fun

The campfire is an essential part of the camping experience, as is mourning the loss of countless marshmallows and hot dogs that slide to their doom due to unstable spits. The needless destruction of so many fire-roasted foods doesn't have to be part of the outdoor experience. While scouring the surrounding area for a branch or twig will never be completely abandoned, there is another way.

The Auspit Fire Fishin' Pole is a camping gadget that combines necessity (as s'mores are mandatory) with fun. Meant to resemble a fishing pole, the fire pit accessory allows you to efficiently … Read more

Forget any other uses for LEDs; the only place they really need to be is in the bar.

LEDs are everywhere. They are used in everything from remote controls to giant wall displays and televisions. The little lights are a ubiquitous part of everyday life: signs tell us where to go, clocks tell us what time it is, control panels let us know the state of our devices. Lately, they have been showing up in everything from DLP projectors to streetlights.

The first LEDs in practical use had very little light output and would be often found in alphanumerical displays … Read more

Once you've finished up your more involved DIY projects--replacing the rusted-out floor in that Volkswagen, say, or converting a Mr. Potato Head into a painstakingly crafted Mad Maxian monster--you'll no doubt need a simpler task to help you unwind.

We've got just the thing. All it requires is a staple gun, a few staples, and a little bit of wall space. Shouldn't take too much time. All you're doing, really, is drawing a picture--with staples. That's right: instead of tracing out your lines or rubbing in your shadows with a pencil, say, or maybe stippling all that in with a paintbrush, you simply whip out the staple gun and start plugging away (and you know that will help you unwind).… Read more

With an exterior skin that doubles as a digital display, an augmented-reality cockpit, and Internet and inter-vehicular connectivity, the Toyota Fun-Vii concept is about as pie-in-the-sky as concept cars get.

However, explaining with words and photos hardly does this concept justice. I had to see it in motion to understand everything that Toyota expects the car of the future to do. In the video below, you'll see tight smartphone integration, augmented-reality gaming, a holographic digital concierge in a De Stijl-inspired tube top, and an amazing (if not tremendously improbably) implementation of vehicle-to-vehicle networking. The video also shows off the Fun-Vii's electrified power-train with wireless charging, its autonomous driving mode, and lots of people dressed in white. Check it out below. … Read more

What if changing the color of your car was as simple as tapping an app? Toyota's Fun-Vii concept promises exactly that and more.

The Fun-Vii's skin is actually a massive display that can change its color at will, and display graphics, images, and custom messages for other drivers or bystanders. Toyota gives the visual example of a business using the Fun-Vii to display advertisement livery, but I'd love to be able to quickly throw up a "Back off, chump!" to a tailgater.

The custom graphics aren't limited to the exterior. Toyota also envisions that large interior display surfaces can add augmented reality functionality to the driving experience while allowing the vehicle's interior to be "freely adjustable to match the mood of the moment."… Read more

Bunny Shooter is an Angry Birds-style game that pits you against a pack of malicious bunnies trying to steal your prized carrots. Armed with a bow and a set of arrows, your job is to wipe the smiles off of those smug bunnies' faces.

Swipe your finger across your bow's string to load it up, then rotate the bow to change your arrow's trajectory. Sometimes you can shoot a bunny straight away, but in many cases, you'll have to bank your arrow off of obstacles or cause chain reactions to destroy the bunnies. Similar to Angry Birds, … Read more

A lot goes on behind the scenes in the nonstop effort to bring produce to our plates. Before we even lay eyes on our dinner as we hunt it among the grocery store aisles, it must be picked, sorted, transported, weighed, and priced. But before even that, before the myriad middlemen have had their say about it, the food in question must first be grown. In the case of vegetables, specifically root vegetables, rarely is this process seen. Everybody knows that the magic of restocked shelves has to start from a seed, but that growing period that occurs immediately after … Read more

Kids tend to love both art and computers, so anything that brings these two things together is bound to go over well. Tux Paint is a drawing program that is both easy enough for kids to use and full of fun features and sounds. It may drive parents a little batty, but kids will definitely get a kick out of it.

When we first launched the program we encountered a configuration menu that let us adjust the program's audio, video, keyboard, and mouse settings. Certain features and controls can also be disabled to make the program easier for younger … Read more

LOS ANGELES--Kids and games. When Tim Schafer of Double Fine stepped onstage to demo his Sesame Street-branded Kinect game today, he explained how he had his 3-year-old daughter in mind when he developed the idea.

Sesame Street, Disneyland, and more: It looks like younger and younger kids are being targeted for gaming. Both Disneyland Adventures and Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster are Microsoft exclusives for the Kinect. Add in Kinect Fun Labs, a series of interactive toys and camera-based art apps on a single disc, and you have a clear-cut strategy for attracting the toddler crowd.

Call it the iPad Effect, or whatever you'd like, but the hands-free gaming that Kinect represents looks like Microsoft's new fertile ground for the youngest gaming set. The question is, will parents want their kids to play? … Read more