Yet Another Reason XBOX is Better Than PlayStation

Xbox Live has teamed up with Netflix to offer HD streaming of movies right through your Xbox 360. This is the first time Netflix is offering HD content, and I am sure millions of Xbox 360 owners are going to be pleased with this idea. Now if only I had a Netflix account...

Microsoft's SecondLight

It seems that Microsoft has developed what basically is Surface: Mark II. This little table displays whatever you want on it, and you can use an Apple-like multi-touch to drag things like pictures, zoom in and out, and all that fun stuff. But, as if that wasn't cool enough, if you hold something above this little gadget it will display a totally different image. Check out the video below:



The guys over at PC Pro have a pretty good article about it too.

Awesome 3D Display

I don't know about you, but I think that the dreams of Star War-esque holographic messages are quickly becoming reality, and here's proof. Check out this video of a sort of holographic 3D visualizer developed by Dreamoc. The fireball thing at the end is awesome.

The Future of Newspapers

E-Ink has released a video demonstrating their development kit and how that can be applied to newspapers and the such. If this technology progresses much further I think we could definitely see it in newspapers in a few short years. Check it out for yourself, and learn more about it here.

Video Game Pumpkins

Seeing as it's almost Halloween it seems appropriate to post this link to some really cool (and nerdy) pumpkins. My personal favorite, while not as artistically intricate as the others, is the Mortal Kombat Finishing Move one, pictured above.

You Know You Have Too Much Free Time When...

This guy looks like he spent way too much time designing and building a room full of sensors just to make a picture come to life. I will admit, it is pretty cool. He took an old Linux machine and hooked up a bunch of sensors to it to make a picture act in different ways. I wonder how long it actually took him to set up and program...

Interactive Touch Mirror

This is one of the coolest ideas I have seen come about recently. This mirror has tons of applications that I can think of (some of which are demonstrated in the video below) such as seeing what clothing would look like on you, writing lists of to-do's on it, or even play Tetris on a full wall! Now all they need to add to this mirror is a speaker that compliments you every time you walk in front of it and every girl in the world will own one.


Interactive Mirror from Alpay Kasal on Vimeo.

HP Touchsmart PC

HP has released a new PC that they call the Touchsmart IQ506. This little 22inch $1500, piece of equipment comes with a 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, a 500GB HDD, and a bit of a headache. While the idea is definitely a step forward in personal computers, it really doesn't work well with typical operating systems that are out today. I could see it functioning well for simply viewing pictures, video, and even listening to music...but navigating through Vista? Not so much. Check out the fully review at Gizmodo.

LucasArts Teams Up With BioWare for New Star Wars MMORPG

LucasArts and BioWare have announced the new MMORPG game that they are working on titled Star Wars: The Old Republic. As a huge fan of the original Star Wars MMORPG, Star Wars Galaxies, (before they revamped the combat and everything went to crap) I am excited to see how this will play out. The game takes place 300 years after Knight of the Old Republic, and hopefully will be a promising continuation of the Star Wars line of games. Check out more on the game's website here.

Microsoft's SideSight - Touch-Free Technology

Microsoft has developed a technology that is aptly named SideSight. It is a technology that involves a series of outward-facing IR sensors on an object that can be used to rotate, zoom, or even scroll an image on a screen that is too small for the iphone-like touch technology to be practical. I could see tons of applications for this technology from digital cameras to watches. Check it out for yourselves and let me know what you think.

Lots of Diablo III News

Diablo I and II were two games that it seems like everybody played. They were casual and fun, but still competitive in some respects for those of you out there that are more hardcore gamers. So with that you have to ask yourself if Diablo III is going to live up to all the hype. So far, it looks pretty good. Diablo III is going to play much like Diablo II, but with much more depth (both graphically and gameplay-wise) and added capabilities of the Havok physics engine for interactive, destructible environments to really draw the player in. The guys over at Shacknews have a great article with plenty of details on the gameplay and new features that will be present in Diablo III, which is expected sometime after Starcraft II.

LG's New 15" Double Sided LCD

(Front Side)






(Back Side)








This little invention is a 15" LCD display that is reflected on the back side so other people can see exactly what you're watching. Sounds like a cool idea at first, but are there really any practical applications? Sure, you could watch a movie with one of your not-so-attractive friends without having to be next to them, but why not just get a big flat screen and just stick them on the chair while you take up the whole couch? :)

Apple's Day of Releases

Today Apple announced three new products that they will be offering. Personally, I hate Apple, but I do have to admit that they have come out with some pretty cool stuff lately. The picture on the left is a 13" MacBook, the bottom is a 24" Cinema Display, and the right is a 15" MacBook Pro. The guys over at engadget have a few great articles on the announcements. Click on each pic for a direct link to the corresponding article.

GE Develops OLED Printing Machine

This cool little invention is a laminated piece of plastic film that actually lights up when you put a current through it. General Electric in New York has created a way to print chemicals onto a plastic film and laminate it with foil so you can have flexible lights like the one pictured above. I can think of a ton of applications for this kind of technology from household use to space-saving industrial lighting. You can check out a good article about OLED lighting at CNN.

PSP 3000 Pics Leaked

Here's a picture of the new PSP that is slated for release on Tuesday. Looks pretty cool if you ask me. Engadget has more pictures of the new toy here.

Big Starcraft II News Announced at BlizzCon

Blizzard announced that they will be releasing Starcraft II in three separate parts, each one focusing on a single race in the sequel to one of the most popular RTS games ever made. The first part, titled Terrans: Wings of Liberty, will follow the Terran race. Then, in later "expansions" for the game, titled Zerg, Heart of the Swarm and Protoss: Legacy of the Void, will focus on the other two races in the game, the Zerg and the Protoss, respectively. Personally I am not too thrilled about this idea to split the game up into three different expansions unless each game is going to have tons of new features that the previous one lacked.

Apple Stock Climbs Back Up 9 Percent

On Friday Apple stocks rose back up 9 percent to $96.80 by close. Reasons behind the sudden surge of interest in the company are the ever popular iPods as well as an announcement of a new laptop drawing nearer. This is nothing in comparison to the 40 percent that Apple lost leading up to Friday due to the still-crashing market, but any gain is a plus for companies these days.

Yet Another iPhone Security Flaw

A new security flaw was found today that is almost the same as the last one. When the iPhone is locked and you get a text message it normally will not let you view it until you unlock the phone. But, if the phone happens to be in emergency call mode, incoming texts are not completely blocked. Instead, a preview of the text is shown, letting the user know what the text says without having to unlock the phone.

Oh, and did I mention that iPhones still can't do the whole picture messaging thing? :P

ATI's DX11 Compatible Cards expected in 2009

ATI has announced that they expect their new line of DirectX 11 cards to ship sometime next year. Personally, I am an NVIDIA fan, but if ATI happens to make the jump first this could be something that sways me in their direction. Check out an article on the announced DX11 cards here.