
The Type 1 seen here, is a tube-framed wonder, with a 600 cc DOHC motor cribbed from a 1990 Yamaha FZR, providing an estimated 91 horsepower through its six-speed transmission. Both sets of wheels are canted at 60 degrees and negative 60 degrees relative to the ground, giving the bike its distinctive stance and 'lean' potential. A rear double swing-arm suspension and dual stressed leaf-style connecting rods form the suspension, both with the 'tilt enable.'
No word on performance, but judging by the video(direct link) available on the Type 1's dedicated website, turning might be an issue, with a full-on, knee-to-the-tarmac corner likely an exercise best left to the brave.
The Arcade Table brings overpriced mod design and retro gaming to your living room
This machine is packed with over 150 all-time favourite arcade games, it has a toughened glass top, a 14" colour monitor, genuine arcade buttons and joystick controls, digital sound and high resolution colour and dynamic graphics. All the fun of the original, and even a pause button so you can go and top up your drink, or re-fill the popcorn bowl mid game/battle/race/chase, you name it. It looks divinely retro, and there's even a pair of chrome and black stools you can buy to complete the experience. Cost $2,896.39.
Features
* Sit-down arcade machine with over 150 all-time favourite arcade games. * Professionally crafted retro styled cabinet with 14" colour monitor. * Genuine arcade buttons and joystick controls for that authentic games experience. * Digital sound, high resolution colour and dynamic graphics. * The control panel has a one or two player option. * A pause button so that you can, well…pause it. * No assembly required, simply plug into the mains and play away. * Chrome and black stools available as an additional extra to coordinate with the chrome and black cabinet. * Suitable for ages 8 years +. * Delivery in 4-7 days. * Size: 106 x 64 x 56cm. * Weight: 71kg. Read more..!
Another Apple tablet PC patent's has shown up on the USPTO site, this one also with none other than Jonny Ive's Handcock on it (last time around it was both Jobs and Ive on the patent, though). Today's filing mainly pertains to touch-input user interface methods with multiple fingers, gestures, and motions, as well as methods for visually displaying and manipulating aspects of the UI -- exciting stuff.
Microsoft said to issue specs for "ultramobile lifestyle PCs"
According to at least one report, Bill Mitchell, Corporate Vice President of the Mobile Platform Division, showed a slide that outlined specs for the new PC category, including that it be wearable, always on, no larger than 10-inches, connected through 3G networks, pen-based, and have a suggested retail price of $500 or less. Something of a cross between Windows Mobile smartphones and tablet PCs (sort of like the Ruby concept PC, pictured) -- or a rehash of the long-forgotten Windows CE-based "Jupiter" laptop platform. One notable spec that could differentiate this one: Microsoft is apparently insisting that this run the full version of Windows.
The Digital Hourglass, designed by students Susann Hamann and Fabian Hemmert at Germany's Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, is set by tilting it at a 45-degree angle, with each LED representing one hour. Therefore, when you wake up in the middle of the night, you can glance over and easily determine how many "dots" of sleep you have left. Snooze is a key feature only requiring a simple 180-degree flip for five more minutes of bliss. Sadly just a prototype for now, but the two designers thoughtfully documented the whole project, so you may be able to cobble together your own.
Another one-off free app from Redmond: Microsoft's Web Application Stress Tool is an app "designed to realistically simulate multiple browsers requesting pages from a web site", it hammers your shiny new web app with hits to see how it holds up under a heavy load. Microsoft's site is pretty light on details about the tool, but fortunately this guide describes what it does and how to use it
The Blancpain Havana is the latest addition to the Le Brassus collection, and has a rich brown dial and strap. The watch has a 42mm diameter platinum case and it is a perpetual calendar with a second time zone indicator. The watch is a limited edition of 150 pieces and comes with a bronze cigar cutter, a brown box bearing the design of a cigar band and another walnut box that can be used as a humidor.
-Lytir1
