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Gamers go ga-ga over Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset

You'd think this were the turn of the 1990s. The "Total Recall" remake just opened today in theaters, and a virtual-reality headset ended up being up the hottest thing in the gaming world this week.

The Oculus Rift works like a conventional head-mounted display, but packs a few features that make it ideal for gaming. For example, the Rift offers impressive head-tracking capabilities; stereoscopic 3D rendering; a wide field of view (110 degrees -- most headsets only offer around 40 degrees); and several inputs (DVI/HDMI and USB). When wearing the Oculus, each eye gets close and personal with a 640x800 LCD screen for a total resolution of 1,280x800 (720p). … Read more

As promised, Fujifilm reveals M-mount adapter for X-Pro1

Come this June, you'll finally be able to use your languishing Leica lenses on the Fujifilm X-Pro1 -- or at least expand on Fujifilm's small collection of lenses.

The new M-Mount Adapter will cost $199.99 and seems to provide full compatibility, including support for the camera's viewfinder framing corrections. Via the camera's Mount Adapter Settings you'll be able to create profiles for up to six lenses with corrections for distortion, peripheral illumination, and color shading across the frame.

It sounds well-built -- aluminum mount on the body side, stainless steel on the lens side, connected by aluminum.… Read more

Get a universal smartphone dashboard mount for $12.95

Recently I asked if it still made sense to buy a GPS, what with smartphones more than capable of navigating folks from point A to point B.

Many readers commented that, yep, their phone gets the job done. Of course, there's one small challenge to using it for this purpose: smartphones don't come with car mounts. You need a way to position it at eye level so you can see your maps.

There are countless universal-mount options out there, many of which use suction cups to adhere to your windshield and gooseneck arms to hold the phone. Not … Read more

Contour launches activity-specific camera mount kits

One of the draws of HD sports cameras like the ContourHD series (or the GoPro HD Hero) is that they feature a wide variety of mounting options, making them useful in a wide variety of activities. However, purchasing all of the available mounting accessories can get expensive, which is why Contour has announced a series of activity-themed mounting kits that bundle specific mounting accessories at a 10 to 20 percent discount over buying the bits separately.

The Moto mount kit that Car Tech fans are no doubt most interested in sells for $99.99 and features a rotating surface mount, … Read more

Kickstarter project promises dirt-cheap smartphone video stabilization

Earlier this year I wrote about the Kungl, a nifty plastic iPhone case with an embedded 1/4-inch tripod mount.

At $19.99, it's one of the more affordable tripod accessory options out there. But what if you want to shoot video with, say, an iPod Touch? Or an Android phone? And what if you don't happen to have a tripod handy?

This Kickstarter project might be just the answer: the SlingShot is a universal smartphone video-stabilization system that has a few nifty tricks up its sleeve. And you can get in on the action for just $14.… Read more

Epson's sexy head-mounted display now shipping

At first glance, the $699 Epson Moveria BT-100 may look like a pair of futuristic shades or even conjure up images of those protective sunglasses given to cataract patients. But in reality, these frames pack some seriously techy features like multimedia playback and Web browsing.

The Moveria BT-100 is a wearable display featuring a micro-projector that delivers images to each eye from a built-in qHD (960x540) screen. The overall projected image size appears similar to an 80-inch display viewed from 16.4 feet away, and since the glasses are see-through, you can still see what's around you in the real world. Meanwhile, the built-in earbuds provide Dolby Mobile virtual surround sound. … Read more

The holy grail of adhesives?

UMass is not the first institution to look to the gecko and its remarkable powers of adhesion. A team from Berkeley announced a gecko-inspired nonskid surface back in 2006. "I can list maybe 20 other people" heading up similar work, says UMass researcher Al Crosby.

Most of that work, however, has focused on the hair on the bottom of the gecko's feet. Called setae, these hairs are only part of the reason why the gecko, among other species, can use adhesion to move along walls and ceilings.

"In order for something this large to use adhesion," Crosby says, "its tendons are stitched right into its skin. And so you have the tendon, which is very stiff tissue, connected to the skin and the setae. That direct connection is critical. Without that, the gecko could not use adhesion. This direct integration is what we ended up mimicking in Geckskin.… Read more

Sideburn mounts your iPhone via Mac SD card slot

Remember that "X-Files" episode when the guy had his own brother growing out of him as a detachable parasitic twin? You can get the same effect with your iPhone and a Mac thanks to the under-used SD card slot and a new Kickstarter project.

The iPhone is a fairly dainty device, but it still needs a helping hand to fit into an SD card slot. That is where the Sideburn comes in.… Read more

Sony's E-mount plans

At this week's CP+ show in Japan, Sony unveiled its road map for the next couple years' worth of NEX E-mount lenses. Hint: it's light on the heavy glass.

According to the plans Sony unveiled at the show, photographers with Sony's Alpha NEX series of cameras have eight new lenses to look forward to over the course of the next year and a half or so. These include:… Read more

Kungl iPhone tripod mount doubles as a case

Want to mount your iPhone on a tripod? There are lots of third-party accessories that can help, but few are as practical or affordable as the Kungl iPhone Tripod Mount.

Lest you think it sounds crazy to connect a smartphone to a tripod, consider this: the iPhone 4 sports a 5-megapixel camera and can capture 720p video, while the 4S raises the bar to 8 megapixels and 1080p--and even brings image stabilization to the table.

The latter might seem to obviate the need for a tripod, but if you want the sharpest photos and smoothest video, nothing beats one.… Read more