These light-up three inch heels come from the mind of Nicholas Kirkwood, made for design team Rodarte. They were shown off at this year’s NY Fashion Week. Whenever tech is embedded into fashion, that’s always a good thing, no? Addtional shots in the gallery below, and a video of the heels in action after the break.
[Via Gizmodo; FashioningTech]
Rhys Darby of Flight of the Conchords fame (he played Bret & Jemaine’s boss Murray) stars in HP’s latest ad campaign. The $40 million “Let’s Do Amazing” ad campaign includes a series of commercials that appear to reintroduce the HP brand to consumers in a new, different, and quite humorous way. Dr. Dre lends a helping hand, making sure to promote his Dre Beats line of headphones and HP laptops. Look after the break for a second commercial.
UPDATED: You’ll find all the current HP “Let’s Do Amazing” commercials featuring Rhys Darby, plus an interview with the FOTC alum and the “Internal Launch” video, after the break!
[Via Engadget]
Continue reading Rhys Darby shines in new HP ‘Let’s Do Amazing’ ad campaign
Yesterday at the Game Developer’s Conference Sony finally made official the PlayStation Motion Controller as PlayStation Move. Dubbed the “next generation of motion gaming,” PS Move will take on Nintendo’s Wii-mote directly with a wireless Move controller and sub-controller (don’t call it a nunchuck). Paired with the PlayStation Eye (Sony’s webcam device for the PS3) the PS Move will become an “extension of your body” with near 1:1 motion precision and accuracy. Sony says the Move’s latency is about the same to that of its DualShock 3 controller (about a 1fps delay). The Move contains “advanced motion sensors, including a three-axis gyroscope, a three-axis accelerometer, and a terrestrial magnetic field sensor, as well as a color-changing sphere that is tracked by PlayStation Eye camera.”
So what differentiates the Move controller from the Wii-mote? The answer lies in the Z-plane. The PS Eye tracks the colored sphere at the front of the controller and can sense when you are moving closer to or farther away from the on-screen action. The Eye+Motion setup will be able to detect motion in 3D space (the Z-plane) far more effectively than the Wii-mote+Wii sensor bar configuration (especially if you don’t have the WiiMotionPlus add-on). Other differences from the Wii-mote: the controller and sub-controller wirelessly pair to the PS3 via Bluetooth, they are USB-powered (no batteries), and the sub-controller does not have a motion sensor (the Wii nunchuck does). Also, since the PS Eye can capture images and voice, augmented reality experiences can incorporated into games.
Sony’s plan is to market the PS Move not just to casual games but also to the rabid hardcore, FPS-lovin’ group of gamers. They’ve come out and said that 36 third party developers and publishers are on board to make games supporting the new motion controller, promising that over 20 games “that are either dedicated to or supported with the PlayStation Move platform” will release this year. At the GDC press conference Sony announced the following Motion-supported games, many with tentative titles: Move Party (collection of mini-games with augmented reality features); Sports Champions (think Wii Sports on the PS3; demos included table tennis, sword fighting, and archery); SOCOM 4; TV Superstars; Slider; The Shoot; Motion Fighter; Eye-Pet; and Brunswick Pro Bowling. Click here to see Joystiq’s hands on coverage of the games.
PlayStation Move will be made available for purchase in three ways come Holiday 2010: a starter kit includes the PS Move controller, PS Eye, and a game and will sell for under $100; you can buy the Move controller standalone; or you can get a PS3 console bundled with the Move controller. An exact launch date and definitive pricing details will surface as we get closer to the holiday season.
A motion controller for the PS3 is coming soon. Question is, how will it fare in competition with the Nintendo Wii and the forthcoming Microsoft Project Natal? Wii-like motion controls being implemented into both casual and hardcore games in high definition sounds tempting, but it all comes down to execution. If Sony lives up to its promise and makes sure to release a decent variety of motion-supported games inside the launch window the new controller will likely be embraced by many PS3 users. PlayStation Move will find a niche in the gaming community, especially with a sub-$100 price tag. Motion-detection offers a new way to experience video games; in particular it invites users to become more immersed in the games they play (like what 3D did with Avatar). With Wii living in the stone ages (graphics/lack of hardcore third party games support) and hype for Project Natal growing louder every day, the ball is in Sony’s court and it’s up to them to get this right.
