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Friday Poll: Can Google I/O possibly top last year's?

Friday Poll: Can Google I/O possibly top last year's?

Google set a pretty high standard of what I'll call "wow-ness" with last year's introduction of Google Glass to the world at its annual developers' conference, Google I/O. Glass-wearing stunt people took the brand new device skydiving, rappelling down the side of San Francisco's Moscone Center, and mountain biking through the crowds inside the conference center.

Can Google I/O 2013 possibly contain more wow-ness than that?

A year later, Glass is now in the wild, so it's always possible Google could have some new apps, features, and use cases it plans to … Read more

Crave giveaway: Sennheiser Momentum headphones

Crave giveaway: Sennheiser Momentum headphones

Congrats to Tywan J. of Owings Mills, Md., for winning an Otterbox Realtree Camo case for the HTC One in last week's giveaway. Like the sound of getting a pair of high-end headphones for free? Read on.

We're giving away a pair of full-size over-the-ear Sennheiser Momentum headphones, which feature a brushed-stainless-steel headband and plush, leather-covered earpads and come with two cables and a carrying case.

Steve Guttenberg, CNET's Audiophiliac, lauded the 'phones for their build and sound quality: "The Momentum headphones sound crisp and clear with all types of music and movies." Earlier this year, the headphones scored a spot in our Top-rated reviews of the week lineup. … Read more

3D holograms show if baby's smiling in the womb

3D holograms show if baby's smiling in the womb

Remember back in the olden days, when you had to wait till your baby came out of the womb to start determining whose nose and chin it had?

Pioneer, maker of speakers, receivers, and headphones, is moving into the in-utero-baby-picture realm with 3D holograms that give a remarkably detailed look at an infant's early visage.

The company does that using a full-color hologram printer. The device, which fits into a briefcase, can record a full color card-size hologram in 120 minutes, and a single-color hologram in 90 minutes. … Read more

Disney turns you into a 3D-printed Stormtrooper

Disney turns you into a 3D-printed Stormtrooper

Even if you're too short to join the Galactic Empire as a Stormtrooper, at least you can still see yourself as one with the magic of 3D scanning and printing.

For $99.95, visitors to Florida's Walt Disney World during "Star Wars" Weekends (running each weekend from May 17 to June 9) can immortalize themselves as a 7.5-inch-tall Stormtrooper figurine. In some ways, it's probably a better deal than being a real Stormtrooper. They usually end up getting vaporized aboard a Death Star or miss every shot they fire at fleeing Rebels. … Read more

Decades later, Luke Skywalker's 'Star Wars' home stands

Decades later, Luke Skywalker's 'Star Wars' home stands

Any fan of "Star Wars" will immediately recognize the Lars Homestead, where Luke Skywalker grew up. But they may not realize that the sets used to film those scenes in the 1970s were left essentially untouched after George Lucas and his crew departed Tunisia.

Thanks to Laughing Squid, I stumbled across the beautiful and haunting photographs by visual artist Ra di Martino, who visited the location in Chott el Gharsa, Tunisia, where Lucas filmed those scenes, and captured their decrepit state years later.

Of course, there are a lot of people who want to keep the Lars Homestead … Read more

Three centuries of geek-milestone devices in one epic auction

Three centuries of geek-milestone devices in one epic auction

Attention early adopters: That first-edition Google Glass hardware is likely to be gathering dust a few years from now as the technology gets seriously revved (or falls victim to paranoid lawmakers and pub owners), but don't toss it out!

If an auction later this month of computing and other technological blasts from the past is any indication, it could pay off to hold on to those obsolete gadgets that were once on the cutting edge, even just briefly.

The highlight of the sale, planned for May 25 by German auction house Breker, is an original, working Apple-1, one of only 200 that were produced and 50 that are believed to still exist. Last year, Sotheby's auctioned off just an original Apple-1 motherboard for $374,500.… Read more

Time-lapse images let you witness 28 years of Earth's changes

Time-lapse images let you witness 28 years of Earth's changes

A newly released series of dramatic time-lapse satellite images, available at Google's Timelapse Web site, shows just how quickly the world's landscapes have changed in the last 28 years.

The pictures, captured by the series of Landsat satellites and released in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, and Time magazine, show several startling examples of how humans and natural processes have changed Earth from 1984 to 2012. You'll see the depressing decline of the Columbia Glacier in Alaska, the blossoming of Dubai's epic cityscape, and Las Vegas' urban explosion. There's also an alarming look at the deforestation occurring in the Brazilian Amazon forest. … Read more

The 404 1,267: Where we fang with briends (podcast)

The 404 1,267: Where we fang with briends (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- The Worst Room makes everyone in New York feel terrible.

- San Francisco hotels pricey? Van on Airbnb is only $92 a night.

- A bold new font lets dyslexia sufferers read.

- Bang With Friends goes mobile, because some people want to get it on the run.

- A Wi-Fi enabled Microsoft ad printed in Forbes magazine offers free Internet to readers.… Read more

Giant NES controller table gets the steampunk treatment

Giant NES controller table gets the steampunk treatment

There's something about the NES controller that lends itself to supersizing in coffee table form. We've seen more than a few -- the original (as far as we can tell); Baron von Brunk's working Lego version; and a working wooden version for a touch of class.

It's that last one that concerns us today, since its creator -- Charles Lushear, aka Bohemian Workbench -- has just come out with a brand new "steampunk" version, made from salvaged antique parts and wood. … Read more

Amazon said to be developing 3D smartphone

Amazon said to be developing 3D smartphone

Amazon is reportedly working on two smartphones, including one that would have 3D capability.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Amazon is developing a device that features a 3D screen that can be used without special glasses. Citing "people familiar with the company's plans," the Journal wrote that the phone would use retina-tracking technology that would make the images seem to be floating "like a hologram and appear three-dimensional at all angles." What's more, users might be able to navigate through content using just their eyes.… Read more