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Tag Archives: Video

What We’ve Always Wanted: Free Software That Makes Our Keyboards Sound Like Typewriters

By David Ponce on 07/23/12 • 1 Comment

By David Ponce

That headline has a hint of sarcasm in it, for sure, because… since when is more noise a good thing, right? But it’s not completely untrue either. There’s a certain nostalgia in hearing the sounds of typewriters of old, at least for those of us ancient enough to remember them. In my particular case, I was maybe 5 or 6 years old the last time there was one in my house, and watching the above video instantly brought back memories from back then. In the video you’ll see an Apple device running this piece of free software that works in all applications (email, web, word, etc.) and makes authentic sounds of “letter keys, spacebar, backspace, carriage return and scroll up and down.” It has no other purpose, nor does it need one. It works on OS X only for now.

[ Noisy Typewriter ] VIA [ LikeCool ]

Rolling On The Floor Laughing: Kid Pretending To Be The QWOP Runner

By David Ponce on 07/19/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

We’re going to assume you didn’t just wake up from a 15 year slumber and stumble on the Internet; QWOP is a classic game that you’ve probably tried (and failed) to play at least once. And if this is your first time online, we’re flattered you came to OhGizmo! first. For the rest of you, enjoy the below video and expect to laugh till’ you cry. We did. It’s a kid pretending to be the QWOP runner. He’s awesome! He wins 500 Internet points! We only wish it was a longer vid.

It’s your first time on the inter tubes? Really? Ok, well… below is also a link to the game, which has been dubbed the world’s hardest. Go try it out and see if your character doesn’t look identical to this kid.

[ QWOP ] VIA [ Geekologie ]

Rugbeer Vending Machine Won’t Dispense Beer Unless You Tackle It

By David Ponce on 06/13/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

In a creative marketing gimmick of the same caliber as the Norte Photoblocker or the children hating vending machine, we’ve got news of a vending machine that won’t dispense its wares unless heavily tackled by its would-be patrons. It seems in Salta province in Argentina, rugby is very popular. So is the beer, Cerveza Salta. So to marry the two, the advertising agency created the Rugbeer vending machine. It’s got a “pussy meter” on its side, which measures the force with which you hit it and in the select bars where it was tested, beer sales went up 25%. We think it’s genius because there aren’t many things that will drive beer sales more than a few drunk idiots slamming into stuff.

We don’t suppose this will roll out to anywhere else in the world from there, but like previous such campaigns, we think advertisers worldwide should take note.

[ Cerveza Salta ] VIA [ NewLaunches ]

Record Your Gaming Exploits In Glorious H.264

By David Ponce on 05/21/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

Whether it’s a detailed walkthrough or a demonstration of your insane killstreak acquiring abilities, putting videos of gameplay online is a popular business. There are several ways you can record said video, and Elgato is now adding the above option to the fray. It’s called Game Capture HD and as the name suggests, it grabs the video in signal resolution of up to 1080i and compresses it with the H.264 compression algorithm, resulting in high quality video that you’re then free to upload wherever you please. In the case of the Xbox 360 is simply sits daisychained between two HDMI cords and grabs the signal that way, while in the case of the PS3 (with its stronger encryption), it has to use the bundled AV cable and use the analog signal.

You can get your starting in June for all of $200 through the Elgato website, Amazon and a variety of retailers.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Engadget ]

Padcaster iPad Case Lets You Shoot With dSLR Lenses

By David Ponce on 04/18/12 • 1 Comment

By David Ponce

Let’s face it, the camera on the iPad (or any tablet for that matter) is utilitarian at best. It’s not meant to shoot anything that’s supposed to look, you know, good. We’re not saying the shots look bad, but the optics on that thing just don’t have cinema-quality depth of field and focusing range that more expensive lenses bring to the fray. The Padcaster changes the dynamics somewhat by letting you use those very lenses with the iPad. It’s a sturdy case with a soft polyurethane insert, and threaded holes all around so you can put it on a tripod, attach some lights and just generally build yourself a decent recording rig. More importantly, there’s the $79 Lenscaster mount, for those superior optics we said were so important. The advantage here being that you can shoot some pretty decent video, edit it right on the iPad and upload it to wherever you need it to go without having to transfer any files anywhere.

