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'Avatar': Behind the scenes at Weta Digital

New Zealand may be known as the home of "Lord of the Rings," but you may not know that it's also the unofficial birthplace of "Avatar."

You see, Peter Jackson's Weta Workshop in Wellington is behind the special effects of films such as "Heavenly Creatures" and "Prince Caspian." But more famously, it has produced the effects in both the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "Avatar." In fact, the company was working up until July to finish work on the Extended Edition of the "Avatar" Blu-ray version. … Read more

Intellitar avatars a poor substitute for afterlife

Of the products I've seen recently, Intellitar's Virtual Eternity is the most likely to make children cry.

It is a service, which recently released its beta, in which you create an AI-based animated avatar from a picture of yourself and the answers to a questionnaire. Why? So you can bequeath this cloud-based avatar to your descendants. They can then ask your avatar questions about your life, which it will answer by animating virtual lips on a picture of your real face, with a generic voice (unless you pay extra to have the service create a custom voice library … Read more

Microsoft execs get avatarized, sans Windows chief

Since Microsoft launched the idea of avatars with its "New Xbox Experience" system software update this time two years ago, the company's executives and employees have regularly been presented in avatar form at the company's gaming events. But that's about as far as it's gone--short of today.

In honor of the launch of Microsoft's Kinect motion-gaming camera later this week, the vast majority of Microsoft senior executives now appear as Xbox avatars on the company's press page.

One big omission is Windows and Windows Live division president Steven Sinofsky, whose mug has … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1338: Avatar 2: The tree of money (podcast)

The New Nook Color makes its debut: is it half a loaf or a half-bottle of wine? It's a tortured set of analogies, but we hope you'll get the point. Plus, big news about the show's host lineup (welcome Brian Tong!), Spotify is in the news but still not in the U.S., and the white iPhone 4 officially reaches "annoying tech unicorn" status. Oh, and "Avatar" will never die. Ever. --Molly

3D 'Avatar' to Blu-ray in December; exclusive to Panasonic 3D TVs

Confirming the rumors, Panasonic has announced that the 3D version of the 'Avatar' Blu-ray disc will arrive in December as an exclusive available only to owners of the company's 3D TVs.

As first reported by TWICE:

At launch, running through an undisclosed period of time, the disc will only be available to consumers who purchase a Panasonic 3D Viera plasma TV. The promotional offer will likely take the form of a variety of bundles onto the purchase of Viera 3D TVs and related equipment, although exact details are still to be announced, the company said.

Currently available qualifying TVs … Read more

3D at home still a tough sell

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Even if "Piranha 3D" has a modestly successful box-office debut this weekend, it could in the long run do more damage to the hopes of 3D TV makers than good.

The more 3D movies available, the better is what the consumer electronics industry's strongest proponents of 3D would say. After all, the more opportunities to demonstrate the technology to people and sell the 3D Blu-ray copy later is in their interests. But a horror movie starring three-dimensional carnivorous fish, and similarly schlocky uses of the technology could be a setback.

The industry that's … Read more

Kinect's Dance Central: The Auto-Tune of dancing

I'll be the first to admit I've been less than excited about the 2010 crop of motion-controlled gaming hardware from Sony and Microsoft. Particularly in the case of the Kinect, the upcoming motion-control camera peripheral for the Xbox 360, interacting with a motorized camera presents ways of physically humiliating yourself that make the Nintendo Wii seem positively tame.

An invitation to try out Dance Central, the hopeful killer app from MTV Games and Harmonix for the Kinect's November launch, didn't encourage me. The previous session was finishing, and true to my expectation, members of the press were hopping up and down to club beats, looking ridiculous and somewhat uncoordinated. I am not a dancer, nor do I dream of being one, and I was expecting this to be a painful demo.

When we dance in front of a camera, it's like an invitation to be shy. Who's really up for this type of exhibition? I know the Kinect is watching me, and I certainly don't want to see myself onscreen. I also don't want to fail out at a dance game. Games like Dance Dance Revolution are unforgiving with misses, and you know it when you don't land on the right part of the mat.

I was surprised to discover two things: in a head-to-head dance-off, I came close to unseating the PR demonstrator who clearly had physical and experiential advantages over me. And, I actually had fun and felt encouraged. How did this happen?

I equate it to Auto-Tune for dance. … Read more

The 404 643: Where we stick an Android in our PSP (podcast )

We rarely invite guests to join us on the show, but anyone who listens to The 404 Podcast knows that we're suckers for sweet treats, especially the homemade kind hand-delivered by a cute girl!

Ruby Liza, a dedicated 404 listener and aspiring librarian, joins us on today's episode and brings us a box of lemon bars to munch on while we discuss the war between books and e-book readers, a Sony Ericsson PSP powered by Android 3.0, a study that shows women are attracted to men wearing red, and a French rapper who turns Facebook into a real-life music video.

Google released Android 2.0 less than a year ago, but rumors are already floating around about what the next version, code-named Gingerbread, will bring to the world of Google-powered devices. The folks over at Engadget report insider information about a new Sony Ericsson device that could redefine gaming on the mobile platform.

In fact, it claims a "trusted source" says the company is developing a brand new ecosystem and hardware that will run on Android 3.0, with a new section of the Android Market dedicated to its games. The black and silver phone is supersexy indeed, with a large WVGA display and a landscape sliding design in place of a keyboard. We'll come back to it when there's more to report.

A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows that women are more attracted to a man wearing the color red. Apparently the cherry color draws women because of its capability to make men appear more powerful and likely to succeed, and that ambition to climb the social ladder and become the "alpha male" triggers a biological reaction in women that makes them "act like animals."

To quantify the red effect, researchers interviewed hundreds of participants to determine trends, but we're wondering if women like red only because it's more distinguishable than the rest of the colors. Also, is it a bad sign that none of us even owns any all-red clothing?

Instead of showing you the awful French music video that Wilson dug up, we'd like to thank our buddy Todd for sending us pictures of his 404-powered motorcycle! His Honda CBR600RR is all decked out in 404 stickers to match his race number! Check out his bike cam video from last year, and be sure to click through the page break to see pics! Thanks again, Todd- ride safe!… Read more

James Cameron talks entertainment at D8

James Cameron made "Titanic," the highest-grossing film ever made.

Thirteen years later he did it again: "Avatar." And as much as "Avatar" stretched the boundaries of the box office, it has stretched the boundaries of cinema as well. The 3D film features a staggering 2,500-plus special-effects shots, set a new standard for movie-making technology, and may have ushered in a big-screen renaissance in the process.

Live blog Walt and Kara are bathed in blue! They look vaguely Avatar-like. And here comes Cameron, who lavishes praise on the red leather hot seats.

8:17 … Read more

Ford recruits 'virtual soldier' for ergonomic tests

Ford's newest employee has moved from the army to the assembly line. But since he's virtual, that type of job change shouldn't pose a problem.

Designed to test the safety of Ford's auto factories, Santos is a virtual avatar that can mimic and record all the physical strains and pains that plague us poor humans. By reaching, lifting, and stretching in his own virtual world, he can provide feedback on how those activities might affect an actual person.

Initially created for the U.S. Department of Defense to help find ways to relieve physical strain on soldiers, Santos is now working at Ford testing the ergonomics of assembly lines. His job is to perform the same physical tasks that a factory worker would perform when building a car to gauge their impact on the human body. The automaker's goal is to improve the quality and safety of its factories before assembly lines are even created.