dog

Free student organizer

Organizer binders and laptop PCs take up about the same amount of space in your backpack, but that's about as far as the similarities go. Laptops kick ring binders back to chalk-and-blackboard days, where they belong, and they can stay there, too, thanks to usefully cool freeware like IslandSW's StudentDOG, the school organizer designed "by students for students." It's got everything students need to stay organized, on time, and productive both in and out of school.

StudentDOG unifies all its functions in one tabbed interface. It packs a lot in each view, but it never … Read more

Fun air combat, but suffers from online issues

MetalStorm: Online is a free--and impressively executed--multiplayer flight sim, but with a potentially frustrating in-game economy and erratically balanced matchmaking.

The interface and basic gameplay of MetalStorm are a joy: with smart use of your accelerometer and a few thumb controls on your "HUD" (arrows for brake and afterburner, buttons for guns and missiles), MetalStorm immerses you effectively in a jet cockpit for a tense dogfight experience, with cinematic music and great-looking terrain to complete the effect. You fly a modern jet equipped with an upgradeable cannon and missiles, and you can duke it out with increasing numbers … Read more

The 404 853: Where our bellies were sluggish with goat meat (podcast)

Happy belated Fourth! We're back from celebrating on Independence by blowing up a piece of it, and we spend the first half of today's episode recounting all the bbq we ate yesterday. We're also bringing you results of the annual Nathan's hog dog eating contest and breaking news about one of our favorite shows on Comedy Central--and of course we wouldn't let a Monday go by without Tanging that Tune!

The 404 Digest for Episode 853

Joey Chestnut wins 5th straight Nathan's hot dog eating competition. Jellyfish fireworks over the Hudson river in NYC.

Episode 853 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

PETA launches app in response to 'Dog Wars'

Animal rights group PETA has unveiled its own iPhone app as a way to counteract what it sees as the animal cruelty expressed in an Android app that pits dogs against each other.

Originally dubbed "Dog Wars," the app, made by Kage Games and found on the Android Market, touted itself as a way to train virtual pit bulls to fight other dogs and pick up "street cred" along the way. But the game quickly upset members of People for the Ethnical Treatment of Animals and other animal rights groups who called for it to be removed from the app store.

After temporarily being taken down from the Android Market, the $2.99 app quickly resurfaced with the new name of KG Dogfighting but the same theme, proclaiming that "the controversial dogfighting Android "DogWars - Beta" app by Kage Games LLC has been renamed and uploaded here to the market as a paid app!"

Also boasting that the "app will never appear in the iPhone app store"--a reference to Apple's more stringent guidelines--Kage says that the goal is to feed, water, train, and fight your virtual dog against other players.… Read more

A Facebook page for Mark Zuckerberg's Beast

I have never been able to understand why people create Facebook pages for their babies and the baby substitutes often referred to as pets.

However, the practice has been given a deep legitimacy by the news--yes, I said news, so pay attention here--that Mark Zuckerberg's sweet and innocent little puppy now has his own Facebook page.

His owner offers on his own Facebook page that his interests are: "Openness, making things that help people connect and share what's important to them, revolutions, information flow, minimalism."

Beast, on the other hand, (oh, didn't I mention that … Read more

Military commissions cheetah, humanoid robots

Don't believe in Skynet? Well, the U.S. military has reportedly commissioned the production of bipedal soldiers and quadruped robots that can outrun human beings.

Boston Dynamics, known for its BigDog canine bot, is working to develop a humanoid robot called Atlas and an animal-like running robot called Cheetah. The robo-cat is due to arrive in 20 months.

The company's efforts are part of multimillion-dollar contracts with DARPA over a four-year period, according to a Boston Herald report.

Initially, Cheetah is supposed to achieve speeds of up to 30 mph. Presumably it will be a lot stealthier than the noisy BigDog, seen in the vid below. No word yet on whether it will fold into a cassette tape like the old-school Decepticon Ravage of Transformers fame.

"There's no fundamental reason why it can't go as fast as the animals (60 to 70 mph), but it will take a while to get there," Boston Dynamics President Marc Raibert was quoted as saying in Boston Herald report. … Read more

Seatbelt buckles have gone to the dogs

Dog owners may like to show off their Ford or Chevy pride by giving their pets logo seatbelt-buckle collars and nylon strap leashes from Buckle-Down.

The Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Bowtie logo collars and leashes are made from recycled, or refurbished, sturdy nylon straps. In addition to Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Bowtie logos, Buckle-Down has a half-dozen other designs to choose from.

The collars have a welded D ring so the matching lead can easily be attached. The collar snaps tight with a miniature seatbelt buckle. The buckle locks securely and releases with the push of a button, making it … Read more

Toaster oven rolls into hot dog territory

Toaster ovens are fantastic machines that are capable of cooking practically anything. Like a magic box, food of all shapes and sizes gets put in to it, becoming fully cooked and ready to eat when removed. Recent years have seen toaster ovens advance into secondary oven territory, with new features and designs allowing for the countertop appliances to be used to cook everything from 12-inch pizzas to fried eggs. It is now entirely possible to bypass the large oven and create full homemade meals by using just the one appliance. Of course, when shopping for one it doesn't hurt … Read more

preGame 24: Metroid: Other M; Kane and Lynch 2

Today on preGame, we'll take a look at Metroid: Other M, and Kane and Lynch 2.

It's been a while since we've featured a Wii title on preGame, but the latest installment in the Metroid franchise is a totally new take on the series and something we're excited to preview. Metroid: Other M combines 2D, 3D, third-, and first-person action in a way we haven't yet seen on the Wii.

Next we'll roam the gritty streets of Shanghai in Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days. A complete departure from the original, Dog Days also … Read more