It’s $200.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ The Verge ]

Mimo Magic Touch 10-inch USB Display Reviewed. Verdict: Fully Windows 8 Future-proof

By Ian Chiu on 04/04/12 • Leave a comment!

Mimo is a company that puts all its eggs in one basket – USB display. It has made its name known with bus-powered monitors that allow users to add an additional screen to a PC even when there’s no power outlet available. The latest mini monitor to further expand the Mimo’s niche product line is the Magic Touch. As the name suggests, the display supports multi-touch interaction, tracking up to 4 fingers. The display also gets all the power and connectivity it needs from a single USB 2.0 cable.

Setting the Magic Touch is a no-brainer. You only need to download the driver from DisplayLink which handles automatic firmware update after installation. The display itself is as vibrant as it gets with excellent video quality. Interestingly, the latest driver hooks into your existing GPU for the heavy lifting. This dramatically reduces CPU usage and at the same time increases the 2D & 3D performance of the 10″ USB screen. It’s also a pleasant surprise to see the monitor can handle some casual gaming even though that isn’t what the Magic Touch is designed for in the first place. One caveat is that the glossy screen is prone to glare, making it uncomfortable when used in some bright environments. The best use for this display may well be for developers of multi-touch apps and perhaps a touch screen panel for Windows 8 desktops or HTPC. Get all the details of the Mimo Magic Touch 10-inch USB monitor in the full review below.

[Mimo Magic Touch USB Monitor @ Everything USB]

Robotic Galileo iPhone Dock Lets You Pan And Tilt At Will

By David Ponce on 03/28/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

So, doing the FaceTime thing is not fun. At least, not for us basement and darkness dwellers, seldom exposed to the light that might make us more presentable to a remote audience. But as it turns out many of you do enjoy it and would probably benefit from the purchase of this here Galileo iPhone dock. It secures your phone in place and lets you rotate 360 degrees (and up and down) from a remote iOS device. It’s as simple and intuitive as swiping your finger; the camera is able to rotate through 200 degrees a second so it should be able to keep up with even the most elusive target. Also the company is in talk with third party developers who will be able to access its SDK and code applications for the Galileo. Time-lapse and panoramic photography have been discussed.

It’s available for pre-order from the fully funded Kickstarter project for $85 right now. It’s going to go up to $129 after that. Delivery? Sometime in June of this year.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Technabob ]

Shuttle Pr0n: Fascinating Video On Board The Shuttle’s Booster Rockets

By David Ponce on 03/21/12 • 1 Comment

By David Ponce

We’re all sad that the shuttle program is over. Space exploration is just no longer the cool thing it was; government dollars for NASA have been dwindling for years. This shifting of priorities is due to the fact that we’re no longer “at war” with the USSR. The cold war meant that each power had to constantly outdo the other and the race into space was as good a way as any to try and one-up your adversary. But all that’s a distant past. So, to relive some of the memories, maybe you could watch the above video. It’s a fascinating 400 second journey of a couple of cameras strapped to the side of the booster rockets on Atlantis and Endeavour. They reach speeds of 3,000pmh and 41 miles of height before noisily re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the ocean. It’s all caught in multiple angles and is well worth the watch.

VIA [ GeeksAreSexy ]

Digital Bolex Shoots In RAW

By David Ponce on 03/15/12 • Leave a comment!

By David Ponce

Shooting video with most cameras, even many expensive ones, will produce footage that is compressed. This is of course in order to fit more of it onto your storage solution, but it has a bunch of drawbacks. The main one is that post-processing is much, much harder like this because all your settings (white balance, colour balance, contrast, etc.) are set right into each frame and not longer adjustable, at least not without some quality degradation. The Digital Bolex camera pictured above is a fully funded project on Kickstarter that shoots in RAW, which splits the data from its associated settings. This means you can easily change stuff around in post. It also means that each frame is quite large (3MB to 4MB) so the Digital Bolex uses dual CF cards for storage with an SSD buffer. The guys behind the project are even developing a software suite to manage RAW workflow.

It’s fully funded, which means the first 80 cameras at $2,500 are now sold out. There are still 19 at $3,500, though you don’t get a whole lot more camera out of it. You can wait a little longer and get one then, as they expect to have them on the market by the fall.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Engadget ]

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