Oh! Gizmo

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

Ghostbusters was one of those games that I really wanted to like, but honestly didn’t expect much from it. After all, I’ve played some really bad games that were based on the franchise. Seriously, have you ever played the Atari game? Anyway, I was rather surprised that this game was far from bad. In fact, it’s the best games associated with a movie franchise that I’ve played in a long time.

From the moment the game loads up, you have the distinct feeling that this is the long-lost third Ghostbusters film. Only this time around you’re actually a part of the story. When I watched the opening scene and it transitioned into the Ghostbusters theme song, I’ll admit to getting chills. Not spooky chills, more like nostalgia. They even opened up with the Columbia Pictures splash.

I won’t dive into the story too much, mostly because I hate reading about too much of the plot in a review. That said, the game takes place in 1991, roughly 2 years after the second film. The team has hired a new guy to help out with the work, which is where you come in. Your character is never given a name, which is said to be so that the team doesn’t get too attached for fear of any “mishaps.” Throughout the game you are referred to as “Rookie”, and you never speak. I think this is done rather well, letting you immerse yourself more into the story.

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By Chris Scott Barr

I’ve been running Windows 7 on two different machines since RC1 was released, and I’ve been happy with it thus far. I’ll definitely be buying a full license when they become available on October 22nd. Just how much will the different versions set me back? Well Microsoft finally gave up the details and I’ve got the full list below.

• Home Premium (Full) - $199.99
• Home Premium (Upgrade) - $119.99
• Professional (Full) – $299.99
• Professional (Upgrade) – $199.99
• Ultimate (Full) - $319.99
• Ultimate (Upgrade) - $219.99

The prices (mostly) fall in line with their Vista equivalents. Sure, it’s still pretty expensive to upgrade, but you’re in luck. Starting today through July 11th (in the US only) you can pre-order the Home Premium upgrade for $50 or the Professional upgrade for just $100.

[ Yahoo News ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Chris Scott Barr

You’ve probably heard me mention Google Voice once or twice, mostly because I love the service. Almost every phone call and text message I receive these days is to my Google Voice number. With a handy app for my iPhone, I even call out using it. Unfortunately the only downside to the service is that it’s a rather exclusive club.

Earlier this week we reported that Google had purchased 1 million new numbers for the service. Well yesterday the precious invites that everyone has been waiting for went out. Some of them at least. I know a few people that signed up some time ago for an invite that didn’t receive an invite. Hopefully at some point they will allow current users to invite a few friends, similar to how the Gmail beta got going. One cool thing about the number picker is that you can actually type in words, letters or numbers that you want included in your Google Voice number. I wish they had that when I signed up.

VIA [ Google Blog ]

By Chris Scott Barr

I’m heading out to see the new Transformers movie tonight with some friends, and I’ll be sporting my classic Autobots shirt. However, had I known about this little gem, I’d have purchased one in time for the opening. Get it? Robots in disguise. Classic! $15 bucks and it’s yours.

[ SLAPt ] VIA [ Gearfuse ]

By Shane McGlaun

When I hear the name GE, digital cameras are not what spring to mind. I think of light bulbs really. Still GE has a full line of digital cameras and other stuff that doesn’t have to do with lighting our homes.

The company announced its latest digital camera recently called the E1250TW. The cam sports a 12.2-megapixel resolution and a 28mm wide angle lens with 5x optical zoom. The most interesting feature of the camera is that the 3-inch LCD is touch sensitive.

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By Shane McGlaun

One of the reasons that I bought my Nikon D80 a few years back was because it could use the SD and SDHC cards that I already had laying around. I liked the looks and features of the Sony Alpha line but didn’t want to have to go with MemoryStick for storage and the other available storage media for DSLRs was too expensive.

I had to give up some write performance for my choice, but it was better than the alternatives. SanDisk has now unveiled a new SDHC card that complies with the new Class 10 specifications that offer speeds of 30Mbps for reads and writes.

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By Andrew Liszewski

With a price tag of $4,995 we’re not going to be seeing one of these in every home in America anytime soon, but the Desktop Factory proves that the cost of owning your own 3D printer continues to drop. One of the reasons the Desktop Factory is so ‘affordable’ is because it uses an inexpensive halogen light source and plastic powder instead of UV and polymers, which also means the cost of the build material is expected to be about $1 per cubic inch. And the parts can be sanded and painted as soon as they’re finished, without the need for a chemical infiltration curing or strengthening process.

Now given the Desktop Factory is roughly the size of an early laser printer (25×20x20 inches) it will easily fit on any desk, but your 3D creations will be limited to 125ci or roughly 2 liters in volume. So while you won’t be printing out body panels for your home-made Enzo, your bootleg action figure business will be booming.

[ Desktop Factory ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A few months ago we brought you the Squidarella umbrella from SquidLondon which uses hydrochromatic inks to change from black & white to a full-color rainbow design when it gets wet, or in other words, whenever it gets out in the rain. At the time the umbrellas were available in very limited quantities, but SquidLondon has just released a new Skyline Squidarella collection, featuring the London skyline, that’s now available for purchase online from Beyond the Valley for about $35. And if you’d like to see the Squidarella in action getting a good soaking, check out the video I’ve included after the jump.

[ SquidLondon Squidarella ]

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By Andrew Liszewski

Now here’s another clever idea. VirtualHUD is an easy to install device that attaches to the windshield of a small plane and creates a virtual heads-up display for the pilot by projecting an image onto the aircraft’s spinning propeller. (A white strip of paint added to the back of the prop increases its visibility.) The VirtualHUD is able to project “all the standard flight instrumentation required for normal VFR and IFR navigation when equipped with or attached to your GPS” or it can be hooked to an external source like an infrared camera allowing the pilot to monitor a video feed while keeping their eyes on the sky.

Currently there’s a nighttime-only version of the product called the NightVu which sells for around $7,500, but the new ForwardVu model, which can be used in the day as well, should be available sometime in late July.

[ VirtualHUD ] VIA [ Gizmag ]