I don’t drop the ‘L’ word very often, so when I proclaim my love for the Legend of Zelda series, you know it means something. And that love affair started with this game, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which I not only consider to be the greatest Game Boy title of all time, but one of the greatest titles on any platform, ever. Oddly enough, for the longest time I had no interest in the Zelda series, since the top down perspective made me think it was a turn-based strategy game, which I loathe. But I needed a game to pass the time on a long family vacation, and a friend of mine was good enough to loan me his copy. After just a few hours of playing, my eyes were opened.
I haven’t replayed Link’s Awakening since I finished it so many years ago, but I remember it felt like it would never end, and I couldn’t understand how Nintendo managed to cram such a large game into a single cartridge. Of course Link’s Awakening was actually the fourth game in the series, and even though I had a bona fide case of Zelda fever after playing it, I only went back and tackled the previous Super Nintendo title, A Link to the Past afterwards. But since Link’s Awakening, every Zelda title has been a must-have for me. (Except for The Wand of Gamelon, nooooo thank-you Philips.)
Tired of your guitar being laughed at by all the other guitars at rehearsal? Well I guarantee they won’t be laughing once you connect one of these bad-to-the-bone pistol shaped cables. Ok, technically it’s just the jack that’s pistol shaped… Ok, just the jack’s sheathing, but it still shows all those other musicians you’re not taking any crap! The cables feature “99.99% oxygen-free copper conductors and dual-shielded construction with a single end termination for strikingly fuller tone and drastic noise reduction, quality-molded connectors with corrosion-resistant 24K gold-plated tips to preserve signal strength, and flexible symbol-printed jackets” and come in lengths of 12 ft ($24.95) or 20 ft ($27.95) from Core One Creative.
The thing I like most about these silver plated Transformers cufflinks is the bipartisan approach they take. Let’s face it, the war over Cybertron isn’t going to stop until both sides, the Autobots and the Decepticons, come to some peaceful agreement. And seeing people walk around with just a single logo on their hoodie or t-shirt, showing support for one side over the other, does not help the healing process. These cufflinks however feature the logos of both factions, and tell the world that you’re tired of all the fighting and action-packed battle sequences, and just want to see both sides start working together… to take down those G.I. Joe jerks!!
Here’s a quick and easy way to get everyone in your household to hate you… The Screen Time Manager allows you to ration the amount of time that people are allowed to use display devices, including televisions and computer monitors. Each person gets their own pin, which they have to input into the device whenever they want to watch something. The Screen Time Manager then allows the TV or whatever to be turned on for the amount of time that you’ve specified, whether it’s hours per day or hours per week. If you really want to be a jerk, you can designate blocks of time where nobody can use the TV at all. Nobody but you, that is. Like, you know, when new episodes of Good Eats are on or something.
Although there are no details, it looks like the Screen Time Manager works by simply holding the wall end of the power cord of the display device hostage. This, of course, can be circumvented by unplugging the cord at the other end if possible, or (and this seems much more likely) through violent physical destruction of the Screen Time Manager itself. It’s $90 from Brookstone.
Minidiscs used to be the coolest things ever. The players were tiny and awesome, and technology itself was miles ahead of the CD if for no other reason than most Minidisc players could also record. Plus, the little disc cartridges were pretty slick. A company called Vmedia is trying to convince netbook manufacturers that bite-size optical media is still relevant, and that Vmedia drives are worthwhile additions their computers.
Vmedia discs are similar to Minidiscs in appearance, but they’re actually even smaller, measuring only 36mm x 36mm (Minidiscs are not quite twice that size). They can hold 1 or 2 gigs of data and are optionally rewritable. This is all well and good, but Vmedia’s biggest competitor is probably going to be SD cards, which are smaller, cheaper, faster, more reliable, more reusable, and have significantly higher capacities. Why does Vmedia think they stand a chance? They’ll tell you, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Variety is the spice of life, or so the saying goes. Unfortunately for the uneducated, having too many choices can just be confusing. Such was the case with Windows Vista. There were six versions of the software, which were aimed at six different specific markets. This unfortunately made some people confused, while others were left to deliberate on whether they wanted to sacrifice remote desktop functionality for Media Center. So will Windows 7 be any different? Sort of.
Once again Microsoft has decided to grace us with six different versions of their operating system. However, unlike Vista, each time you go up to a higher version, you are getting all of the features of the lesser ones, plus extra functionality. Plus it looks like there are really only going to be three versions that most consumers will see. Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. There isn’t any word on pricing, however, if you hit the jump we have a breakdown of what each version will include.
Mousetraps are usually pretty basic gadgets. You generally either find the old wooden ones with a spring-loaded bar, or some plastic one that keeps them alive. Either way, you stick them somewhere out of the way and check on them every now and then to see if you’ve caught one. Well here’s a mousetrap that goes against all conventional thinking.
First, this trap is actually a table. So you’re going to encourage the rodents to climb on your furniture. Well once the little critter finds its way into the tube, it will trip a motion sensor that seals the door. So now you’re going to have a mouse in a tube under your table, great. Now what? Now you wait for the mouse to fall into the microbial fuel cell at the bottom of the tube. There it will find a new definition of pain and suffering as it is slowly digested over a thousand years be turned into fuel which is used to trap the next victim. This mousetrap is too cool to be real, and for now remains only a concept design.
Sony’s new LocationPorter is an interesting device. It seems designed for those doing on-site reporting, or who need to provide a live video stream, but don’t have access to a professional broadcast truck or similar type equipment. So instead of a satellite or microwave signal, it relies on the internet via a LAN or 3G connection. From what I can tell you can plug any camcorder or live feed into the LocationPorter, and your video will be converted to H.264 MPEG-4 on the fly, so it can be easily streamed. On a single 3G connection your footage gets smooshed down to a 352×240, 5 to 15fps stream (64 to 160kbps) but the device can actually use two simultaneous 3G connections to boost the data stream up to 320kbps. And when connected to a LAN, the video can be streamed up to 30fps.
Unfortunately, as you can see in the video below, the LocationPorter isn’t exactly compact, and has to be worn over the shoulder like a bag. In fact, it reminds me of the VTRs that videographers used to have to carry, before the tape mechanisms were integrated into the cameras. So it’s almost like we’ve taken two steps forward, but one step back.
FRED has pretty much cornered the market when it comes to novelty ice cube trays, and if their new Spring 2009 catalog is any indication, that domination will continue well into the new year. Let’s face it, anything related to Space Invaders is going to go over the big with the hipster/gaming/nostalgia crowd, and a 100% silicone, oven-safe ice cube tray is no different. There’s no pricing info yet cause you can’t actually get it until the Spring, but you can probably expect it to set you back about $10, ice not included.
Related Tags: 
Permalink
By Evan Ackerman
By Luke Anderson
