mario

Sweet! Bakebot robot makes cookies

If there's one thing we know for sure, it's that humanity is only a few years away from the robot armageddon. The robots are improving too quickly and building each other too rapidly to stop. At least we can console ourselves by laughing at the robots of today. Like this bakebot. "A robot baking? How hilarious," you say. Well, get your chuckles in while you can, human. (It's actually pretty funny though.)

Personal favorite part of the video below? When Bakebot tosses the empty bowl on the floor. Just like a real chef! (We all do that, right?) Bakebot is well-known at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), where it was built by MIT graduate student Mario Bollini.

Bollini cooked up the bakebot using the PR2 research and development platform, developed by Willow Garage, to bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch.

"My task is to have the PR2 bake cookies all the way from locating the ingredients in front of it on the table to putting the cookie in the oven," Bollini said.

The bakebot (which is not the first robot chef we've seen) begins by examining the table using a laser scanner and camera to locate the cookie sheet and butter. It identifies all the other ingredients and supplies by color and size. The robot then follows a coded version of the recipe that takes it through mixing the ingredients, scraping the cookie dough onto the baking sheet, and patting it into a large cookie. … Read more

E3 2011: Will Nintendo 3DS' new games be enough?

LOS ANGELES--While Nintendo created a splash with the Wii U, its 3DS handheld remains in an awkward state of affairs after being upstaged by the PlayStation Vita debut the day before.

The 3DS has only been on store shelves in the U.S. since March, but the system faces an uphill challenge against a competitor in the Vita that has the same price and arguably more-robust technical specs, along with an impressive assortment of games.

Good games are what the 3DS particularly lacks a strong supply of, but Nintendo's press conference focused largely on firing off big-ticket franchise names … Read more

E3 2011: Hands-on with Wii U tablet and games

Earlier this morning Nintendo introduced the Wii U, the successor to the Wii. Think of the Wii U as a sort of DS and Wii hybrid, combining touch and motion controls, with an on-screen HD gaming experience.

We were lucky enough to get some hands-on time with a collection of Wii U game demos and time with the tablet controller; here are our impressions.

Platformer arcade games for iOS

Once game consoles hit their stride in the '80s and '90s, the platform game became enormously popular. Especially with the release of the now legendary Mario games, just about every developer rushed to produce a game that offered that perfect mix of running, jumping, and collecting items for points, all while exploring a strange and often fantastical world.

This week's collection of apps includes modern twists on the old-school platform games many of us remember. The first lets you explore deep mines for treasure; the second will bring back memories of precision-heavy, rage-inducing platform classics; and the last offers up cartoonlike graphics as you explore a dreamlike fantasy world.… Read more

Nintendo drops Wii to $149

Nintendo is dropping the price of its Wii game console to $149 and including a Mario game in the bundle, the company said early today.

Industry observers have been expecting the company to slash the price of the device--which has been $169 with a bundle. Their expectations grew further with last week's announcement that Nintendo will release a successor to the Wii next year.

Many observers thought Nintendo needed to do something to revitalize the console, which for years was unbeatable but in recent months has struggled to maintain its momentum. Sales have slowed, even as Microsoft and Sony … Read more

Mario in the App Store: It's-a-me, Monino!

Wishing Nintendo had its games available in Apple's App Store? Well, sometimes it does--even if they're buggy and, seemingly, completely without Nintendo's consent.

A game called Monino has suddenly appeared in the App Store. At 99 cents, it looks like it's pretty close to a clone of Mario, not-so-cleverly renamed. And, upon download, we discovered that even the Mario music had been ripped off, too (a badly recorded soundtrack that sounded like it was pulled directly from the old NES game).

Monino, as you can see, looks quite a bit like an Italian plumber of note. … Read more

The 404 773: Where old habits die hard (podcast)

We all have habits to overcome, and we all know that Wilson's weakness is text messaging and abusing social networks, but what about me and Jeff? On today's show, you'll learn how Jeff overcame his filthy nail-biting and why I almost went bald at age 8.

It's challenging to differentiate between a habit and an addiction, but it's safe to say that an addiction is a behavioral pattern that escalates in frequency and advertises a lack of control. Smoking is one of the most pervasive examples of addiction in our society, but according to our first story of the day, text messaging may be the key to cessation!

According to new research at the University of Oregon, it may be possible to inhibit an individual's response to cravings brought on by addiction through reminders delivered via media like text messages.

"Research participants were prompted by eight text messages per day for three weeks to document their ongoing cravings, mood, and cigarette use" during the quitting process, the university said, and these messages may have helped some people curb their desire to smoke. Now if we can only find a way to help Wilson with his Facebooking...

A new book called "Cancel Cable: How Internet Pirates Get Free Stuff" by Chris Fehily serves as an instruction manual… Read more

Comedian pranks with real-life Mario Kart game

Kids, do NOT try this at home! As a prank, French comedian Remi Gaillard decided to create something of a real-life version of the classic Nintendo video game Mario Kart.

Driving a go-kart at high speeds through the streets and stores of Paris, He was lucky no one was hurt (apart from the likely bruised egos of security guards that gave chase). This was not Gaillard's first time employing Mario Kart in one of his pranks--he mounted a similar stunt back in 2008.

This story originally appeared on CBSNews.com. … Read more

Study finds perks of gaming for girls--if parent joins

When researchers at Brigham Young University's School of Family Life decided to investigate the role parents play in gaming with their adolescent kids, they discovered a statistically significant gender divide.

For boys, gaming with a parent did not have much of an effect on positive behavior, aggression, family connection, and mental health. But for girls, gaming with a parent resulted in as much as a 20 percent variation on those outcomes--specifically, improving positive behavior, mental health, and family connections.

The team studied 287 families with adolescents ages 11 to 16; the boys played Call of Duty, Wii Sports, and … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1370: The Hamburglar stole your data (podcast)

On today's show, McDonald's has a data breach, although it's not as bad as the one from the Mesa County, CO, sheriff's office, which apparently keeps its lists of victims, suspects, and informants in a nice, big, unprotected plain-text database. So, that's a few informants running for safe houses, then. Also, the Comcast Death Star turns its rays on Roku, Apple TV, and the like; and the Nook Color goes from awesome to officially awesome. --Molly