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Steampunk show imagines Jules Verne gadgets

French author Jules Verne pioneered science fiction in the Victorian age with mind-bending ideas and inventions, but what if he were around in the age of cell phones and PCs?

An ongoing exhibition running through the end of May imagines the world of "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" with steampunk tech.

Nemo's Steampunk Art & Invention Gallery, named after the novel's Captain Nemo, brings together some 40 works and 29 artists from North America, Australia, and Croatia at Patriot Place's North Lifestyle Center in Foxboro, Mass.

Organizers including Bruce Rosenbaum, whose steampunk computer desk blew our minds last year, have imagined an "alternate reality where the Victorian period happened at the same time as the computer or information age."

The show is part of the Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Interactive Entertainment Experience, which brings to life Nemo's famous Nautilus submarine.

The steampunk exhibition runs through the end of May and includes punked-out bicycles, guitars, and cell phones. Check out the photos in our gallery. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1403: Dell's Papier Mache Tablet (podcast)

We recap Dell's announcements and Rafe gets banned, even if this is first show back. Sprint's "industry first" is a dual screen phone, and also the first mobile device with screen-on-screen action. The Verizon iPhone is already jailbroken. Plus, we'll pay you in Smurfberries!

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The 404 753: Where Cookie Crisp killed our mojo (podcast)

We get nostalgic about kid cereals of yore in The 404 preshow this morning, and if you miss Cap'n Crunch OOPS! All Berries and Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats Cereal as much as we do, you can still buy both on Amazon.com. Don't blame us if you get a stomach ache from 17-year-old crunchberries.

Sprint's dual-touch-screen Kyocera Echo is the latest victim of the "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" cliche.

Bonnie Cha was at the special event in New York yesterday and raises concerns about the effects of the double screens on the phone's battery life, not to mention the lack of 4G support that will likely push this handset to the clearance bin by the end of this year.

The war of the smartphones will always be a heated topic of discussion on the show, but as the numbers of handsets grows, we're getting less excited about the hardware in lieu of the new apps that make them really stand out--things like Grindr, a new service that lets men and women turn their GPS-powered phones into mobile-dating tools.

The mobile service was initially rolled out to help gay men track their nearest potential dates (aka, gaydar) and has grown to support nearly 1.5 million members with apps for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android.

Once you sign onto Grindr and fill out your profile, the app shows a grid of pictures for potential daters in your area based using GPS technology that works up to a couple of hundred feet. If you see someone of interest, you can then send a photo or a message to start the conversation.

It's opened up a realm of possibilities that take the guesswork out of spotting gay men, but now its 33-year-old founder, Joel Simkhai, is attempting to port the service over for straight women as well.

The problem lies in the effort to incorporate features that appeal specifically to that demographic, since most straight women can walk into any bar and lock down a date. Wilson also brings up a good point about the safety and privacy issues behind an app that keeps track of your location.

Along the same vein, an article in New York Mag caught our attention and hits so close to home that we have to address it in the second half of the show. It examines the negative psychological effects of Internet pornography on the male libido.

Based on interviews with men of all ages (including John Mayer, an expert on the subject), the author questions the possibility that Internet porn is causing men to detach from their partners and instead form mental bonds with the stars in these movies.

Obviously there's plenty to be said on this topic (anecdotally, not personally), so I'm sure we'll spend more time on it tomorrow. Read the article and let us know what you think!

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Google doodles 20,000 leagues under the sea

I fancy that the only fun place to work at Google these days is the Doodle Department.

And today the members of this elite crew have created an homage to Jules Verne, whose 183rd birthday it would have been today, had he not, well, died in 1905.

Today's doodle has its own delightful Verneacular. You can toggle a little joystick thingy up and down, as you sink toward 20,000 leagues under the sea or rise from it.

Verne actually became a bit of a miseryguts after his nephew, who may not have been all there and ended up … Read more

Jules Verne Google logo utilizes iOS accelerometer

If you've got an iOS device, head on over to Google's home page today and check out the Jules Verne-inspired logo.

Google has created an interactive logo that allows iOS users to control the view from a Jules Verne-esque submarine (the windows of which spell Google of course) by taking advantage of accelerometers found in iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

Back in December, Apple integrated gyroscopic support for Mobile Safari, allowing developers to take advantage of the new gyroscope in iPhone 4. At the time I previewed a demo from Occiptal's great … Read more

Is Twitter responsible for Germany's massive soccer loss?

Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, really wanted her national soccer team to win the 2008 European Football Championships, which concluded today in Vienna.

Expressing her obviously heartfelt enthusiasm for the German team (and not her need to get re-elected next year), she began to text them.

The texts were not merely expressions of positive fortune and celestial speed.

According to her favorite player, the suspiciously and excessively blond Bastian Schweisteiger, she weighed in with tactical suggestions.

Which, if the evidence of the games is anything to go by, must have gone along the lines of "Kick that Portuguese pillock … Read more

The 404 129: Where Natali is dressed like a school marm

Back by insanely popular demand, Natali Del Conte guest stars on today's pretty heartfelt show. Well, we start it off pretty naughty with a couple of stories about highly offensive T-shirt graphics and Mini-Me's "secret" videotape, but then Jeff's buddy Zach calls in with a heartbreaking story and we dish out advice on how to sustain a long-term relationship. E-mail or call and tell us your opinion! EPISODE 129 Download today's podcast

Dior phone will come with a 'Mini-Me'

The rumored Christian Dior phone we mentioned the other day is apparently a reality, and there's no surprise that it's being created by ModeLabs. Not only is the boutique handset manufacturer based in Paris, but it also has become something of the phone maker to the stars, having contracted with the likes of Hummer, Tag Heuer, and Levi's to develop their own branded blowers.

Information on specs for the "My Dior" remain elusive, as does the timing of its release, except that it has "all the regular features of a cellphone--a touch screen, a … Read more

Hot deal: Amazing floating house for $4 mil to $5 mil

With housing prices what they are in the San Francisco Bay Area, many of our readers may be looking for other options. Don't move out of town--stay in the bay...literally...in this awesome floating house.

Underwater Vehicles, maker of commercial subs, portable decompression chambers, and the like, has a series of beautiful, highly impractical, semi-submarine dwellings by Italian naval architect Giancarlo Zema. They all feature space-age design and submerged underwater viewing platforms. The Trilobis floating home, in particular, is also geared for greenness, with hydrogen fuels, solar panels, and photovoltaic windows to keep down fuel costs. Your new … Read more

Office interior is an homage to Verne's Captain Nemo

If you've caught the nautical bug but aren't sure you want to live in a pineapple under the sea, consider this. Pirate-friendly game development company Three Rings Design has pimped out its office so that it resembles the interior of the high-seas-steampunk Nautilus submarine from Jules Verne's classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The interior is a mishmash of old maps, eye-catching colors, (fake) wheels and cogs, and Victorian-era styling that's sure to enamor just about anyone who ever thought that Star Trek-inspired interiors just weren't elegant enough. This masterpiece of a makeover was … Read more