(Credit:
Akihabara News)
The most interesting thing about Yamaha's new speakerphone isn't its VoIP technology, which Engadget notes is actually trailing the competition. Nor is it the 1.25-pound size, though that's certainly preferably to the spaceship-sized models that still dominate so many conferece rooms. And its USB connection? What doesn't have a USB connection these days?
No, what we like most about the PJP-25UR is its Transformer impersonation. In its compact form, the unit appears to be an innocuous triangular box, maybe a USB hub. But look! It has two arm-like microphones that swing out to reveal its true form.
The only problem is its price, which weighs in at more than $500. For that kind of money, they could have at least given it an Optimus Prime paint job.
(Credit:
SlashGear)
Now that the Transformers movie debut has long past, you might have expected some welcome relief from the torrent of product merchandizing that led up to the release. Not so fast, Sparky.
The "Optimus Prime Convoy" iPod stereo dock has only just begun to ship in Japan for the not-so-cheap price of $150, according to SlashGear. For that kind of money, though, we thought it only fair that the entire system transform; apparently only the truck cab becomes robotized. We're no Transformer experts (thank goodness), but that seems to be cheating a bit. Maybe it's an insurance issue.
Here's one way to transform a special occasion into something even more special. And, quite possibly, get a stomachache in the process.
(Credit:
French Confection Cakes)
Nashville's French Confection cake shop created this impressive Optimus Prime cake, using Rice Krispies treats, brownies, and cake to make the edible robot.
The Autobot-themed cake was special-ordered by Morgan Valentine for her husband's 30th birthday party. You're a lucky man, Mr. Valentine.
The bakery's repertoire is pretty impressive. Other nerd-worthy cakes (see below) include The Simpsons, a delicious six-pack of Coke, and Yoda.
(Credit:
French Confection Cakes)
(Credit:
French Confection Cakes)
(Credit:
French Confection Cakes)
[[Via Boing Boing.]]
In our steadfast effort to cover all things technologically urgent and culturally important, e.g. the Transformers movie, here is the latest development.
Click here for more Transformers photos
(Credit: Hasbro)On Monday, McSweeney's, the Web publishing arm of San Francisco author and famous eccentric Dave Eggers, published "A Letter to Optimus Prime from his Geico Auto Insurance Agent," penned by John Frank Weaver. It details the particulars of 27 claims made during the month of June and the parameters of coverage and "reasonable use" for a truck and trailer.
You have to read the original for the riotously strained legalese and in-depth accident reports, but here's the clincher:
"Geico has been unable to reimburse you for any repairs, but due to the high number of accidents you have been a party to this month, combined with the many accidents you have had in the preceding five months, your premium has increased to $235,567.50 per month. While that may seem like a lot, I remind you that it is a savings of $137 over Progressive and $98 over State Farm. Please have your check into our main office by the end of July."
(Credit:
Engadget)
As colleagues Will Greenwald and Neha Tiwari have noted, the new Transformers movie will mean big bucks in the toy and games market. But not everyone can get away with wearing an "Optimus Prime Voice Changer Helmet" to work, let alone past most conscious security guards.
So Haier is making it possible for so-called mature adults to show their allegience to bot culture with a laptop. Granted, it's basically a G70 notebook with a decal, as Engadget notes, though it does have a 17-inch screen, 2GB of memory and a 120GB hard drive. It also looks kind of bulky and is somewhat reminiscent of the refrigerators that made Haier famous.
The real Transformer paydirt, however, is yet to come. It's only a matter of time before the "Convoy iPod Docking Bay" is modded for the iPhone.
Bumblebee Transformer
(Credit: Hasbro)The new Transformers movie has inspired a surprising degree of lyricism and detailed cinematic analysis for what is, in most respects, a kids' movie about giant robots. Blogospheric commentators used the language of formal cinematic criticism or just let fly with off-the-chain gushing normally seen in 12-year-old boys. In particular, scroll down for the entry from a self-styled "film theologian" who offers his exegesis on parallels between the movie and the scriptural Book of Kings.
Everyone seems to agree that the CGI sets a new record in coolness, the action sequences are numerous and fast-moving, and the new incarnations of the '80s toys trend are, if not completely faithful to the original, a valiant and skillful reinterpretation.
Optimus Prime, the Autobots' leader (i.e. head good guy), apparently stood in for many a boy-child's father figure back in the day--a mighty, noble and nurturing leader with a gigantic, resonant baritone, reflecting tender guidance and rousing the troops to success in battle. In an hour or more of surveying the blogosphere, we found unanimous support for the decision to cast Peter Cullen, who voiced Prime in the early television series.
Check out some of CNET's other Transformers coverage: a photo gallery of related GM vehicles and Hasbro toys, and remarks on exactly how rockin' the toys are.
