Geek culture

JediBot uses Kinect to control lightsaber

You spent countless hours locked in lightsaber battles with your buddies while growing up. What happens when there's no one left to play with you because they all have jobs and babies? You make your own Star Wars playmate.

Students at Stanford University programmed a robotic arm dubbed the JediBot. The bright orange arm swings a red foam lightsaber against a human opponent. It gets off surprisingly snappy attacks with some decent robotic muscle behind it.

It's one thing to create an arm that goes on the offensive, but another to build one capable of defense as well. That's where the Microsoft Kinect comes in. The opposing lightsaber is green so that the Kinect sensors can pick up on where it is in space. The JediBot uses that information to plan its defensive maneuvers.

Related link • A Star Wars video game unlike any other

The robotic arm--which can swing its sword about once every two to three seconds--was created for a 3.5-week Experimental Robotics course. The class also produced a robot that grills hamburgers and even adds the ketchup. The only thing that would make the JediBot better is if it battled you to a draw and then offered you a tasty cheeseburger.… Read more

The 404 862: Where we blow it in the 9th (podcast)

Everyone knows Wilson G. Tang is an Apple fanboy, but today we discover that there's an actual science behind blind dedication to certain brands. And it's not just tech, either--on today's podcast, we're exploring a brain synapse that causes a breach in rationality.

Other stories today include an app for jailbroken iPads that lets you create multiple user profiles, laptop stickers that show you where to drill in case of emergency, and a family of dudes named Casey Anthony getting harassed on Facebook.

The 404 Digest for Episode 862

Jeff finally gets iPad profiles. The science behind fanboyism. Laptop stickers show you where to drill in case of emergency. A Philadelphia man with an unfortunate name gets harassed on Facebook. Alex's video voice mail from the top of Grays Peak!

Episode 862 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Turbine Batmobile blows your mind (and ears)

Going all the way back to the original red-highlighted Batmobile on up to Christian Bale's modern and aggressive Tumbler, Batman has always had the coolest, most powerful cars.

Casey Putsch at Putsch Racing took the inspiration for his personal Batmobile from the 1989 Michael Keaton film version. He calls it the world's only real Batmobile. He makes that claim based on a very powerful and loud argument: a turbine engine.

That's right. Let's linger on that a moment. This car has a military-spec Boeing turbine engine culled from a drone helicopter. Turn up your speakers and watch the video below to get an idea of what it sounds like.… Read more

'Pastafarian' headgear a coup for kitchen gadgets

Looks like we may have finally found the ultimate gearhead.

An Austrian man has scored a point for freedom of religion, or at least for the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, as well as for kitchen gadgets. Niko Alm was allowed to wear a pasta strainer on his head for his driver's license photo by claiming it as a piece of "religious headgear," according to the BBC.

Alm planned the stunt after reading that Austrian authorities prohibit wearing of headgear in official photographs except for religious reasons. … Read more

'Deadliest Warrior' weapons guru makes the cut

LOS ANGELES--When Spike TV's "Deadliest Warrior" needs to re-create weapons of the distant past to pit soldiers of bygone eras against each other, it turns to weapons fabricator David Baker and his workshop.

Hidden away in the vast basement below the "Deadliest Warrior" Los Angeles studios, Baker and his team combine historical research with carpentry, metallurgy, and weapons expertise to forge copies of the swords, shields, bows, and arrows used by antiquity's greatest armies. Baker brought years of experience making swords and other realistic period weapons for Hollywood to "Deadliest Warrior," and he brings a passion for weaponry to every creation. … Read more

The 404 861: Where we're putting it all out there (podcast)

Have you ever received a phone call from a mystery number, but had no way to find out who was on the other side? A new online service called NumberGuru lets you perform a reverse number search to identify the source, and our friends from BeenVerified.com are in the studio to tell us all about it.

There are a few services like WhitePages that offer similar features, but NumberGuru is free and accessible from the Numberguru.com Web site, or with any one of its smartphone apps. Even better, the site lets you share comments on phone numbers to warn other users about spammers and telemarketers, and BeenVerified.com also offers background checks to dig up more details about the caller.

The 404 Digest for Episode 861

BeenVerified does background checks. Why bother to remember when you can just use Google? Great fear as PS1 discs begin to oxidize and degrade after 10 years.

Episode 861 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 860: Where we're selling Spotify invites (podcast)

Spotify has finally made its way to the U.S., successfully striking deals with all four of the major record labels to provide a unique music-streaming service, and Wilson's already a member with a premium account. If you're weren't lucky enough to get an invite to the party, we'll be selling them to the highest bidder.

In other news, Jeff's friend brings us news about a man in China who built an iPad clone from scratch, except I already have my eyes set on a Buy.com deal for an Archos 7" Android tablet for $90 shipped! If you already have the Archos, let me know if it's worth the money, or if I should wait for Amazon's tablet to launch in October.

All this plus e-mails from the public on today's podcast!

The 404 Digest for Episode 860

Spotify lands in the United States. Chinese "hacker" makes iPad clone from scratch. Amazon to launch its own tablet in October.

Episode 860 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 859: Where we embrace our inner geek (podcast)

It's Embrace Your Inner Geek Day...which applies to everyone else who doesn't have a daily tech podcast. To me, Jeff, and Wilson, it's Wednesday and today we're wondering how a picture of Jeff got onto The Huffington Post.

We're also whining about the Netflix hype that ignited a social-media fire, discovering how the genesis of Internet and raving have a symbiotic relationship, and introducing another user-submitted Tang That Tune!

The 404 Digest for Episode 859

Netflix price hike ignites social-media fire. Jeff makes unwitting debut on HuffPo. How the Internet transformed the American rave scene. Hey it's Embrace Your Inner Geek Day! Wilson laughing for 10 hrs (thanks Kokesh!)

Episode 859 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Beer arcade: Video games + beer = awesome

As much as I'm reluctant to use the phrase "man cave," mostly because I don't have the space for one of my own, I have to say that I have found a pretty nifty man cave essential. Behold, the Octane 120 Pro Beer Arcade!

The Beer Arcade comes from Northern California-based Dream Arcades, which also offers premade arcade cabinets and DIY arcade kits. Take a high-end gaming PC with PlayStation 3 connectivity, a 5.1 audio system, add full driving controls with dual-motor force feedback and variable resistance on the pedals, and, as the name would suggest, a beer tap.

I know, right?

Those are the basics, but it goes further than that. The Beer Arcade also comes loaded with a dozen driving sims (including Hard Drivin' and S.T.U.N. Runner, a few faves of mine) and a fully adjustable steering wheel and seat, and variable-resistance clutch, brake, and gas petals. As Dream Arcades is quick to point out, "Of course we don't condone REAL drinking and driving, but kicking back a few Bud Lights while playing your favorite games is a different story!" … Read more