Kinect finds (another) new home in 250GB Xbox 360 bundle

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Holiday shoppers will have oodles of options to choose from when decision time comes to purchase Microsoft’s gesture-based motion tracking camera Kinect.  In addition to the standalone version ($149.99) and Xbox 360 4GB bundle ($299.99), Kinect will also ship with the higher capacity 250GB Xbox 360.  At a whopping $399.99 you will get the new “whisper quiet” shiny, black, and slim Xbox 360, Kinect, and a copy of a Kinect launch title, Kinect Adventures!.  The two bundles will ship on Kinect launch day, November 4.

[Via Engadget]

Willow Garage’s beer-fetching robot now on sale for $400k

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The tinkering geniuses at Willow Garage have decided to put their beer-fetching PR2 robot on the market for a cool $400,000.  Besides grabbing you a beer and informing you when the fridge is out of stock, PR2 can also play pool, clean up your mess with a cart, plug in devices, fold towels, and open doors.  The most exciting bit about PR2 is that the personal robot is open source; with the hardware platform and over 1000 software libraries open to potential buyers, developers, and hackers, Willow Garage is supplying PR2 owners with the tools to come up with their own applications.  In fact, the company imagine a future where a Robot App Store exists.  In this exciting (frightening?) world, human owners will have the option to purchase “robot apps” for their personal smart machines in effort to make life at home and work “more productive.”  Today’s PR2 is the first major step in that direction.  I’m excited to see what sorts of applications (people with tons of money to spend) come up with.

[Via WillowGarage; Engadget]

Seacrest debuts new Rihanna single [Update: iTunes DL link]

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Are you a fan of Rihanna’s music?  If you answered “yes” in your mind (or out loud if you’re that enthusiastic) then you’ll more than likely dig her brand new single called “Only Girl (In The World)”.  Ryan Seacrest debuted the track yesterday on his radio show.  Stargate, who also helped Rihanna make “Please Don’t Stop the Music” and “Hate That I Love You” into smash hits, also produced this track.  Though it’s not yet available to download on iTunes just yet, Seacrest has it streaming at his site.  Take a listen and share your thoughts in the comments below.  Rihanna’s upcoming fifth studio album Loud promises to take a detour from the sullen Rated R theme (think “Russian Roulette”) and head straight back into RiRi’s upbeat, fun roots (think “Umbrella” ella, ella).  Loud‘s expected release date is November 16.

Update: Def Jam has released the cover art for the single.  She’s totally nude under that dress!  And look at that long red hair!

Update 2: Today (9/14) the single has landed on iTunes.  And it’s already climbing the Top Ten chart (currently it’s at spot #4).  Purchase and download it here.

[Via RyanSeacrest; EW-MusicMix]

Organize and display your print media with a minimalist magazine holder and cloud shelf

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These are two wall accessories I wouldn’t mind displaying in my dream home.  The minimalist magazine holder is called “Guidelines” and it’s designed by Amsterdam-based agency Fredrik Roijé.  It’s made from two powder-coated metal strips that meet at a maze of right angles.  “The resulting form places [magazines] at a pleasant, relational distance from one another, achieving aesthetics from legibility and functionality.”  And as for the cloud shelf?  Well, how cool would it be to say that you store your physical media on the cloud!?

[Via DesignBoom; DesignTorget; Gizmodo, here & here]

The Key of Awesome takes on Em & RiRi’s “Love the Way You Lie”…with children

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The Key of Awesome, the comedy group behind the amazing Ke$ha “Tik Tok” parody, takes on the hit single from Eminem’s Recovery.  Lil’ Megan Fox and Tiny Dominic Monaghan do a great job at spinning the domestic-violence theme of the original music video into a cute story between two school children in an ongoing argument.  And credit must be given to the actors for hilarious impersonations of Eminem and Rihanna.  “Did you just call me a doo-doo pie?  Well that’s alright, I know you are but what am I?”  Good stuff.

[Via EW-MusicMix]

Back to the Future III: What’s that Verne?

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OK this is really creeping me out.  Remember at the end of Back to the Future III when Doc Brown introduces his children to Marty and Jennifer.  During this scene little Verne does something a bit odd.  At first you think he’s hinting to Jennifer to climb on board the train.  But if you look closely… WTF?

*It’s been confirmed that this actually happens in the movie.  The scene has not been altered for YouTube.  How could I miss this the first and even second time around?

[Via @michaelgs; FuriousFanboys]