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December 1, 2009 1:20 PM PST

Gimmicks are the new megapixels

by Rich Trenholm
  • 2 comments
Camera gimmicks (Credit: Crave UK)

In the year Olympus declared an end to the megapixel race, we've seen all kinds of exciting, innovative, and occasionally insane new digital cameras.

This new generation of cameras no longer relies on the myth of megapixels to seduce you: you're tech-savvy enough to know that more megapixels don't necessarily mean better pictures. These days manufacturers have to think outside the box to differentiate their products. Way, way outside the box.

From interchangeable lenses to built-in projectors, GPS, and Wi-Fi; from touch screens to extra screens to 3D pictures and transformed sensors, we run down the cameras with unique selling points, and decide if they're a stroke of genius or a hopeless gimmick.

Read more of "Gimmicks are the new megapixels: The new generation of unusual digital cameras" at Crave UK.

November 24, 2009 12:20 PM PST

Gadgets you'll need to survive a zombie attack

by Ian Morris
  • 2 comments
Palm Pre and zombie

How will the Palm Pre help you in a zombie apocalypse? Click on the above image to find out.

(Credit: Crave UK)

Let's face it: we are, at best, a couple of years from the undead rising from their graves and running amok. It might not be years away, it could be mere weeks--and what would you do then? If you want to avoid having your tasty, tasty brains nommed out by a rotting corpse reanimated by some ghastly science experiment, you'd better listen up.

We've assembled a list of the very finest and most suitable technology to defend yourself--and your delicious, tender gray matter--from being consumed.

Read more of "How to survive a zombie attack using consumer electronics" at Crave UK.

November 23, 2009 1:15 PM PST

Technology that's totally impossible

by Ian Morris
  • 5 comments
ADSL graphic

What makes ADSL so improbable is it's transmitting a huge amount of data over some very ancient copper. That's right, copper, the stuff that isn't anywhere near as interesting or valuable as gold.

(Credit: Crave UK)

Many things keep us awake at night. Simon Cowell's hair is one. The implausible success of anyone who appears in "Big Brother" is another. But the thing that really keeps us staring into the darkness is technology. How the hell does it work? Simple gadgets like TVs and mice leave us unperturbed. But there are some things that are just beyond reasoning.

Science fiction writer and all-round genius Arthur C. Clarke once said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." On this one issue, we think he might have been wrong--because it's quite obvious to us that some technology is magic. Or if not magic, at least utterly impossible and somehow a massive confidence trick.

We've ranked the most impossible technologies on the planet in order of their level of impossibility. If you've got all six things on this list, and haven't yet had breakfast, then as Douglas Adams said, you should consider dinner at Milliways, the restaurant at the end of the universe.

Read more of "Technology that's totally impossible" at Crave UK.

November 19, 2009 4:41 PM PST

The future is now: Sci-fi films in real locations

by Rich Trenholm
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Girl from Monday

The dream-like photography in the 2005 film "The Girl from Monday" is anchored in real-world locations in Manhattan and Jersey City.

The modern science-fiction film is synonymous with CGI wizardry, clever gadgets, and elaborate sets. While those are some of our favorite things, it's all too easy to lose sight of the human story among the whooshing, 'sploding, and transforming.

One way to focus on the people is to place them in an all-too-familiar future that looks a lot like now. There's a fascinating strand of sci-fi cinema that does just that, with auteurs such as Traffaut, Godard, and Kubrick creating the future by filming in real locations.

Science fiction has a slippery definition, but for this article Robert Heinlein's definition is spot on: "realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present." Architecture provides suitably futuristic locations for many sci-fi films: the famous Bradbury Building at 304 South Broadway, Los Angeles, is an atmospheric location for Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner," while the dramatic Dallas City Hall, at 1500 Marilla, acted as the headquarters of evil corporation OCP in RoboCop.

Some films use such locations more extensively, both to evoke an unfamiliar future and to connect the themes of the film with the world we live in. The effect is often disconcerting and lends itself to the dystopic. We've highlighted the films that deliberately make as much use of existing buildings as possible.

Read more of The future is now: Sci-fi films in real locations at Crave UK.

November 18, 2009 3:07 PM PST

Sleeper successes: Tech that's taken its time

by Mark Harris
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You laughed at the Segway back in 2001, and you're probably still laughing now. But unless we're very much mistaken, Dean Kamen's ludicrously overpriced and over-engineered stand-up scooter is about to spawn a wave of new-school electric personal-transport devices. Read on for more technology that triumphed in the end.

(Credit: Crave UK)

For every overnight digital success such as Twitter, there's a technology that came up the hard way, clawing every point of market share from bitter rivals and struggling to win over a disinterested public. But quality triumphs in the end. Here are 10 sleeper technologies whose day came at last.

Read more of Sleeper successes: Tech that's taken its time at Crave UK.

November 17, 2009 11:45 AM PST

The eight most brainless tech rumors ever

by Nate Lanxon
  • 5 comments

At the turn of the 20th century, Royal Society physicist Lord Kelvin made the remarkable statement that he believed the discovery of X-rays to be "a hoax." Coming from any Joe Schmo in the street this could be dismissed as drunken babble. But Lord Kelvin had a respectable track record of saying some pretty clever stuff.

(Credit: Crave UK)

To work at CNET UK, you have to take the managing director out on a date and make her laugh. The rule is simple: if she don't laugh, you ain't staff.

There. That was a rumor we just started. See how easy it is? The great thing about rumors is they only need the tiniest speck of something that sounds like truth to be credible, and if they're proven wrong--hey, there'll be another one along in a minute.

