Entertainment

The third-party Robo-One 12 coverage keeps rolling in. Robots Dreams has a video montage of this year's bipedal robot competition in Japan that showcases this year's special challenge: to have robots catch and throw a ball.

Results and throwing styles vary. From two-handed soccer throw-ins to one-armed frozen ropes, they're all here.

In keeping with the fun-lovin' 1980s theme inherent in video montages, the clip is accompanied by a Night Court theme song soundalike.

Christmas is coming, at least according to our local supermarket, which is selling Advent calendars. But we're not interested in such chocolate/door-related interfaces, oh no. Not when IWantOneOfThose.com is still trading bagatelles and fripperies with which to while away the hours--or seconds, depending on how easily amused you are by the likes of fighting granddads, cuddly polar bears and inflatable horses.

And so it was that the three wise men of Crave UK journeyed afar, following a star. But it was good old I Want One of Those bearing the gifts, as the IWOOT Christmas gift line-up … Read more

The SlingPlayer for Symbian S60 phones is out of beta and now available for sale. The software allows a selection of Nokia phones (the E65, N75, and N95 in the U.S., and the E65, N73, and 6120 elsewhere) to stream TV from the full range of Slingbox models. Previously, the Symbian software was only available pre-installed on models sold by British wireless provider 3. Furthermore, the new standalone software delivers full-screen playback and Wi-Fi streaming not available on that previous edition.

The Symbian software will be available on Sling Media's Web site soon. It will cost $30 in … Read more

Linksys is tossing its hat into the 2007 Media Center Extender ring with not one but two models. The DMA2100 is a small form factor MCE, while the larger DMA2200 offers a built-in upconverting DVD player. Both models attach to a standard or high-def TV to stream a variety of digital media--live and recorded TV, video files, music, and photos--from networked Media Center PCs located elsewhere in the home. Like the rival D-Link DSM-750, the Linksys models offer dual-band 802.11n wireless connectivity (for optimal streaming of HD video) and HDMI outputs. Interestingly, the DMA2200 has the same overall look … Read more

Networking companies are beginning to deliver the new Vista-friendly Media Center Extenders that Microsoft outlined earlier this month. D-Link's entry in the race is the DSM-750. Like competing models, the DSM-750 attaches to a TV (standard or high-def) and streams live and recorded TV, video, music, and photos from networked Media Center PCs located elsewhere in the home. An update of the older DSM-520, the 2007 model adds dual-band 802.11n wireless (which has the speed and bandwidth for optimal streaming of HD video) as well as compatibility with the popular DivX and XviD video file formats. Unlike similarly … Read more

Surely the most eagerly anticipated game of the year hit the U.K. last night, with a massive celebrity-studded launch event at London's IMAX cinema for Halo 3.

Rapper Pharell Williams, of The Neptunes and N*E*R*D fame, was on hand to show off his fragging skills--or lack of them, as it turned out--on the vast IMAX screen.

Showcasing the game's online multiplayer capabilities, Williams took on other celebrities and competition winners from around Europe. Click here for more of the night's escapades.

(Source: Crave UK)

If you've been following Robo-One 12 vicariously on the Internet, welcome to the motherlode.

Robot Watch recently posted a smorgasbord of videos showcasing the best demos and battles from the recent bipedal robot competition in Japan, and they're all available right here, about a third of the way down the page.

If you don't want to do all that clicking and deciphering, here are some of the best clips of the lot. Mind you, I can't read Japanese, so I've offered my own personal interpretations of what the hell is going on in each video, … Read more

Dish TV satellite company Echostar is buying Sling Media, makers of the innovative Slingbox, for $380m in a classic corporate behemoth acquires startup story. Will Sling be able to maintain its quirky, innovative persona?

The Slingbox is one of those devices that is rather difficult to explain what it does and how it does it to someone unfamiliar with the concept. It's a convergent device - a tight integration of hardware and software - which has been very well executed right from the get-go. Like TiVo before it, it immediately nailed the user experience for a brand new product … Read more

On Tuesday night at an event space across the street from the Jacob Javits Convention Center, DigitalLife convention parent company Ziff Davis Media held its press kickoff event, but it might as well have been a Guitar Hero III party.

Members of the media could obtain their semi-coveted credentials; New York City technology commissioner Paul Cosgrave gave a brief talk officially designating September 24 to 30 as "Digital Technology Week"; and a set of "Hot Five" featured products--Trend Micro's Internet Security Pro, electronic music company M-Audio, the HD DVD Alliance, the Ford Sync voice-activated … Read more