Look after the break for the Sony press release and the Move introduction video. The gallery below contains the first official press shots of the controller and sub-controller.
[Via Engadget, here, here & here; Gizmodo; Kotaku]
Continue reading PlayStation Move motion controller: Holiday 2010, under $100
The Internet is a big place, full of billions of people. The number of Internet users increased from 45.1 million people in 1995 to 1.73 billion users in 2009. That’s just one stat of many you will learn from this short but highly informative video about the current state of the Internet.
[Via TheDailyWhat; Gizmodo]
Google is such a massive company that is all of sudden starting to sink its sharp teeth into so many of our services (search, cell phones, computers, maps, video, and so on). And as a result, privacy concerns have become a serious issue. This short animated video breifly delves into the world of all things Google and shows us that Google controls a lot more than we may think.
[Via Gizmodo]
The Mattel Mindflex is a device that can sense your level of calmness. Once you start thinking too hard and elevate your sense of awareness it sends an electric shock through your body.
[Via Harcos Laboratories; Engadget]
On Monday video game developer Valve announced they are finally bringing Mac support to their Steam digital distribution platform and Source Engine that powers Valve games like Half-Life and Portal. The popular Valve lineup of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will make its way to Mac users this April. To add to this exciting news comes, well, even more exciting news. Valve also announced Steam Play: [this] allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play.” Holy hell yes. Oh, and Portal 2, sequel to the highly acclaimed 2007 action/puzzle game, will be the first simultaneous release on the PC and Mac. Valve Mac teaser posters in the gallery below.
[Via Joystiq]
The PlayStation Network is about to get pimped with a slew of new movie releases in glorious high definition from all six major Hollywood studios. Sony signed a deal with 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures Entertainment that will bring a wide range of movies available for purchase or rental at the PSN. The initial batch of 19 include flicks Fantastic Mr. Fox, UP, Star Trek, District 9, Inglourious Basterds, and The Hangover. Look after the break for the full listing, and check the PSN video hub on your PS3 to find out if your favorites are making their way to PS3 HD land. Sony is happy to say that the “PlayStation Network is the first and only service to deliver high definition home entertainment from all six major studios, directly to consumers for download”…for now.
[Via PRNewsWire; Engadget]
Sketch-a-move is a concept for a toy car that allows you to explore the unique relationships between small surface doodles and actual physical movements. If you draw a circle on the top of the toy car, it will move in a circle. If you draw a complicated spiral, the car will move in a spiral.
This is so friggin’ neat! Toys of the future…maybe?
[Via Vimeo]
The Clavilux 2000 is an interactive instrument for generative music visualization, which is able to generate a live visualization of any music played on a digital piano. The setting of the installation consists of three parts: A digital piano with 88 keys and midi output, a computer running a vvvv patch and a vertical projection above the keyboard.
For every note played on the keyboard a new visual element appears in form of a stripe, which follows in its dimensions, position and speed the way the particular key was stroke. Colours give the viewer and listener an impression of the harmonic relations: Each key has it’s own color scheme and “wrong” notes stand out in contrasting colors.
Fasinating, no?
The Nissyoku lamp is inspired by the solar eclipse. It’s powered by hybrid capacitors that allow it to keep glowing without maintenence for up to ten years. What makes this LED lamp so neat is that it can take on different shapes thanks to rotating panels fixed with magnets. It’s designed to be either suspended from a ceiling or placed on a surface to illuminate a room. It reminds me of the Sony Rolly. Check out the gallery below for alternative shapes.
[Via igendesign; TheDesignBlog; Gizmodo]
The Waterpebble, designed by Paul Priestman.
The “Waterpebble” is an innovative device that keeps an eye on water consumed when you take shower in the bathroom. Designed to be fully recyclable, the smart device monitors water going down the plughole, after each shower, to compare it with earlier showers, so you could manage or reduce your shower time and thus water consumption. Featuring an automatic mechanism, the Waterpebble takes your first shower as a benchmark and gently flashes “from green through to red” to stop the shower.
Priestman says that he “wanted to design something that takes the hard work out of going green and that helps people change their behavior so that eventually they are doing it automatically.” Something like this might just work. A rather strange video demonstrating how it works is after the break.
[Via Waterpebble; TheDesignBlog; Gizmodo]
Continue reading Waterpebble helps you conserve water by encouraging shorter showers