All your SXSW are belong to us!
If you read tech and new-media blogs (which you probably do, since you're reading this one) you must be under the impression that anyone who's anyone is at South by Southwest right now, Twitter-ing away on 6th Street, etc., etc., etc. Well, here's the truth. Not everything cool right now is in Austin. Like me, for example. I'm totally awesome. And then there's this stuff...
--Gridskipper has found a dozen hotels worldwide that are made out of ice.
--Portable de-stressing kits are now available for $250, according to BornRich. I know of a cheaper portable de-stressing kit. It's called "booze."
--Boing Boing says: Somebody built a 5th Avenue Apple Store in Second Life! No, it's not official.
--ThisNext is offering a lowdown on sports watches for running. Considering it's finally starting to get warm here in NYC, I might have another look.
--Mashable is reporting that Nintendo is looking to turn the Mii phenomenon into a social network. I've got one question. Can I be Dwight Schrute's friend?
--Designspotter highlights rugged USB drives, a phenomenon that seems to be everywhere these days.
--eBay alert! According to Boing Boing, you can own a part of American cultural history by bidding on the Rev. Ted Haggard's massage table. Proceeds go to an HIV-AIDS charity. Sorry, guys, this one was too good to pass up.
Is Pikachu as scary as Hello Kitty?
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET Networks)From Friday through Sunday, the New York City Comic Convention took over Manhattan's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and Will Greenwald and I were there to brave the hordes of Star Wars cosplayers to bring you plenty of super sweet news coverage. Actually, scratch that. We get along just fine with Star Wars cosplayers. No horde-braving is necessary.
--Digital age plays villain, hero in future of comics (CNET News.com)
--Halo ActionClix and other nerd games (Crave)
--Web comics, print comics, and really really big print comics (Crave)
--More than comics at comic convention (CNET News.com)
--Photos: The best costumes at NYC ComicCon (CNET News.com)
--Photos: Anime's alive at NYC ComicCon (CNET News.com)
Pi-kaaaaa!
Don't mess with Jack Bauer
(Credit: Geeksugar)I thought that 24 fandom had gone a little bit too far when I heard about the shot-pounding "Jack Bauer Power Hour" viewing parties at various urban bars, but this one really takes the cake. A "computer expert" in the U.K. has changed his name to Jack Bauer, according to Geeksugar. Apparently his given name, Tim Annan, really wasn't doing it for him.
We here at Crave highly encourage you not to do dumb things like change your name as a tribute to a TV show--even though it took me hours the other day to convince fellow Craver Mike Yamamoto that he doesn't want to legally become "Dwight Schrute"--but that doesn't mean you can't show your love for 24 by stocking up on cool Bauer-worthy gadgets. Some of our previous highlights:
--Taking a look at Uncrate's 24 gadget inventory
--You can buy Bauer's overpriced watch
--Nuke-proof USB device
--An alarm clock that you need to disarm
Personally, I think that could settle the "I need to be like Jack Bauer" addiction of pretty much any relatively sane 24 fan.
--GAMING: Everybody Votes Channel launches on Wii Menu (gmrblogs)
--GREEN TECH: US leads in new wind energy developments (Treehugger)
--WEB 2.0: Parasitology of Blogging (Table of Malcontents)
--GAMING: The worst-selling games of 2006 (Joystiq)
--APPLE: Apple still quiet on gaming strategy (CNET News.com)
--SCIENCE: Chasing the trail of the 'Hobbit' (CNET News.com)
--GAMING: Retro Atari games coasters (Boing Boing)
--GAMING: Sweets for Geeks: Chocolate Controllers (Game|Life)
(Credit:
4 Color Rebellion)
The nerdy printable cards from 4 Color Rebellion (via Notcot.org) were too funny to pass up, like this one making the Wii into a romantic gesture. Nevertheless, this Craver still prefers Halloween. (There's a better selection of candy.) So here's what else is going around the series of tubes today:
--ARTS & CRAFTS: 2GB chapstick (Make)
--JUICY GOSSIP: BMW getting iPhone integration? (CrunchGear)
--MUSIC: Add HD radio to a regular car stereo (Listening Post)
--GADGETRY: Who needs a psychic when you've got gadgets? (ThisNext)
--CELL PHONES: The ringtones that ruin romance (Shiny Shiny)
--AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE: Stained Glass Case Wars (Kotaku)
--GOOGLE: Gmail finally really open to everyone (CNET News.com)
A display of stuffed 'gwins at the Toy Fair.
