spider

At first glance, the title of the video "Sneak Peak Greatest Toy in the Universe!" sounds like a showboating claim conceived by a lunatic.

As the video progresses, you meet a remote-controlled toy spider wielding powerful weapons, and suddenly realize maybe creator Jaimie Mantzel is onto something. After all, it takes part genius and part luck for an independent person to get nearly half a million hits in one day for a YouTube video about a toy robot. We also recommend you check out the official promo video for the spiderbot, which is set for release later this year.

Mantzel's 7-minute, 29-second video showing off his creation highlights the arachnid's weapons, which include Ping-Pong balls, darts, and flying discs. It even has removable armor. The spider seems to move around well, and if it doesn't cost a fortune, this could just be the hottest toy of 2012. The operating noise does seem loud, though. … Read more

Intel's new chip for smartphones handily beats some of the fastest phones on the market, according to chip review site Anandtech.

Intel's Atom Z2460 "Medfield" delivers "tablet-like scores" on the BrowserMark benchmark, wrote Anand Shimpi. "The Galaxy Nexus running ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) comes close, but once again Intel expects that on the same OS Medfield should be faster than any of the currently available SoCs (system-on-a-chip)," he said.

Intel announced the Medfield chip Tuesday at CES. The system-on-a-chip will be used in upcoming smartphones--and presumably other devices--from Lenovo and Motorola.

And … Read more

Some of Ferrari's most recent models seem to have lost their way. Not this one.

At the 2011 Frankfurt auto show, Ferrari unveiled the 458 Spider, a sleek convertible that just happened to win the coveted International Engine of the Year award. Not a bad two-fer.

(CNET's full coverage of the 2011 Frankfurt auto show)

I'm not a big fan of camera straps. I have one I use regularly, but in general I don't like having my camera dangling around my neck. That's what makes the Spider Black Widow holster an appealing alternative.

The basic Black Widow includes the holster and one pin. The pin screws into your camera's tripod mount and the holster threads onto your belt. Slide the head of the pin into the holster's slot until you hear a click and your camera is secured.

The Black Widow holster when used with your own belt is designed for cameras up to 2 pounds. From 2 to 4 pounds, Spider recommends using its $15.99 belt that can be combined with an $8.99 belt pad. If your gear weighs more than that, you'll want to step up to Spider Holster's Pro system. I tested the Black Widow holster on my regular leather belt with a Nikon D7000 and its kit lens as well as a few full-size megazooms and I never felt uncomfortable from the weight. … Read more

In Greedy Spiders, your job is to rescue helpless flies being hunted by one or sometimes several hungry arachnids. Each fly is thoroughly trapped in web, but with a simple tap of your finger you're able to cut individual strands to eventually free them all. The problem is, every time you make a move, the spiders get to make one, inching themselves progressively closer to their prey.

To start, you get to cut a single strand of web per turn. A good strategy is to either snip near the spider to cut off its route, or snip one of … Read more

It's amazing to think how many comic book characters--some from decades ago--are still relevant to pop and geek culture today.

Lately, it feels like there's no end in sight to the surge in superhero-movie releases. In our gallery below, we look at the original comic depiction of several larger-than-life beings compared with their most recent movie equivalents. The differences are astounding, and truly indicate how far animation and artistic quality has evolved over the years.

While we didn't feature every comic book character who's had a makeover recently, we think you'll still enjoy our selections consisting of mostly Marvel (Stan Lee) and DC comic stars. The gallery includes Captain America, Thor, Superman, Green Lantern, Iron Man, Tin-Tin, Spider-Man, X-Men, and Batman. Think there's someone we missed that should be on the list? Leave a comment with your suggestions and we may revise the gallery down the line.

On a related note, it's worth sharing that DC Comics plans to reboot all of its franchises beginning this September.

… Read more

NinJump Deluxe HD is the souped-up version of the free, popular NinJump, an infinitely scrolling vertical-climbing game with a super-simple one-tap interface.

As with other games in this genre (whether vertically or horizontally oriented), the goal is to get as far as you can without dying. You play an ultranimble ninja, jumping between two walls on the left and right of the screen to avoid obstacles and enemies. You're always moving up--quickly!--and you tap anywhere on the screen to leap between the two walls. In the game's classic version, you scale generically pagoda-like structures and fight ninja-esque … Read more

These days, Sam Raimi is famous for making the "Spider-Man" trilogy of movies. But to a core group of die-hard fans, he'll always be known as the director of 1981's cult-favorite "The Evil Dead."

Though that horror-comedy classic has had 30 years to blend into the cinematic background, it still has a passionate and devoted following. And now Raimi and production partner Robert Tapert and their Ghost House Pictures have teamed up with the Los Angeles-based entertainment consultants TriggerGlobal to fire up those fans--as well as try to create a new fan base for … Read more

You have your high-tech smartphone paired to your high-tech ride. Now you want to make them work together and keep them working as safely and efficiently as they can. Sometimes there are high-tech solutions to enable that level of functionality, for example Bluetooth wireless connectivity, iPhone integration, or OBD-II interfacing technologies. However, in many cases, you may find yourself relying on good, old-fashioned low-tech solutions.

Jumper cables, cassette adapters, and tire pressure gauges--these are just some of the unsung heroes of the car tech world. These low-tech wonders have been around for much longer than the USB ports and touch-screen … Read more