Thirty-five years ago, Hello Kitty dropped an atomic cute bomb on the world and the universe was forever changed.
Developed in 1974, the iconic kawaii cat debuted with Japanese character licensing firm Sanrio in 1975 on a small change purse that sold for 240 yen (around 80 cents at the time). Sanrio has since built a vast global empire on Kitty's popularity, and related licensing deals now account for a huge chunk (some say about half) of Sanrio's $5 billion in annual sales.
Over the past three and a half decades, Kitty's mouth-missing face has graced thousands upon thousands of products, from wallets, trash cans, alarm clocks, stationary, and airplanes to cell phones, cell phone chargers, Netbooks, massively multiplayer online role-playing games, USB lap warmers, karaoke systems, and even assault rifles--yes assault rifles.
Kitty's 35th birthday year has proven to be yet another opportunity for a merchandising bonanza, and fortunately (or tragically, depending on your perspective), the global fat cat shows absolutely no sign of slowing down or loosening her claw-like grip on the consumer electronics industry. So to fete the feline on her special occasion, we breathed a sigh of resignation and rounded up some of the scariest cutest Hello Kitty gadgets from the past year (see our gallery above).
Didn't we hear the retirement age for fictional Japanese cats is 36?
Thanks, Josh!
(Credit: Joshua Chu)Who cares about Apple's little iPod refresh yesterday--it's Rana Sobhany's birthday!! We were already excited to have Rana on the show today, but we had no idea that she'd be bringing treats. Turns out that Ms. Sobhany has been indulging her foodie side recently and baked us CUPCAKES to celebrate! Since we always strive to be perfect gentlemen on the show, we don't pry too much into how many birthdays she's celebrated so far, so I think it's safe to assume that Rana has spent a cool 19 years on this Earth.
We all get a little nervous when Rana quiets us down for some real talk, and lo and behold, she calls me out big time on my Valentine's Day fumble. Be sure to watch the video show to see how I make it up to her on the air.
Click the thumbnail for a larger picture.
(Credit: Wilson G. Tang)On the second half of the show, Rana shows us a really cool iPhone app called Sonifi. Created by electro artist BT, the sensory application lets users physically manipulate the artist's work, essentially performing a live remix! Rana demos the app for us and soon the studio transforms into a big birthday rave.
Also, a big thanks goes out to Joshua Chu for Photoshopping us into a scene from "Futurama!" We can't believe you don't do this for a living, Josh. I think our favorite little Easter egg is the Apple logo on Wilson's case. Great work, dude!
Leave us a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET or e-mail the404(at)cnet(dot)com and let us know what you think of the show! Also, be sure to wish Rana a very happy birthday!
EPISODE 422
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Friday marks the 153rd birthday of one of the greatest geeks and most amazing minds of all time: Nikola Tesla. This genius is almost certainly why you have electricity in your house. What's more, most of the gear you own is powered by parts that use his ideas. We owe this man the modern age.
So what better way to celebrate his birthday--and thank the man--than to share a video of two Tesla coils playing the Super Mario Bros. theme song?
We couldn't think of one either. It's not the newest or most impressive Tesla coil demonstration on YouTube, but it's probably the most fun.
The iTunes App Store is 1 year old this week, and Apple is celebrating by promoting some of its favorite apps and games. The company's promotion isn't modest:
Light a candle and cue the music. OK, forgive us for sounding like doting parents, but we're just so proud--having watched the App Store go from promising newcomer to full-fledged revolutionary. To celebrate its first birthday, we've gathered some of our favorite games and apps. Part fun. Part function. Entirely amazing.
Apple has plenty to brag about. In one year, the App Store's virtual shelves have stocked more than 50,000 apps, hosted more than 1 billion app downloads, and changed the way cell phone owners use their handsets. But the store has generated plenty of controversy, too. Developers have had their apps rejected for obscure reasons and for no discernible reason whatsoever. And plenty of developers have complained loudly about what they say is mistreatment by Apple.
We'd like to know your experiences. Are you an iPhone developer with iTunes App Store experiences good or bad? Can you share your take on the iPhone app approval process or iPhone OS SDK limitations? Got comments you'd like to make about your experience with the iTunes App Store during its first year of operation? Please send an e-mail to iphoneatlas@cnet.com or leave a message in the TalkBack section below.
(Credit:
Apple)
It seems the older you get, the more lackluster the birthday celebrations become. And, while there's no need for birthday hats and balloons to fete the event, it seems that at the very least an indulgent cake is in order. The folks over at Gifts & More, however, would argue a musical cake server that plays the Happy Birthday song is in order too.
Musical Cake Server
(Credit: Gifts & More)Made to mimic antique milk glass, this mint-colored plastic is attractive enough to pull out whenever cake slicing is called for. (So long as you don't mind it playing Happy Birthday on your wedding anniversary.)
Though it may seem that there is only enough room in the world for one of these, it turns out one of the competing models plays multiple songs. But, it's out of stock , so we can't report back on it. (And it's unclear if it's out of stock due to its overwhelming popularity or its lack thereof.) Either way you slice it, these are more utilitarian that a plain old musical card and they'll definitely get people talking (or singing).
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