We've picked eight stinkers from tech history that teased and twisted the minutest grains of plausibility into epic tales of technological wonder and horror. We begin with a story that proves that there are limits to the pestering power of children.

Read more of "The eight most brainless tech rumors ever" at Crave UK. And if you think of any rumors that didn't make the cut, be sure to let us know in the comments section.

November 11, 2009 11:45 AM PST

The 20 most extreme case mods of all time

by Rory Reid
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This "Eleven Commandments" bible mod came as something of a surprise--we always assumed God was an iMac user, given that he's such a creative chap. Click on the photo for more extreme case mods.

(Credit: Freezefreeks.de)

Before laptops, World War II, and dinosaurs, desktop PCs ruled the Earth. And they were dull. And they were beige. And nobody liked them.

Unsurprisingly, many users attempted to modify their desktop PCs in increasingly extreme ways. Some added stickers, others added flashing lights, while some--jobless students, mostly--pimped their rigs until they were utterly unrecognizable as PCs.

Today, we pay homage to those men and women of the modding scene by presenting to you the 20 most pimped-out case transmogrifications ever conceived. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will wonder why some of these people even bothered.

Above all, however, you will be thankful you bought a laptop.

Read more of "The 20 most extreme case mods of all time" at Crave UK.

September 2, 2009 4:34 PM PDT

LG Watch Phone GD910 hands-on photos, video

by Jason Jenkins
  • 16 comments

It was the big story of CES 2009, but only now has LG put the finishing touches to its first watch phone and put it on sale, if you know where to look. You can only buy the LG GD910 through one Orange shop in the U.K.--in Bond Street, London--at the moment, on pay as you go tariff 500 British pounds, although there will be a limited number available online later this month (register your interest here).

We had the chance to try one out briefly earlier Wednesday, and what struck us was that it's actually a pretty basic device. We're so used to seeing phones packed with features, apps, and a hundred ways to access your Twitter feed on the toilet, this felt like a letdown.

LG is making a big deal of the fact this isn't just a phone, it's a 3G phone, and a superfast HSDPA one at that. But before you get carried away thinking that you'll be able to access the Internet, check your e-mails and so forth, be warned--the 3G is just for video calls. (Does anyone know anyone who actually makes these?) To be fair, there's no way you would want something like a browser on this thing, as the screen is just 36 millimeters (1.4 inches), but it still seemed weird to us.

There are just three buttons on the whole of the device, at the edge, which you use for bringing up contextual menus and the like. You use the touch screen for everything else.

Calling people, video or otherwise, is easy enough. If they're in your phone book already, you simply select their name. If not, typing numbers on the touch screen is much more straightforward than you might think--the soft keys on the touch screen have enough space between them so you can type speedily without errors.

Video and voice calls are all piped through the internal speaker, turning the watch into a normal speakerphone. You might feel rather foolish and cause much irritation around you, but you don't have to bring the watch up to your mouth to be heard, unless you're trying out your best Dick Tracy impression.

You'll feel even more of a fool if you use the Bluetooth headset LG provides, though--ignoring the fact that everyone using headsets should be made to sign a register for the good of society, it has a really long microphone arm, straight from the early naughties. Then again, with the headset, people around you won't be able to hear the other end of your conversation, so it's not all bad.

... Read more
August 20, 2009 3:21 PM PDT

LG GD910 watch phone in U.K.: Cheaper, still ludicrously expensive

by Nate Lanxon
  • 4 comments
(Credit: Crave UK)

That LG Watch Phone--which has our mobile reviewer Flora in hot flushes--goes on sale in a week in the U.K. (it's not for sale yet in the U.S.). The GD910 is on Orange, and we can confirm it will only be available on a pay-as-you-go basis, for a whopping 500 pounds (about $825). That might be eye-watering, but it's half as much as we were expecting.

You'll need to haul ass to the Orange shop in London's Bond Street Station starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, August 27, if you want one. Orange believes so many people will want to drop 500 squids on the gadget that it's limiting sales to one per customer.

But fear not, rich gadget posers. If you can't get to London, you'll be able to buy online from the Orange Web site starting in mid-September. Though once again there's a limited number available--Orange is being sensibly cautious over the unavoidable fact that it's fundamentally an enormous watch costing half a grand.

Check out our previous coverage for more info on the watch itself, and don't miss our hands-on video after the jump.

... Read more
August 7, 2008 5:00 AM PDT

Fuel gadget checks gas type, reading skills

by Holly Jackson
  • 1 comment

According to a U.K. report, some 150,000 motorists a year disregard color coding and signage to pump their vehicles full of the wrong type of gas. The result is expensive repairs and probably a Homer Simpson-like "doh!"--or worse. Thus, the aptly named Fuel Checker was born.

Fuel Checker

The Fuel Checker determines if drivers have chosen the correct gas nozzle.

(Credit: Fuel Checkers)

The European gadget made its appearance at the London 2008 Motor Show last week. According to the company, it can be permanently affixed to the inside of a car's fuel door or it can be held in hand. The device comes in petrol (regular gasoline) and diesel, and the hope is that consumers can at least get that purchase correct.

After drivers pull up to the pump, they can be assured that they chose the right nozzle by pressing it against the sensors of the Fuel Checker. Flashing red lights show they've chosen the wrong nozzle, while green means go. Although it's unclear from the product site how the device registers the type of gasoline, it has been deemed safe to use around flammable vapors.

Currently, the gadget is only available for European fuel nozzles but it could make its way to the U.S, retailing for the equivalent of $40. However, it begs the question: if you aren't reading the signs on the gas pump, are you reading the signs on the road?

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