(Credit: CNET Networks)A few of us Cravers have been at the American International Toy Fair in New York City this week, and we've been thoroughly impressed by the selection of fun playthings that might be geared at a slightly younger audience but which we certainly wouldn't mind taking home anyway.
--LEGO Millennium Falcon. Will Greenwald kind of went nuts over this 5,000+ piece Lego building set that was released to commemorate that 30th anniversary of the original Star Wars movie. (Crave)
--Nerf gear for your Wii. Will also dug these super-soft "accessoriies," with a caveat: "Just remember that regardless of what they're made of, you shouldn't throw things at your television." (Crave)
--Photos: Hasbro's new toys for '07. From Spider-Man 3 to Star Wars, Hasbro was all about the tie-ins. Check out that iList music player, too! (CNET News.com)
--Legos galore at the Toy Fair. Looking at AquaRaiders, MindStorms, and...SpongeBob Squarepants? (CNET News.com)
--Where are all the Stormtroopers? Aside from Lego and Hasbro, there weren't a whole lot of Star Wars toys at the Toy Fair. Kind of weird... (CNET News.com)
--Photos: Science toys for kids. Some are serious, like those telescopes. Others look a little more exciting, like the gross-out chemistry lab sets. (CNET News.com)
--So, um, is it cool to like science now? Sound off. Does the ubiquity of science toys at the Toy Fair mean that you can readily admit you used to love watching Bill Nye the Science Guy? (CNET News.com)
--AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE: Mooninites Terrorize Boston! (YouTube)
--GROUNDHOG DAY: Punxsatawney Phil predicts an early spring (Bloomberg)**
--GROUNDHOG DAY: Punxsatawney Phil predicts an early spring (Bloomberg)**
--GROUNDHOG DAY: Punxsatawney Phil predicts an early spring (Bloomberg)**
--SCIENCE: 'Electric' fish shed light on how brain directs movement (Science Daily)
--WEB 2.0: Gawker Media mystery ads appear on YouTube (CNET News.com)
--GAMING: The Xbox 360 Ring of Light Rug (Kotaku)
--AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE: Homemade LED shirt (Make)
--WEB 2.0: Blinkx makes video previews awesome (Webware)
--AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE Aqua Teen Bomber Force (Cotton Factory)
** Well, duh. Global warming, anyone??
--COOL STUFF: iBlinds (YouTube)
--NINTENDO: First Nintendo Wii News Channel tour and screenshots (Gizmodo)
--WEB 2.0: Where's Digg for music? Right here (Webware)
--HISTORY LESSONS:Airstream meets Pac-Man in folding trailer design (Treehugger)
--THE INDUSTRY: Inside the Lucasfilm data center (CNET News.com)
--WEB 2.0: Streaming version of BitTorrent on the way (Monkey Bites)
--SOCIAL NETWORKING: Bebo Minicards launched (Mashable)
--APPLE: Remember 1984? (ShinyShiny)
--NEWS: New street train and rapid bus transit project for Buenos Aires (Treehugger)
--MICROSOFT: Retailers aim to get Vista boost (CNET News.com)
--HISTORY LESSONS: Harnessing wave power, 1934-style (Treehugger)
--GREEN TECH: Futuristic driverless electric bus (BornRich)
--WEB 2.0: PowerSnap bridges gap between local and Web-hosted photos (Webware)
(Credit:
Boing Boing)
--PHOTOGRAPHY: Stunning HDR shot of Tokyo skyline (Boing Boing)
--APPLE: Apple's 21 million reasons to love the holidays (CNET News.com)
--THE INDUSTRY: Net video firm Brightcove reals in $59 million (CNET News.com)
--GADGETRY: Battle of the 7-port USB hubs (ProductDose)
--ARTS & CRAFTS: Make your own Mario quilt (Kotaku)
--ONLY IN JAPAN: McDonald's Mega Mac in Japan (Plastic Bamboo)
--SOCIAL NETWORKING: Unofficial Child Surveillance Day: IMSafer and MySpace upgrade (Webware)
--POLITICS: Obama's online route to the masses (CNET News.com)
