ie8 fix

festival

An amazing 3D sound game for children

Brett Paine Murphy developed the SoundStage tabletop board game for children (or adults) to explore 3D audio in a playful way. I experienced SoundStage at the recent Dumbo Arts Festival in Brooklyn, NY, and was bowled over by the sound. It was a breathtaking display of technical virtuosity, but one that a 6-year-old child could enjoy. More specifically, SoundStage uses a double quadraphonic sound system with four speakers arranged in a square, and four more speakers closer to the floor. Within the eight-speaker sound cube there's a 2-foot square table, illuminated from below, and a large number of "… Read more

Win an iPad 2: The Original iPhone Film Festival taking submissions

If you've got cinematographic chops and an iOS device, you could win yourself (or someone you love) an iPad 2 or other prizes by submitting your best film creations made entirely on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad 2.

The Original iPhone Film Festival has four categories: Fiction, Brand Film, Nonfiction, or Music Videos. Submissions will be judged by a variety of film, TV, and music professionals including members of popular pop group Maroon 5, New York Times technology writer David Pogue, Macworld Senior Associate Editor Heather Kelly, and Director of Television Production at BBDO New York Regina Ebel. … Read more

Robots take the big screen in NYC next week

Robots are getting their own film festival next week in New York City, an exciting collection of shorts featuring robots exploring everything from scientific research to romance.

Slated for July 16 and 17 at Three Legged Dog theater in lower Manhattan, the inaugural Robot Film Festival will feature dozens of short films as well as a filmmaking workshop, robot entertainers, and a red-carpet awards ceremony, The Botskers.

The festival opens with Spike Jonze's 2010 romantic short "I'm Here" (see trailer below) and includes a host of new productions.

If you like getting creeped out by bots, … Read more

This Day in Tech: Explosion at iPad factory, CNET visits Maker Faire

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Monday, May 23:

Foxconn: No delays in iPad supply after explosion Production was suspended at Foxconn factory in China, pending investigation into last week's explosion that killed three people. More

B&N gets set to launch new Nook (live blog) Barnes & Noble will be showing off a new Nook Tuesday morning. Get the full skinny in real time as we live blog the unveiling. More

Spying elite toys at the Cannes Film Festival This epicenter for international … Read more

Spying elite toys at the Cannes Film Festival

CANNES, France--The Cannes Film Festival wrapped up this weekend and I joined the throng of media shuffling wearily through the Nice airport and away from the perfect sunshine of the French Riviera--but not before having had a look at the obscenely expensive toys of the proverbial nouveau riche.

When not attending screenings, I had a chance to skulk around the Plage de la Croisette along the Mediterranean shore to spy big-ticket items soon to be for sale to those with the most disposable incomes.

I could not avoid the gold- and diamond-encrusted smartphone and tablet cases. In every case, no photography was allowed inside the elite boutiques featuring such accessories. Anyone taking a snapshot of an emerald-studded BlackBerry kit would only be scouting trouble.

So how much were these decorative doodads? A single refrain rules in shops like this: "If you have to ask, don't bother."

But not everything was under wraps. … Read more

Honda unveils 198-horsepower CR-Z Mugen concept

The 2011 Honda CR-Z found itself on the receiving end of much criticism from the automotive press and enthusiasts, ourselves included, when it launched last year. Greenies didn't like the hybrid's merely average fuel economy, and enthusiasts chided its less-than-hard-core performance. A few of these enthusiasts figured they could do better. This is where Mugen, Honda's sometimes-official tuning division comes into the picture with its CR-Z Mugen concept, set to debut in July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July.

Realizing that you can't please everyone, Mugen instead focuses on the needs and wants of … Read more

preGame 49: Call of the Dead; PSN outages; L.A. Noire

What a week for video game news! As PSN outages continue to plague PlayStation 3s, Sony has finally declared the incident a "compromise of personal information" and a "malicious act." Does this mean our credit card info has been tossed into the Internet void? Nevermind that, we just want to be able to play Mortal Kombat online again.

Last night's Tribeca Film Festival screening of L.A. Noire marked the first time a video game was spotlighted at the big event. Jeff was there for the screening and Q&A that preceded; plus he'll give us some thoughts on an entire case he played a few weeks ago.

Since Nintendo has confirmed that the successor to the Wii will debut at E3 2011 and go on sale next year, we'll play an interesting voicemail that speculates on how players will interact with the new console.… Read more

Google green-lights crowdsourced film project

Sometimes Google takes a break from its mission of organizing all the world's information and decides to embark upon an artsy project that encapsulates...organizing all the world's information.

Late on Tuesday, the search giant posted an entry to the Official Google Blog announcing the creation of "Life In A Day," a film project that solicits video submissions from YouTube users around the world--the criteria is that they must capture some kind of moment filmed on July 24.

It's legit. "Touching The Void" director Kevin Macdonald will edit "the most compelling footage&… Read more

Bill Gates spotted table-dancing at Sundance party?

Somehow, recently, Bill Gates turned into Mr. Awesome. He's tweeting and blogging, and now, according to the New York Post, he was spotted "dancing, Paris (Hilton) style, on a banquette" at a Microsoft-sponsored party at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

"He gyrated in a VIP booth until 2 AM," a "spy" told the Post's Page Six--a gossip item, so take it with a grain of salt. "Everybody was snapping photos of him until his security rushed him out the back door after he tipped a waitress $500." … Read more

Lego devotees flock to Seattle

SEATTLE--In one corner of the exhibition hall, hands sift through bins searching for rare pieces missing from vast collections. In another area, a giant Lego person rides in circles atop a brick rendition of the Segway scooter. In between are myriad Lego creations large and small.

It was all part of BrickCon 2009--a four-day festival devoted to Lego, the Danish creation that celebrated its 50th birthday last year.

On display were pieces of Lego art, replicas of real cities and even visions of an apocalyptic future crafted from the signature blocks. For those seeking to build on expansive collections, … Read more