kickstarter

Presidential hopeful Ron Paul will soon put the smackdown on the Federal Reserve -- in a video game, that is.

The Road to REVOLution is a "side-scrolling platformer action/adventure game, reminiscent of console classics like Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog," video game developer Daniel Williams explained.

The goal of the game is for Paul to become president of the United States and shut down the Federal Reserve. In the game, you play as Paul, who has to hop through all 50 states to collect gold and delegates.… Read more

If your world isn't already complex enough, or if you're just a control freak, it's time to add some ninja to your life.

Sensor-equipped platforms called Ninja Blocks are designed to bring the Internet of things to a ubiquitous, open-source reality.

The result of a recent successful Kickstarter project that raised more than $100,000, Ninja Blocks obey simple "if this, then that" commands to add functionality to your environment through the Web.

For instance, when your friends are playing on Xbox Live a Ninja Block could trigger an action in your living room, like turning on a lamp. Or a Ninja Block could text your phone when a package is delivered to your door. You could also activate household lights or electronics via your Ninja by talking to Siri. … Read more

Katie Linendoll returns to the show with big news! She recently entered the Guinness World Records book for slapping the most high fives in a single minute, leaving a certain clown in her dust. Check it out on "All Access Weekly," Katie's new show on Spike TV.

Katie always brings engaging talking points to the show (not to mention the best gifts), and today she has an opinion about the lack of women in the tech scene. She offers suggestions on how the U.S. education system can start a grassroots movement to expose young people to … Read more

"This is my daughter, who just turned 9. She's amazing, and I want her to grow up to be a mad scientist and to take over the world."

So begins writer Jordan Stratford's Kickstarter pitch video for "Wollstonecraft," the first of what he hopes will be a series of steampunky, historical novels for kids and young adults that will "inspire a generation of girls about imagination and science."

Stratford says he wants to give young girls like his daughter "actual historical role models that show them that math and science and imagination are incredible tools that can shape their world." And he's chosen as his two heroines Mary Shelley, of "Frankenstein" fame -- the world's first science fiction writer, he calls her -- and Ada Byron, whom some regard as the world's first computer programmer.… Read more

CNET laptop editor Scott Stein returns to The 404 guest seat, and the room is apparently full of onions today as we discuss this short film about a 9-year-old's homebrew cardboard arcade. If you look closely at Jeff's face during this segment, you may even catch a rare glimpse of his upturned frown.

We'll also introduce you to a highly funded Kickstarter campaign for an iPhone and Android-compatible smart watch that goes the opposite direction of traditional e-watches and uses a digital ink display (similar to the original Amazon Kindle) that lets users check messages, play music, and more without the threat of sun glare or unreadable reflections.… Read more

The concept of Pebble's "smart watch" is simple -- a clean interface running useful apps and wrapped in a fashionable watch interface. The key to Pebble's inevitable success will be its apps.

According to its Kickstarter page, the Pebble E-Paper Watch will ship with the capability to run several apps using some of the functionality of your iPhone or Android smartphone via Bluetooth connection.

For example, bikers can get information about their speed, distance, and total time by using the GPS capabilities of their connected smartphone. Runners will also get a similar functionality.… Read more

The Remee Lucid Dreaming Mask is worn like a regular sleep mask, but it has built-in LEDs that flash in patterns. The idea is that the sleeper recognizes the lights as visual anomalies, realizes he is sleeping, and then takes control of the dream.

The LED patterns and delay times before the lights trigger will be customizable through a Web site. There's also a dimmer control so the LEDs don't wake you up by blaring through your eyelids.

Remee isn't the first lucid dreaming mask, but it's cheaper than existing options like the $190 REM-Dreamer. Remee … Read more

Imagine a wheeled robot with an ape's head. Now imagine that the robot is actually controlled by an ape -- one wielding an iPad. Now imagine that the robot is chasing you around and shooting at you with a cannon.

No, it's not your latest banana-split-fueled nightmare or a Tim Burton remake of "Bedtime for Bonzo." Apparently this is reality, folks -- or at least it could be, if enough people pony up funds on Kickstarter.… Read more

We've seen every kind of speaker imaginable around the pages of CNET, but there is one type that hasn't made many appearances. Parametric speakers focus sound using ultrasonic carrier waves for transmission. It's like a laser beam for audio.

You have to be in line with the speaker to hear what's coming out. Inventor Richard Haberkern is using Kickstarter to put parametric speakers into the hands of hobbyists, tinkerers, and geeks.… Read more