Each player wears one robotic eyeball on his or her arm. Got the feeling you're being watched?
(Credit: YouTube screenshot/CNET)Miruko is a camera robot in the shape of an eyeball capable of tracking objects and faces. According to its creators, it can be used for augmented-reality games. According to me, it sucks people's souls.
In this particular game captured in the video, Miruko--which has a wireless CMOS camera embedded in its iris--scans the real world for virtual monsters (ooook), fixing its aim when it finds one. Then the player can capture the monster using the iPhone camera, which is connected via Wi-Fi to the wearable robot.
We're still trying to track down more information on Miruko's maker, and on when we might start seeing this eyeball watching our every move.
This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.
The Eyeball sounds great, but it looks more like a loose leaf tea strainer than a Webcam.
(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)Webcams aren't the first product to spring to mind when you think of Blue Microphones. The company has a solid reputation in the pro audio world for making high-end boutique microphones, but they've been slowly dipping their toes into the waters of consumer audio products, such as the Snowball USB podcast mic, and its baby brother, the Snowflake.
Now we have the Eyeball, a $99 Webcam that borrows on the design of the Snowflake, but leaves behind the intolerably cute product name. We compared the Eyeball with the Logitech Pro 9000 and the MacBook's built-in iSight camera and microphone.
To see and hear the results, check out our full review of the Blue Microphones Eyeball webcam over at CNET Reviews.
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We're watching you...
(Credit: Scandyna)We've seen many eyeball-shaped speakers lately, and Scandyna's curvy offerings are no exception to the trend. Now, however, the company is trying to appeal to us chic techies by painting their product pink.
Exciting? I think not. It seems every tech product comes in a pink version nowadays, like the Microsoft Zune, or the Nintendo DS.
If you love a pale, washed-out pink, and you have $300 to fork over, Scandyna is selling the Pink Dock Pack, a pack of two Micropod SE speakers, along with an iPod dock, at retailers including Saks Fifth Avenue. The iPod dock accommodates several iPod models, and both iPhones.
When it comes to color, I prefer a bolder statement, like the previous Micropod speakers that come in a variety of retro colors, or black for the more modest types.
I'm not a big fan of surveys, so I don't quote them often. But a recent Consumer Reports survey about PC manufacturers listed Apple as No. 1 in tech support, with Lenovo second, Dell third, and HP dead last. I should also say that Dell came in second in desktops.
I thought the headline should be "Survey says leading PC maker HP dead last in tech support." But that's not what happened. The media hailed Apple, trashed Dell, and gave HP a pass.
Horror stories about Dell's support are all over the blogosphere. Why is that? I mean, why does the media give Dell such a hard time?
Because perception is reality. But aside from being a pithy statement, what does that really mean? ... Read more
(Credit:
Epson)
Of all the products we've seen, nothing could prepare us for the latest 3LCD Epson PowerLite 400W projector and its hilarious gigantic eye. But appearances aside, this one-of-a-kind megazoom lens delivers an amazing ultra-short throw performance: a mighty 60-inch projection at just over 2 feet, perfect for small meeting rooms and classrooms. To deliver pixel-to-pixel perfect visuals with the new crop of laptops, this 8-pound projector has matching wide-aspect resolution of 1,280 x 800 for sharper text and smooth graphics. When coupled with its competent 1,800 ANSI lumens brightness, this ensures hassle-free presentations even amid mild ambient lighting. Onboard network connectivity and a powerful 10-watt speaker further add to its appeal.
(Source: Crave Asia)
(Credit:
Envision Monitors)
The invasion of eyeball-shaped alien gadgets continues unabated. And the Webcam variety, in particular, is getting more brazen all the time.
They no longer bother with thinly veiled disguises; now they're coming out of their unholy closets in full ocular glory, as evidenced by Envision's "V-Cam." This orbital creature looks exactly like a giant eye staring you down with nary a blink as it transmits 1.3-megapixel video and 4-megapixel still shots with a five-glass lens and automatic face detection.
Although its specs aren't extraordinary, SlipperyBrick says its $50 price tag is reasonable if it performs as promised. We think it's just a way to get into as many households as possible to make their infiltration that much easier.
(Credit:
Cabasse)
We should have known this was coming. It's been months since we last heard from Cabasse, the French loudspeaker specialist--or, at least, that's what they claim to be. In reality, we suspect it's a front for a growing population of aliens that have taken the form of eyeballs.
The latest pair of ostensible speakers, the 5.1 "Eole" system, features five "spherical satellites" (translation: UFOs) with a 250-watt amplifier and 8-inch woofer. It's based on the design of Cabasse's $150,000 "La Sphere," including its orb-like shape, Gizmag says.
In trying to win over the masses, the Eole is being offered "at a fraction of the cost" of its predecessor--a price that still comes to $3,000. Which shows that invaders from outer space haven't quite grasped the concept of human affordability.
(Credit:
Tokyomango)
We always suspected it was true, and now we have confirmation: Alien eyeballs are invading the planet. There have been all manner of thinly veiled ocular disguises, ranging from loudspeakers to super magnifiers, but the true masterminds have taken the form of Webcams.
The indisputable proof? An appendaged speciman of an eyeball Webcam has been photographed and posted on Tokyomango, masquerading as a replica of a Japanese ghost named "Medama no Oyaji" who, oddly enough, walks around naked and "speaks in a really high voice." (We hope those two characteristics aren't related.) Come to think of it, the alien identity is probably preferable.
(Credit:
Chip Chick)
Now that's more like it. We got a bit worried when we saw that Sony was contemplating joining the speaker lamp market, a trend we've yet to understand. So we were comforted to see that it hasn't abandoned the electronics industry's tradition of creating alien speakers, especially those that feature giant eyeballs.
The SRS-AX10 makes a valient attempt to join that category, though Chip Chick says its long, skinny neck makes it look like "the Olsen Twin of speakers," particularly because of their correspondingly weak 1-watt output. But we don't mind--we'll take an anorexic model over a flesh-eating alien any day.
Enough already--how many times do we need to say "uncle"? We've been admitted afraid, very afraid, of eyeball-shaped gadgetry for some time now, in case anyone cares. But now they're imposing their ocular creepiness on kids, and that's just wrong.
(Credit:
Toys 'R' Us)
Gizmodo noticed that Toys "R" Us, of all places, has come up with a nightmare-inducing thing called the "EyeClops Bionic Eye," a handheld contraption that supposedly magnifies whatever it "sees" on an order of 200x and displays it on whatever TV it's plugged into.
All it needs is a few bulging red veins to complete the effect. If the lens needs cleaning, do you use a giant bottle of Visine? If there was ever a downside to high definition, this would be it.