Ladies and gentlemen, the bloggers:
"Visually, it practically melts your eyeballs. The computer graphics were astonishing, with nearly photo-realistic Autobots and Decepticons that seamlessly integrated with the actors and backgrounds. ... Industrial Light and Magic, who handled the Transformer graphics and whose processing and data storage capabilities were reportedly taken to their limits by the task, certainly earned their paycheck.
Later on in the film, the giant robot-on-robot battles are awe-inspiring- or rather, they would have been, if the camera had been pulled back about 20 feet and kept still for all of 2 seconds. It's almost a shame, as all that hard work was spent on rendering these amazing robots and the director almost seemed to be going out of his way to make them impossible to see in action."
--Long Island Exchange
"When it comes to the eye-absorbing detail, the digital camerawork was too fast. ...With so much detail for the eye to absorb, the camera should slow down a bit. Things happen so fast that the eye can't perceive it, so the brain can't absorb it. This causes the effect of, "Damn, that looked cool, but what the (expletive deleted) just happened?" Two Transformers fighting just becomes a blur..."
--WaldoLand
"I remembered the story in 2 Kings 6, where a servant to the prophet Elisha wakes up to find their city surrounded by a powerful army. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answers. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." In this case, God opens the eyes of the servant who saw "the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." This look at the real world undoubtedly changed his life and perspective, the realization that the real conflict, unveiled, was far more wondrous and mysterious than he suspected.
To be frank, a hog-nosed Semi truck with painted flames is FAR less wondrous than a heavenly army, even if it DOES transform into a giant robot with a voice like Abraham Lincoln meets John Wayne. Still, I think the idea of these "robots in disguise" intrigues us because it's a little flicker of our metanarrative, in disguise."
--Cinemagogue (Pastor James Harleman)
It's a big day for our favorite fictional robot friends--opening day for the
Now, my older brother had a pretty rad collection of Transformers playthings, but some of the new generation of toys are pretty drool-worthy as well.
Here are my top five picks for Transformers toys. They're just as awesome as the 1986 movie version's soundtrack (Thank you, Stan Bush.):
• Transformers movie helmet: Now I don't know if you're into role playing, but if Transformers are your fantasy, you're in luck. This helmet not only shields your head from the elements while looking cool, but it also comes with a voice changer. Basically, you can sound just like Optimus Prime uttering, "Dinobots, destroy Devastator!"
(Credit:
Hasbro)
• Cyber Stompin' Optimus Prime: An obvious choice. He's the leader of the pack, and undeniably the sexiest and most powerful Transformer out there. Plus, he died in the last movie with the lines, "Do not grieve. Soon I shall be one with the matrix." No, I am still not over that.
• Cyber Stompin' Robot Bumblebee: Another Cyber Stompin' toy, Bumblebee comes with all the bells and whistles to match his flashy personality. Like the original '80s toys, there's plenty of fist-launching action, in addition to lit-up eyes and torso for the Autobot class clown. In this toy, little Bumblebee finally seems to stack up to the rest of his Autobot "big brothers."
• Transformers Vehicle Arm Blaster Starscream: Inflicting pain on others via foam is always fun. Enter the Transformers Arm Blaster. This handy transformer arm comes with four darts aimed at attacking the Decepticons of your life. Plus, it transforms into a cool jet.
• Optimash Prime: This spud is more than meets the eye. It starts off as a plain Mr. Potatohead, but can change into the leader Autobot, Optimus Prime. I will be picking one up on my way home tonight; he'll look good next to my Spidey Spud.
Compressor Vacuum Cleaner
(Credit: Pocket-lint)
Transformer
LG isn't fooling anyone. In developing its first vacuum cleaner, the electronics maker predictably touted all kinds of techie features, such as "a RotaBlade that is in the rocket shaped drum, which is attached to an additional motor moving side-to-side compacting household dust into solid cubes," according to Pocket-lint.
But we know the real strategy: It wanted the "Compressor Vacuum Cleaner" to look like a Transformer. And it's done a splendid job, by the way--at first glance, we were sure it was a new version of "Optimus Prime" or some other mechanical superhero. After all, we already know of robots that turn into vacuum cleaners and even do the dishes.
(Credit:
Pocket-lint)
We don't care how much our kids love Transformers: There's no way we'll ever let them have one of these. They'd sneak around the house with it and scare us into the coronary ward.
Hasbro's "Optimus Prime Voice Changer Helmet," according to Pocket-lint, "converts the most gentle of voices into the powerful, fearless tones of Optimus himself." The $30 toy, which is scheduled to come out in June, also can be set for "battle phrases" and "conversion sounds" as it transforms from truck to robot and vice-versa. As far as we're concerned, we'd just like to hear it go away.
- prev
- 1
- next
